§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if the RAF's C-17 aircraft have exceeded the flying hours agreed under the terms of their lease; and if he will make a statement; [70783]
(2) what the projected cost is of the lease of C-17 aircraft throughout its entire term. [70780]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 18 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch) on 15 May 2002, Official Report, column 640W.
760WSince entering service with the RAF the C-17 fleet has now flown just under twice the hours upon which the support was modelled. The additional support costs arising from this level of flying are in the order of £10 million.
§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the cost of leasing four C-17 aircraft is greater than purchasing individual C-17 aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [70781]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 18 July 2002]: The detailed lease costs and the underlying aircraft price are commercially sensitive and I am withholding this information under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.