To ask Her Majesty's Government how much would be due from Airbus to the Government or vice versa, under the contractual conditions applying on 31 December 2009, should they cancel their order for the A400M. [HL1096]

The arrangements for contract cancellation on the A400M programme are complex and are determined by the contract agreed between partner nations and the prime contractor.

The precise contractual arrangements and costs that would apply should a decision be made by one or more partner nations to withdraw from the A400M programme would be determined by the particular circumstances surrounding that decision, and are commercially sensitive.

The contract does not permit Airbus Military to cancel for convenience; if it elected to terminate, it would be breach of contract. In such a case, the amount for which it could be liable would depend on the particular circumstances surrounding that decision, and is commercially sensitive.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how many skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers would find further employment within three months if their order for the A400M was cancelled. [HL1097]

The Government have made no such assessment.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with Boeing or Lockheed the availability of C17s or C130s should they decide to cancel their order for the A400M aircraft. [HL1107]

My department has been in contact with Boeing and Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems throughout 2009 on the potential availability of additional C-17 and C-130J aircraft respectively. An additional (7th) C-17 is now on contract and we would expect to continue this dialogue while we consider the way forward for the A400M programme with our international partners.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with the Government of the United States how Her Majesty's Government could satisfy their airlift requirements, should they cancel orders for the A400M aircraft. [HL1180]

The department keeps its current and future airlift requirements under constant review, and is undertaking work to study the fallback options for alternative air transport capability solutions.

While discussion takes place with the US at working level on a range of airlift issues, no formal discussions have taken place with the US on the purchase of alternative airlift solutions in the event that the UK orders for A400M aircraft do not proceed.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what type of mission or capability the A400M aircraft will be used for that cannot be satisfied by a combination of C130s and C17s. [HL1181]

C-130Js and C-17s are both able to perform in-theatre tactical airlift and strategic deployment into theatre, although for UK purposes C-130J is more ideally suited to tactical tasking and C-17 for strategic deployment. Nevertheless, the load capacity of C-130J significantly limits its ability to carry a wide range of vehicles. While C-17 could be used to carry these loads tactically, we assess that this would lead to significant growth in support costs. A400M is ideally suited for such tactical taskings and would also contribute significant strategic airlift capability, effectively providing a swing-role capability.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have asked the United States Air Force how it performs the roles that Her Majesty's Government envisages being performed by the A400M aircraft. [HL1182]

The US air transport requirement is satisfied by various marks of C-130, C-17, C5 and the recently introduced C27J aircraft. While the MoD has not undertaken detailed analysis of the US fleet mix, our understanding is that the capabilities we envisage A400M will provide are largely met through use of C-130s and C-17s, albeit using C-17.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their defence procurement policy takes account of the production lines of both the C130 and the C17 still being open. [HL1183]

The department considers a number of factors when deciding policy, including supplier production capabilities.

To ask Her Majesty's Government when is the next occasion for a decision by the consortium of participating countries to cancel the A400M aircraft. [HL1184]

The next occasion that such a decision could be taken is 31 January 2010, when the current “standstill” period agreed between A400M partner nations and Airbus Military comes to an end, although consensus amongst the nations would be required to exercise this option.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish any representations they have received from other members of the consortium on the possible cancellation of the A400M aircraft. [HL1185]

There have been continuing discussions with partner nations on this topic, but it would not be appropriate to disclose any details of them.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have had any enquiries from any other members of NATO as to the possibility of buying the A400M aircraft. [HL1244]

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have had any enquiries from any other members of the Commonwealth as to the possibility of buying the A400M aircraft. [HL1245]

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have had any enquiries from any other members of the European Union as to the possibility of buying the A400M aircraft. [HL1246]

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have had any enquiries from any countries who are not members of NATO, the Commonwealth or the European Union as to the possibility of buying the A400M aircraft. [HL1247]

The A400M programme is managed by Airbus Military which also takes the lead for any potential sales beyond existing members of the programme, however, the UK, alongside the other partner nations, would support potential sales. The UK Government have received no approaches concerning the sale of A400M.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the order for the A400M aircraft had been cancelled as of 31 December 2009. [HL1248]

None of the aircraft ordered as part of the A400M launch contract has been cancelled to date.

As you may be aware, South Africa recently cancelled its order for eight A400M, however, these were additional aircraft and not part of the development of the core A400M programme, which is unaffected by this decision.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many orders they expect to be placed for the A400M aircraft in 2010 from countries who are not part of the manufacturing consortium. [HL1249]

We cannot provide a forecast of orders, this is the business of Airbus Military, but nations have agreed to support Airbus in its export drive.

To ask Her Majesty's Government for how many months they forecast the Royal Air Force will run a three aircraft fixed-wing transport fleet, should the order for the A400M aircraft continue. [HL1300]

After the C-130K goes out of service in 2012, the RAF's air transport requirements will be primarily met by the C-130J and the C-17, which have forecast out-of-service dates of 2030 and 2031 respectively, until A400M comes into service. FSTA, TriStar, VC10, BAe 146 and BAe 125 can also be used in a transport role. With a working assumption that A400M will be in service until 2045, under current planning assumptions the RAF would operate a three aircraft fixed-wing fleet dedicated to the transport role from around 2014 to 2030.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much degradation to the original specifications of the A400M aircraft would cause them to reduce their financial contribution to the programme. [HL1303]

There is no contractual mechanism for varying payments should the specification fall short, but nations would be able to reject aircraft failing to meet specified performance guarantees. All performance guarantees are expected to be met.