§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the employment implications for United Kingdom companies with special reference to Astrium Ltd. of the awarding of his Department's Skynet 5 Military Satellite Communications contract to a majority UK-based communications company; [10169]
(2) when he expects to announce the name of the company making the successful bid in his Department's Skynet 5 Military Satellite Communications contract, and if he will make a statement; [10168]
(3) what assessment he has made of the Paradigm Secure Communications consortium's bid to be awarded his Department's Skynet 5 Military Satellite Communications contract, and if he will list the names of the companies which have submitted bids; [10171]
(4) what criteria he is using to assess the bids for the awarding of his Department's Skynet 5 Military Satellite Communications contract. [10170]
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§ Dr. MoonieProposals have been received from two consortia: Paradigm Secure Communications (led by Astrium) and Rosetta Global Communications (led by Lockheed Martin, British Telecom and BAE Systems). The evaluation of Skynet 5 is very complex and will primarily take into account financial, commercial and technical issues. The assessment will also consider the industrial implications of each proposal. Both bidders have been invited to submit 'Best and Final Offers' by the end of November 2001. All aspects of the bids will be fully assessed before a decision is reached. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the bidders' proposals while the competition is taking place. However, on current plans I expect to announce the preferred bidder in the early part of 2002.