House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
Asked on: 08 January 2020
Ministry of Defence
Type 45 Destroyers
1298
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Propulsion Improvement Programme for the Type 45 is planned to conclude.
A
Answered by: James Heappey
Answered on: 15 January 2020
HMS DAUNTLESS will be the first of the Type 45 Destroyers to receive the Power Improvement Project upgrades. Work will commence this spring and the ship will return to sea for trials in 2021. The timetable for the Power Improvement Project is dependent on the availability of ships to undertake the conversion, balanced against the Royal Navy’s standing and future operational commitments. It is planned that all six ships will have completed their upgrades by the mid-2020s.
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
Asked on: 19 December 2019
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence: Procurement
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of his Department’s procurement contracts exceeded the value of £100 million in financial year 2019-20.
A
Answered by: James Heappey
Answered on: 13 January 2020
Within financial year 2019-20, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded nine contracts above £100 million, one contract over £500 million and one contract over £1 billion. A list of these contracts is below.
The table below represents contracts awarded up until 19 December 2019 and only includes direct contracts with suppliers; it does not include other procurement arrangements, for example, the international agreement with Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation to procure the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle. Extensions to existing contracts and phased or additional investments made as part of existing contracts are also not included.
Contract Title
Current Supplier Name
Over £1 billion
Type 31 Design & Build Contract
Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd
Over £500 million
Capita Business Services Ltd
Provision of Defence Fire and Rescue Services
Over £100 million
Pressured Water Reactor3 (PWR3) Manufacturing Contract
Rolls-Royce Submarines Ltd
Strategic Weapons System in Service Support
Lockheed Martin UK Strategic Systems Ltd
Tempest Follow-on Contract
Rolls-Royce PLC
Tempest Follow-on Contract
BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd
Tempest Follow-on Contract
Leonardo MW Ltd
Microsoft M365 E5 Software Renewal
Software Box Ltd
EJISS (EJ200 In Service Support)
Rolls-Royce PLC
Client Side Support to the SKYNET Delivery Team
PA Consulting Services Ltd
Torpedoes Repair and Maintenance Contract
BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd
Information about the contracts that we place with industry is available on GOV.uk as part of our MOD Trade, Industry and Contracts statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defence-trade-and-industry-index.
In addition, MOD contracts worth over £10,000 are published on the Government’s Contracts Finder website at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
Asked on: 19 December 2019
Ministry of Defence
Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Procurement
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the decision was taken to suspend the tendering process for the Fleet Solid Support Ships on 6 November 2019; and whether this decision has reduced the chances of the tendering process being concluded within the 2019-20 financial year.
A
Answered by: James Heappey
Answered on: 13 January 2020
The decision to stop the Fleet Solid Support ship competition was taken because it had become clear that a value for money solution could not be reached. The Ministry of Defence is currently assessing the options, and as part of this process will review the requirement and any procurement strategy. It is not possible to provide any further details until this work has been completed.
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
Asked on: 19 December 2019
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence: Procurement
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s current US dollar contract liability is.
A
Answered by: James Heappey
Answered on: 13 January 2020
The total value of open contracts that have been placed with suppliers transacting in US Dollars is currently $6.7 billion.
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
[N]
Asked on: 07 January 2020
Ministry of Defence
Unmanned Air Vehicles: Disclosure of Information
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 February 2019 to Question 223964, Unmanned Air Vehicles, for what reasons his Department did not disclose information about the collapse of a port main-landing gear in an incident involving an MQ-9 Reaper on 17 October 2015.
A
Answered by: James Heappey
Answered on: 13 January 2020
The previous answer of 25 February 2019 to Question 223964 is still extant. The collapse of a port main-landing gear was irrelevant as the MQ-9 Reaper had reached the end of its service life.
Q
Asked by Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham)
[N]
Asked on: 08 January 2020
Ministry of Defence
Type 23 Frigates
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) original and (b) current timeframe is for the conclusion of the Major Life Extension (LIFEX) programme for the Type 23 frigates; and what additional cost to the public purse has been incurred as a result of a change to the original timeframe.
A
Answered by: James Heappey
Answered on: 13 January 2020
The Type 23 Frigate class is continually being updated and upgraded to meet new threats or to replace obsolete technology. This is achieved via a Through Life Management Plan rather than any singular Major Life Extension programme.
With regards to the cost of the programme, this draws together a number of capability enhancements and the information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Q
Asked by Mr Stephen Morgan
(Portsmouth South)
[N]
Asked on: 06 January 2020
Ministry of Defence
Aircraft Carriers: Repairs and Maintenance
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the use of floating docks for the maintenance of Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
A
Answered by: James Heappey
Answered on: 09 January 2020
The Royal Navy and Defence Equipment & Support are working together to develop a long-term dry docking plan for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. The use of floating dry docks was reviewed early in these deliberations; however, they were rejected on infrastructure, security and access grounds.