Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2014 to Question 209332, by what mechanisms his Department assesses the effectiveness of its communications to industry of its future requirements.

The membership and structure of the Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF) and its respective sub-committees are kept under review to ensure it is representative of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) suppliers. Feedback from industry indicates that it continues to represent a valuable mechanism for engaging with the MOD on current and future priorities and requirements.

In addition the Industry days organised by the Department and/or domains are usually based on business cases that state the objectives and benefits of the event and which require evaluation of success. Some examples of key outcomes of an event include an increase in industry awareness of the aims and developments of the procurement strategy, an increase in MOD understanding of the key themes and issues faced by industry, and the early identification of potential risks to the strategy. The success of the event is then evaluated both in terms of the level of interest expressed by industry in the event, and the level of understanding and buy-in determined through a simple event questionnaire.

The MOD monitors the number of supplier and buyer enquires received via the Defence Contracts Online Portal. The latest available figures show that between January and July 2014, the total number of queries received was nearly 3,500. During this period, nearly 1,200 tender and contract notices were advertised on the portal.