Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Pauline Latham and Philip Dunne(8 years, 7 months ago)
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Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
12. What recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other NATO countries on spending 2% of GDP on defence.
The Minister for Defence Procurement (Mr Philip Dunne)
The UK is proud to be one of five NATO countries that meet the commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence. Since the defence investment pledge was made at the Wales summit in 2014, progress has been made, with 16 allies increasing defence spending in real terms and 24 allies now spending more of their defence budgets on equipment. As it happens, the leadership role that the UK is given in NATO on this issue was warmly welcomed once again by the US Deputy Defence Secretary in my bilateral discussions with him last Friday.
Pauline Latham
What signal would it send to our NATO partners, and to our adversaries, ahead of the Warsaw summit if the Government took the advice of some in the House and failed to commit to spending 2% of GDP on defence? Will my hon. Friend update the House on the Libya and wider middle east situation?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Pauline Latham and Philip Dunne(9 years ago)
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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.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Pauline Latham and Philip Dunne(11 years, 3 months ago)
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Mr Dunne
I think that the hon. Gentleman misunderstands the nature of the export application that was declined for Syria recently, as described by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. We have a very clear policy for export controls that is supervised by BIS. I should have referred earlier to BIS’s excellent work in responsible defence exports through the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation.
Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
16. What discussions he has had with employers following the publication of the White Paper on reserve forces.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Pauline Latham and Philip Dunne(11 years, 5 months ago)
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Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
T3. What advice can my right hon. Friend give to small and medium-sized businesses such as Armadillo Merino in my Mid Derbyshire constituency, which wants to apply to the approved MOD procurement list? It has socks that stop trench foot and undergarments that will stop people burning, keeping their lives safer for longer.
Mr Dunne
The Ministry of Defence takes the clothing of our personnel exceptionally seriously. We have a dedicated defence clothing team in DE&S, which last year placed £80 million-worth of contracts. We have some 30 companies engaged in clothing contracts, 90% of which are UK based. My hon. Friend has written to me about the sock and undergarment manufacturer in her constituency, and I look forward to responding to her in writing very shortly.