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Written question asked by Steve Barclay (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 July 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 July 2012. It was answered by Gerald Howarth (Conservative) on Thursday, 6 December 2012 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Procurement

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 438W, on defence procurement, how many of the urgent operational requirements delivered, or planned for delivery, later than originally approved are projected to be more than (a) six months, (b) 12 months, (c) 18 months and (d) 24 months later than the original date.

[117481]

Answer

[holding answer 16 July 2012]: The information requested is currently being verified. I will write to my hon. Friend when this has been completed.

Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Stephen Barclay:

In response to your parliamentary question of 3rd September 2012, (Official Report, column 45W) seeking further information about the length of delay to the UORs referred to in his answer of 21st May 2012, my predecessor undertook to write to you with the information you requested. As some time has now passed I wanted to explain the reason for the delay.

The Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR) process was intended to allow the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to purchase rapidly or modify equipment to address urgent and unforeseen capability gaps in support of a current or imminent military operation. The process has been an undoubted success, with over £5.5 billion spent on equipment to meet emerging requirements in Afghanistan since the operation began. The process has evolved over several years and continues to change in relation to, among other things, the types of UOR being procured, the way Defence is organised and the databases on which the information is held. As a result of this evolution in the way the MOD manages the process, there is currently no single repository of information on UORs to draw from, although work is in hand to address this.

When the Ministry of Defence answered your original question of 21st May 2012, (Official Report, column 439W) officials did so to the best of their ability. In preparing the answer to your latest question about how late some UORs were compared to their original approvals, discrepancies between the current bespoke UOR database and other records were discovered. I would like to

resolve these before formally responding to your question and have asked for this work to be completed as soon as possible.

I am sorry for this delay and will provide an answer to you as soon as the checks are completed and the information verified.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
117481; 554 cc896-8W
Session
2012-13
Notes
Original question given on 3 September 2012 at 549 c45W
Subjects
Defence Procurement
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk