Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Procurement Policies: Green Book Changes

Monday 7 December 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The MOD makes procurement decisions based on security, capability requirement, cost, supply chain and other social value considerations and will continue to do so.
  • The November 2020 changes to the Green Book will ensure an increased focus on setting clear objectives and social value considerations.
  • The Treasury recognises the importance of the changes to defence procurement and their levelling-up impact on the UK.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Philip Dunne Con
Defence
Context

The question pertains to the assessment of potential effects on the Department's procurement policies following changes made to the Green Book in November 2020.

Question

What assessment has been made of the potential effect on his Department's procurement policies of the November 2020 changes to the Green Book?

Answer from Ben Wallace

The MOD makes procurement decisions based on security, capability requirement, cost, supply chain and other social value considerations and will continue to do so. The November 2020 changes to the Green Book will ensure that there is an increased focus on setting clear objectives and consideration of location-based impacts. MOD footprint and spend is widely distributed across the UK and future procurement will continue to reflect this.

Answered
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Q2 Philip Dunne Con
Defence Economy
Context

The question relates to the Treasury's Green Book rules concerning public procurement and their recognition of economic metrics, such as the multiplier effect of defence spending in UK.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend believe that this will make clear the prosperity metrics, which the Treasury will recognise when it comes to defence procurement, and will the Treasury accept that a pound spent on defence in the UK is worth more than a multiplier of 1 in the levelling-up impact on the UK economy?

Answer from Ben Wallace

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, especially in that last observation, and I congratulate him on his prosperity report. He was clearly thinking ahead of the Treasury at the time, and I am delighted that it has recognised the importance and contribution that those changes will make to levelling up and closing the north-south divide. While the end-of-year rules were not changed, the recent £24.1 billion multi-year settlement with the Treasury will now allow the MOD to invest in next generation military capability across the whole United Kingdom.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific recognition of prosperity metrics by the Treasury for defence procurement was not directly addressed.

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