§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Truro and St Austell constituency, the effects on Truro and St. Austell of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154528]
§ Dr. MoonieThe 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 large number of personnel in the Truro and St. Austell area: within a 25-mile radius distance of the constituency, MOD direct employees totalled around 3,500 personnel as of 1 October 1999 (Service and civilian).
Since 2 May 1997, around 120 contracts with a total value of nearly £5 million were placed with prime contractors in the Truro 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 he undertaken rests with the contractor, therefore work on a contract placed with a prime contract in the Truro and St. Austell area may well be done elsewhere: similarly, contracts placed with contractors outside the Truro and St. Austell area could lead to sub-contractors on companies in Truro and St. Austell.