Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence’s single-source 20-year support contract for E-7 Wedgetail AWACS system meets the revised conditions on wider public value as set out in HM Treasury's Green Book 2020, last updated on 3 December; and if so, how.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not yet entered into a support contract for the RAF E-7 Wedgetail aircraft. On 3 December 2020 the MOD published a Voluntary Transparency Notice outlining its intention to place such a contract in the future, and promoting potential sub-contracting opportunities. Before entering any contract, proposals are subject to rigorous scrutiny and approvals processes to ensure that they represent value for money for the UK taxpayer and are compliant with Departmental and Government policy, including the Green Book.