Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the level of risk of UK weapons being used by Saudi Arabia in Yemen in military action deemed illegal under international law.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Our arms export licensing regime is one of the most rigorous in the world.
The key test for our arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to international humanitarian law (IHL) is whether there is a clear risk that those items subject to the licence might be used in a serious violation of IHL. The situation is kept under careful and continual review.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of how the decision to leave the EU will affect the procurement of defence equipment and the cost of procuring defence equipment from abroad.
Answered by Julian Brazier
The EU Referendum result does not affect the United Kingdom's status as a major international power. As stated in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we remain firmly committed to strengthening our Defence relationships with our Allies, partners, and Defence industry. An important element of this is delivered through Defence procurement, but it is too early to assess the effect of the decision to leave the EU as we have not yet agreed the terms of our negotiated departure.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many foreign military sales contracts there have been since 2010; and what the value was of those contracts.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The proportion of the defence procurement budget, and the defence budget spent on foreign military sales in each financial year cannot be provided. Under the Foreign Military Sales Agreement (FMS), Her Majesty's Government commits to FMS cases with the US Government which then places contracts with industry to deliver our requirements. Additionally, FMS cases typically cover differing periods of performance, thereby making estimation of the commitment that would fall within each financial year unreliable.
The number of new cases, together with their values, committed to under FMS for each financial year is given in the table below. They do not equate to actual expenditure, accruals or contractual commitments and include contingency provisions.
Financial Year | No. of new cases | Value of new cases ($millions) |
2009-10 | 22 | 995 |
2010-11 | 30 | 111 |
2011-12 | 33 | 284 |
2012-13 | 23 | 137 |
2013-14 | 25 | 301 |
2014-15 | 26 | 328 |
2015-16 | 32 | 245 |
2016-17 to date | 6 | 13 |
Totals | 197 | 2,414 |
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the defence budget was spent on foreign military sales in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The proportion of the defence procurement budget, and the defence budget spent on foreign military sales in each financial year cannot be provided. Under the Foreign Military Sales Agreement (FMS), Her Majesty's Government commits to FMS cases with the US Government which then places contracts with industry to deliver our requirements. Additionally, FMS cases typically cover differing periods of performance, thereby making estimation of the commitment that would fall within each financial year unreliable.
The number of new cases, together with their values, committed to under FMS for each financial year is given in the table below. They do not equate to actual expenditure, accruals or contractual commitments and include contingency provisions.
Financial Year | No. of new cases | Value of new cases ($millions) |
2009-10 | 22 | 995 |
2010-11 | 30 | 111 |
2011-12 | 33 | 284 |
2012-13 | 23 | 137 |
2013-14 | 25 | 301 |
2014-15 | 26 | 328 |
2015-16 | 32 | 245 |
2016-17 to date | 6 | 13 |
Totals | 197 | 2,414 |
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the defence procurement budget was spent on foreign military sales in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The proportion of the defence procurement budget, and the defence budget spent on foreign military sales in each financial year cannot be provided. Under the Foreign Military Sales Agreement (FMS), Her Majesty's Government commits to FMS cases with the US Government which then places contracts with industry to deliver our requirements. Additionally, FMS cases typically cover differing periods of performance, thereby making estimation of the commitment that would fall within each financial year unreliable.
The number of new cases, together with their values, committed to under FMS for each financial year is given in the table below. They do not equate to actual expenditure, accruals or contractual commitments and include contingency provisions.
Financial Year | No. of new cases | Value of new cases ($millions) |
2009-10 | 22 | 995 |
2010-11 | 30 | 111 |
2011-12 | 33 | 284 |
2012-13 | 23 | 137 |
2013-14 | 25 | 301 |
2014-15 | 26 | 328 |
2015-16 | 32 | 245 |
2016-17 to date | 6 | 13 |
Totals | 197 | 2,414 |
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on procurement of a British sixth-generation jet fighter.
Answered by Philip Dunne
As set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we will invest in the next generation of combat air technology, in partnership with our defence industry and our closest allies. This includes joint work with France to deliver unmanned combat air operational demonstrators by 2025, a programme worth over £1.5 billion, as announced at the Amiens Summit in March 2016. These investments will help inform a decision on how best to meet our future combat air requirements.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many small and medium-sized businesses were direct suppliers to his Department during the years (a) 2015-16, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2013-14.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Small businesses are an important source of innovation and flexibility, as both direct and indirect suppliers, to meet our defence and security requirements. The estimated number of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) directly supplying the Ministry of Defence (MOD) during financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15 is provided below. The figures for 2015-16 are not yet available.
MOD Direct Expenditure with SMEs | Estimated Number of SME Suppliers |
2013-14 | 7,000 |
2014-15 | 5,400 |
The MOD spent 19.4% (direct and indirect) of its procurement budget with SMEs in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. The MOD has a new 25% target for SME procurement spend by 2020.
The information has been taken from the Department's published Official Statistics on Trade, Industry and Contracts which summarises MOD contracting with industry. Further information about MOD expenditure with SMEs is available on the Gov.UK website at the respective links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2014
The MOD does not hold information on the number of SMEs providing indirect supplies through the supply chain.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which contractors his Department has a contract with either directly or indirectly by sub-contract which is valued at £10,000 or more; and what the (a) value and (b) timetable is of each such contract.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence currently has around 4,000 contracts with suppliers of all sizes. I am withholding the full list of contracts as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. Under the Transparency Agenda, details of contracts awarded over £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder, which can be located at the link: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of defence expenditure was spent through small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2013-14.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes data on direct expenditure with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), excluding its trading funds, in the Finance & Economics Annual Bulletin: Trade, Industry & Contracts Statistics on the Gov.UK website. The final figures for financial years 2014-15 and 2013-14 are available at the link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defence-trade-and-industry-index. The final figures for financial year 2015-16 are not yet available.
The MOD does not hold data on expenditure with SMEs through the supply chain (indirect expenditure). The Cabinet Office has published indicative indirect expenditure with SMEs, collated from spend figures reported by suppliers, in their publication 'Central Government direct and indirect expenditure with SMEs'. Figures for 2014-15 and 2013-14' are available at the respective links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2014-to-2015
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014.
Figures released by the Cabinet Office in this publication indicate that MOD direct and indirect spend with SMEs was 19.4% in each year. The figures for 2015-16 are not yet available.
The MOD has agreed a new target with the Cabinet Office of 25% procurement spend (both direct and indirect) with SMEs by 2020.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in his Department's supply chain, other than direct suppliers, in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2013-14.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Small businesses are an important source of innovation and flexibility, as both direct and indirect suppliers, to meet our defence and security requirements. The estimated number of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) directly supplying the Ministry of Defence (MOD) during financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15 is provided below. The figures for 2015-16 are not yet available.
MOD Direct Expenditure with SMEs | Estimated Number of SME Suppliers |
2013-14 | 7,000 |
2014-15 | 5,400 |
The MOD spent 19.4% (direct and indirect) of its procurement budget with SMEs in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. The MOD has a new 25% target for SME procurement spend by 2020.
The information has been taken from the Department's published Official Statistics on Trade, Industry and Contracts which summarises MOD contracting with industry. Further information about MOD expenditure with SMEs is available on the Gov.UK website at the respective links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2014
The MOD does not hold information on the number of SMEs providing indirect supplies through the supply chain.