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Defence Procurement

It is an honour and a privilege for me to work with our armed forces and veterans. I join the rest of the House in paying tribute to their courage, determination and professionalism. We are well aware of their bravery and the task that they are undertaking in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. It is right that the House should scrutinise the current procurement policy and that we should have this debate to look at ways of continuing to improve what we do. Service personnel and taxpayers have a vested interest in procurement, and it is our duty to ensure that we have the right policies and processes in place to help British armed forces. The debate was wide ranging and included some very good contributions. We heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies), the hon. Members for North Devon (Nick Harvey) and for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames), the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Linda Gilroy), the hon. Members for Reigate (Mr. Blunt), for Dunfermline and West Fife (Willie Rennie), for Salisbury (Robert Key), for Harwich (Mr. Carswell), for Newbury (Mr. Benyon), and for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Wallace), and my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, South-West (Mr. Davidson). I shall try to deal with as many of the issues raised during the discussion as I can. I was surprised that the first item of procurement that was brought up was British lamb. The hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin) is not present, but I understand that the figure that he quoted is not correct. It is not 3 per cent. of our procurement—13 per cent. of the lamb procured for the armed forces is of British origin and we would like to improve that, but various issues such as availability and price must be taken into account. Where we can source British produce and meat, we will do so. As Defence Ministers, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly visit our armed forces personnel in the UK, in operational areas and elsewhere. The hon. Member for North Devon mentioned kit. One of the first questions that we ask our armed forces personnel wherever we are, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq, which I visited three weeks ago, is what they think of their personal equipment. Perhaps I am hearing a different story from the one the hon. Gentleman hears, but the overwhelming view is not only that it is good, but that it is the best personal kit that they have ever had. That view has been put across to us from all ranks. As Ministers, we want to know if there are problems that we can deal with. From time to time there are issues—we heard about boots, for example—but the message that we get is as I have described it. A great deal of investment has been put into talking to our armed forces personnel about what they need and into the work that has been taking place in the MOD and the armed forces. Let me give an example. As the House knows, I have responsibility for Defence Medical Services. When I was out in Camp Bastion a few weeks ago, the message coming across to us from our medics throughout the Defence Medical Services was that the personal equipment that they have, particularly the body armour, is saving lives that would not have been saved just a couple of years ago. That is an important point to make, and I reject the Opposition's accusation that we are not spending to support our armed forces at home and abroad and to give them the best possible protection. I refute that, and I shall return to the issue later.