§ Mrs. GilroyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to(a) Plymouth, Sutton constituency, (b) Plymouth, Devonport constituency and (c) South-West 22W Devon constituency, the effects on the Plymouth unitary authority area of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [158028]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 23 April 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 area reflecting the strategic importance of Plymouth to the services—especially the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. MOD direct employees as of 1 October 1999 (service and civilian) were around: (a) Plymouth, Sutton—1,150 personnel; (b) Plymouth, Devonport—2,850 personnel; and (c) South-West Devon—850 personnel.
Since 2 May 1997, around 6,240 contracts with a total value of some £859 million were placed with prime contractors in the Plymouth area1.
I draw attention to the Defence Analytical Services Agency report "UK Defence Statistics 2000" that 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 Plymouth area may well be done elsewhere: similarly, contracts placed with contractors outside the Plymouth area could lead to sub-contracts on companies in Plymouth.