My right honourable friend, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Bob Ainsworth) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

On 10 October 2006 (Official Report, Commons, col. 13-14WS) my predecessor announced the formation of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and that elements of the new organisation were to be collocated in the Bath/Bristol area. DE&S was established on 1 April 2007 and in March this year a major business improvement programme, PACE (performance, agility, confidence, efficiency), was launched to drive forward the changes required to continue to improve support to the Armed Forces both now and in the future.

As part of this we have concluded that additional improvements to the provision of through-life military capability and logistics support to the front line can be realised through greater consolidation of DE&S business activities in Bristol.  I am therefore announcing today, subject to consultation with the trades unions, the co-location of further elements of DE&S at Abbey Wood in Bristol.  This will involve DE&S withdrawing in its entirety from Andover, Wyton, Caversfield and from both the Ensleigh and Foxhill sites in Bath, in a phased programme through to 2012.  Those sites vacated by DE&S are being considered for further defence use.  Under the DE&S programme, around 2,800 posts will move to Bristol, in addition to the 1,000 transfers already in hand.  It will produce estimated savings of around £560 million over a 25 year period, is a key enabler for the PACE programme and is also part of a wider departmental estates rationalisation programme, reflecting the department’s commitment to maximising the funds available to support the front line.