§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Newbury constituency, the effects on Newbury and West Berkshire of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154570]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 20 March 2001]: The Ministry of Defence has a wide-ranging presence throughout the UK in terms of defence establishments and the service and civilian personnel they employ. This presence brings benefits to many communities, local economies and jobs. Also, 60,000 new defence contracts are placed each year that provide support to industry and create and sustain defence-related employment.
The Ministry of Defence has maintained a very large number of personnel in the Newbury and West Berkshire area: within a 25-mile radius distance of the constituency, MOD direct employees totalled some 24,500 personnel as of 1 October 1999 (service and civilian). This represents an increase of just over one-quarter since 1997. The Newbury area is home to many significant defence establishments including RAF Brize Norton and the Tidworth Garrison.
Since 2 May 1997, around 420 contracts with a total value of some £474 million were placed with prime contractors in the Newbury area1.
I draw attention to the Defence Analytical Services Agency report "UK Defence Statistics 2000", which contains a wealth of defence statistical information, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
1The decision as to where work under a particular contract will be undertaken rests with the contractor, therefore work on a contract placed with a prime contract in the Newbury area may well be done elsewhere: similarly, contracts placed with contractors outside the Newbury area could lead to sub-contracts on companies in Newbury.