§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the total Government subsidy of the UK arms industry in the last year for which figures are available. [81779]
§ Dr. MoonieAs set out in our recent defence industrial policy, our aim is to ensure that our industry is competitive in both the home and overseas markets. This is best achieved through exposure to fair and open competition and it is not our policy to use subsidies, although some limited support, such as the Export Credit Guarantee scheme, is available to the defence industry.