Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department took to ensure British companies were made aware of the tendering process for the contract to return British military equipment from Afghanistan; and how many British companies tendered for that contract.

The Ministry of Defence is bound by European Union (EU) public procurement directives which demand fair and open competition across the EU for all contracts involving the expenditure of public funds.

Defence Equipment and Support is currently seeking proposals from Industry (under an existing Framework advertised in 2011) to provide an air transport service to move cargo between the UK and Afghanistan in support of Operation Herrick. Within that framework, there are seven companies, which are either UK companies or have offices within the UK, competing for this work.