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Army Base Repair Organisation

My right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. On 8 November 2005 I announced to the House proposals for a second phase of rationalisation of the ABRO trading fund to address its need to become a significantly more efficient business in a rapidly changing market for the repair, maintenance and overhaul of armoured fighting vehicles and other land based equipment. This was subject to normal trade union consultation. Consultation with the national trade unions completed on 27 January 2006. Following subsequent discussions within the MoD, and consideration of the latest view on ABRO's order book, I am now in a position to make a further announcement. I remain convinced that rationalisation of ABRO remains necessary: the business must make continuous improvements to its competitiveness and efficiency if it is to have a viable future. I have therefore decided that the rationalisation of the LAND/B vehicles business unit (known as ABRO's ““one stop shop”” for unprogrammed repair) will proceed as announced in November 2005, including the closure and re-provision of the Colchester site and the potential sale and lease back of part of the Warminster site, with a headcount reduction of up to 339 by April 2008. Since November 2005, however, there have been a number of developments which have a potentially material impact on the proposed rationalisation of ABRO's other four business units (armoured vehicles; major assemblies; electronics, weapons, optronics and calibration; and head office). The principal of these is a deeper understanding of the likely threat environment on deployed operations over the coming period, which will require us to update and upgrade more armoured vehicles. To ensure we continue to have the capability to provide appropriate protected mobility for our soldiers, we have therefore decided to extend the depth repair programme for the Fv430 fleet of armoured fighting vehicles, which is carried out at ABRO's Bovington site. Consequently, the intention to move the Warrior and CVR(T) lines from Donnington to Bovington by March 2007 will not take place as previously planned. This will result in the armoured vehicle facility being retained at the Donnington site for the medium term. However, there remains a pressing need for improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness across all of ABRO's operations, including the remaining four business units. The recent decision on the Fv430 and the consequential impact on Donnington will mean that the rationalisation proposals will need to be re-examined. The results of this work will be announced later in the year and, if necessary, there will be further consultation with trade unions. This Government remain committed to modernising our Armed Forces. To do so, we must continually look for more efficient support solutions to enable us to invest more resource to support our men and women at the front line. While this news represents a welcome development for the Donnington armoured vehicle facility, I hope to be able to confirm the final position on rationalisation later in the year.