Pauline Latham
Main Page: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)Department Debates - View all Pauline Latham's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(9 years, 2 months ago)
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Mark Lancaster
That is primarily a matter for the Department of Health. I have been engaging in a series of negotiations with my counterpart in that Department, and I am sure that we will report to the House in due course.
Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
9. What steps he is taking to increase the proportion of his Department’s procurement expenditure which goes to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Seema Kennedy (South Ribble) (Con)
11. What steps he is taking to increase the proportion of his Department’s procurement expenditure which goes to small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Minister for Defence Procurement (Mr Philip Dunne)
We expect small businesses to take an increasing share of our increasing defence budget, as they provide a vital source of innovation and flexibility in meeting defence and security requirements. In October, we announced a new target to increase the proportion of Ministry of Defence procurement spent with SMEs to 25% by the end of this Parliament. That target is 10% higher than the one that was set during the last Parliament.
Pauline Latham
What role are SMEs playing in the Trident replacement programme—for example, in the Rolls-Royce propulsion supply chain?
Mr Dunne
The Successor submarine programme will be one of the Department’s largest projects, and we expect about 850 suppliers across the UK to be involved. They will employ thousands of people in what is a very high-skilled domain, using cutting-edge technology. That will include the supply chain for Rolls-Royce nuclear propulsion systems based at Raynesway. Many of those companies will be SMEs, and I am sure that many of them will be from my hon. Friend’s constituency in Derby.