Future Carrier Programme (Hansard, 13 May 2003)

§ Mr. Jenkin
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether BAe and Thales have structured the(a) terms and (b) work share of their partnership in the CVF programme. [112016]

§ Mr. Ingram
Both BAE Systems and Thales UK have agreed to take the programme forward on the basis of the allocation of roles and responsibilities outlined in the announcement made by the Secretary of State for Defence on 30 January 2003. Specifically, they have agreed to the contract for Demonstration and Manufacture being managed and executed by a single, integrated team staffed from both organisations and the Ministry of Defence. BAE Systems will lead as preferred Prime-contractor with Thales UK as Key Supplier participating in key management posts within the integrated team. The precise terms of the contract remain the subject of on-going negotiations which are due to complete by the end of this year.

§ Mr. Jenkin
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the benefits of moving the CVF contract to a Target Cost Incentive Fee. [112017]

§ Mr. Ingram
No final decision has been taken on the CVF pricing strategy. The most appropriate pricing mechanism for incentivising contractors' performance is generally a choice between firm or fixed prices, or a target cost incentive fee. CVF is a complex programme and the balance of advantage between these options is being carefully weighed in order to secure the optimum arrangement. The way forward will be finalised as part of the main investment decision early in 2004.

§ Mr. Jenkin
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects Assessment Phase Stage 3 of the CVF programme to be completed; and whether he plans to extend the time scale of this phase. [112018]
155W

§ Mr. Ingram
It is planned that the CVF Assessment Phase Stage 3 contract will ran up to the end of November 2003. It will also contain contract options to enable the continuation of work through to the planned award of the Demonstration and Manufacture contract in the spring of 2004. This is consistent with our plan at the commencement of the CVF Assessment Phase, which called for the award of a build contract in spring 2004.