§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent the withdrawal by Italy from the A400M project will mean a change in contribution from the UK; and if he will make a statement. [12913]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 6 November 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 130W. If Italy stands by the decision it took last month not to continue with the A400M programme at present, the total number of aircraft in the initial order will fall from 212 to 196.
The final price of the A400M aircraft has yet to be agreed with the contractor. While it is reasonable to assume that such a reduction in overall aircraft numbers will increase our contribution to programme costs, reductions achieved in other aspects of the price negotiation may counterbalance that increase. Accordingly, we do not expect to identify a discrete cost increase associated with Italian withdrawal, should that be confirmed in due course.