§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost and benefits of offset obligations incurred by United Kingdom defence companies as part of export defence agreements were in each year since 1992, broken down by nations and regions of the UK. [67308]
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§ Dr. MoonieSuch offset obligations are normally commercial transactions entered into by United Kingdom companies and overseas authorities. Information on these transactions is not held centrally by the Ministry of Defence.
There is, however, one Government-to-Government arrangement. Under the Al Yamamah programme, Her Majesty's Government encourages commercial investment in Saudi Arabia as an offset to the programme costs to the Saudi Arabian Government. This arrangement, which is at no cost to the United Kingdom taxpayer, makes a valuable contribution to this important defence collaboration programme.