asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether all suppliers to his Department are specifically approved by his Department and comply with his Department's inspection system.

The policy on Quality Assurance set out in the 1975 Defence White Paper (Cmnd. 5976) continues in effect. To date, over 4,000 contractors have been registered as complying with defence standards. It is the Ministry's policy to use such suppliers wherever possible, and already about 90 per cent. of current defence spending on procurement is with these contractors.