House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Q
Asked by Martin Whitfield
(East Lothian)
[N]
Asked on: 23 May 2019
Ministry of Defence
Satellite Communications: Procurement
257805
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether she plans to launch a competition for SKYNET 6 Enduring Capability.
A
Answered by: Stuart Andrew
Answered on: 06 June 2019
The Department’s default is competition, and this is the case for the SKYNET 6 Enduring Capability project. The SKYNET 6 team continually reinforces this message directly with industry through conferences, industry briefing days and in regular 1-2-1 meetings with key industrial partners.
Q
Asked by Ian Murray
(Edinburgh South)
[N]
Asked on: 03 June 2019
Department for International Trade
Defence and Security Organisation
259181
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the level of (a) direct and (b) indirect subsidy provided by the Defence and Security Organisation to the arms industry in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
A
Answered by: Graham Stuart
Answered on: 06 June 2019
The Department for International Trade Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO) does not subsidise the defence industry.
Q
Asked by Tulip Siddiq
(Hampstead and Kilburn)
[N]
Asked on: 23 May 2019
Ministry of Defence
Iran: International Military Services
257787
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date IMS Ltd., a Government owned company, closed its office in Tehran.
A
Answered by: Stuart Andrew
Answered on: 05 June 2019
We do not hold a precise date, but IMS ceased trading in 1991.
Q
Asked by Tulip Siddiq
(Hampstead and Kilburn)
[N]
Asked on: 23 May 2019
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence: International Military Services
257788
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the last official from his Department ended their secondment to IMS Ltd, a wholly owned government company.
A
Answered by: Stuart Andrew
Answered on: 05 June 2019
Prior to the introduction of an electronic based HR system in 2006, departmental records on the detail of secondments were paper based. To identify anyone seconded to IMS would involve searching thousands of records and therefore the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. IMS Ltd records do not show any secondees from the Ministry of Defence.
Q
Asked by Nick Smith
(Blaenau Gwent)
Asked on: 23 May 2019
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence: Iron and Steel
257728
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK steel and steel products procured by his Department in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.
A
Answered by: Stuart Andrew
Answered on: 05 June 2019
The Ministry of Defence does not hold a central record of the origin of all steel used in defence equipment projects. This is because steel for our major programmes is mainly sourced by our prime contractors and the supply chains are complex.
UK suppliers have, however, made a significant contribution to the supply of steel for some of our largest defence equipment projects, including 88% of the structural steel for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers and 50% of the value of the steel required for the Batch 1 Type 26 ships. The specialist nature of some of our steel requirements means that UK steel producers do not always have the capability to supply our programmes.
This Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. It publishes its future pipeline for steel requirements, together with data on how Departments are complying with steel procurement guidance on:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/steel-public-procurement.
This enables UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for Government contracts.
Q
Asked by Martin Whitfield
(East Lothian)
[N]
Asked on: 23 May 2019
Ministry of Defence
Satellite Communications: Procurement
257807
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps her Department is taking to include SMEs in the SKYNET programme.
A
Answered by: Stuart Andrew
Answered on: 05 June 2019
The Department is following the Small to Medium Enterprise principles outlined in the National Security Through Technology 2012 white paper. The SKYNET 6 Programme is taking a very proactive approach to incentivise and incorporate SMEs across the whole programme.
The current SKYNET 5 programme already exceeds the 25% SME target which provides a strong foundation for the SKYNET 6 programme.
Q
Asked by Lyn Brown
(West Ham)
Asked on: 22 May 2019
Department for International Trade
Arms Trade: Trade Fairs
257462
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what information his Department holds on onward sales of arms and military equipment originally sold by UK defence industry where the original sale was made as a result of a UK arms fair.
A
Answered by: Graham Stuart
Answered on: 04 June 2019
We do not hold information about the cost of surveillance and enforcement activities at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibitions in 2013, 2015, 2017.
All exports of military items from the UK are subject to export controls. Each export licence application is rigorously assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, which include criteria for human rights and international humanitarian law, and sanctions and embargoes. The Government will not grant a licence where to do so would be inconsistent with these criteria. Government approval is also required for the release of classified defence-related information or equipment by UK exporters to overseas entities for marketing purposes. The Export Control Joint Unit attends some UK arms fairs (including DSEI) to raise awareness with the organisers and the exhibitors of their export control obligations.
Grouped Questions: 257463 | 257464 | 257465 | 257466 | 257467 | 257712
Q
Asked by Martin Whitfield
(East Lothian)
Asked on: 23 May 2019
Ministry of Defence
Satellite Communications: Costs
257806
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the estimated cost is of SKYNET 6.
A
Answered by: Stuart Andrew
Answered on: 04 June 2019
The estimated costs for the entire programme, out to the 2040s, is £7 billion.