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Defence in the UK

Notwithstanding the Minister’s answer, we need to know what the Government intend to do if it is decided that it is no longer possible for South African personnel to serve in the UK Army. Will we offer them citizenship or simply accept a decline in Army numbers? What impact will there be on other Commonwealth serving personnel? It is a live issue and we need further details. I want to say a few words about the UK defence industry, defence employment and procurement. Too often we forget just how important the defence industry is for the United Kingdom. The UK is the world’s second largest defence exporter after the US. The 2004 Oxford Economic Forecasting report for the Defence Industries Council showed that, in 2002, defence exports totalled some £4.1 billion and contributed some £2.8 billion to the balance of trade against a deficit of £8.7 billion. Regional employment and the impact of defence spending is particularly felt in the north-west, Scotland and my own region of the south-west. In 2004, the value of defence aerospace exports alone amounted to almost £6 billion, and of the top 100 companies defined globally by defence revenue, 10 are UK based: BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, QinetiQ, Smiths Group, VT Group, Cobham, GKN Group, Babcocks, Ultra Electronics Holdings and Meggitt. Those are businesses that the UK should be proud of. In the south-west, not least in the Bristol area, and in the north-west, which I visited this week, there is, of course, a keen interest in defence procurement issues.