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Written question asked by David Clelland (Labour) on Friday, 12 September 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 October 2003. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Monday, 6 October 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the British Army will have its initial operating capability with the Future Rapid Effects System; for what reason funding for the Future Rapid Effects System Assessment Phase Planning work has ceased; what the expenditure on this work has been to date; and how the results of this work will be used in the Future Rapid Effects System programme; what the next phase of the Future Rapid Effect System project will be; what assessment he has made of the advantages of the next phase being led by (a) Alvis Vickers Limited and (b) a company other than Alvis Vickers Limited; and how long he expects it would take to select a contractor other than Alvis Vickers Limited through competitive tender; what the size was of the co-located industrial Future Rapid Effect System team made up of personnel from Alvis Vickers, BAE Systems and General Dynamics UK in July; and what assessment he has made of the effect on British industry if the next phase of FRES were to be awarded to (a) Alvis Vickers and (b) a company other than Alvis Vickers. - Includes figures.
Answer

Mr. Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when the British Army will have its initial operating capability with the Future Rapid Effects System; [130407] (2) for what reason funding for the Future Rapid Effects System Assessment Phase Planning work has ceased; what the expenditure on this work has been to date; and how the results of this work will be used in the Future Rapid Effects System programme; [130408] (3) what the next phase of the Future Rapid Effect System project will be; what assessment he has made of the advantages of the next phase being led by (a) Alvis Vickers Ltd. and (b) a company other than Alvis Vickers Ltd.; and how long he expects it would take to select a contractor other than Alvis Vickers Ltd. through competitive tender; [130410] (4) what the size was of the co-located industrial Future Rapid Effect System team made up of personnel from Alvis Vickers, BAE Systems and General Dynamics UK in July; and what assessment he has made of the effect on British industry if the next phase of FRES were to be awarded to (a) Alvis Vickers and (b) a company other than Alvis Vickers. [130411] Mr. Ingram: The project to introduce a Future Rapid Effect System is currently in its concept phase. As part of this, Alvis Vickers Ltd. (AVL) has recently completed background planning work to develop initial estimates of programme schedule and cost. This work involved some 70 staff drawn from AVL, BAE Systems and General Dynamics (UK) Ltd. and was valued at approximately £4 million. The Department is now considering procurement options and will consider all relevant factors in determining the way forward. The ISD for FRES will not be endorsed until the main investment decision, but on current plans, the intention is to introduce early variants into service around the end of the decade.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
410 c1161W; 130407;130408;130410;130411
Session
2002-03
Subjects
Contracts Companies Defence Armoured fighting vehicles Procurement Future rapid effect system BAE Systems Alvis General Dynamics
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk