31st Jan 2008 13:33
QinetiQ Group plc31 January 2008 QinetiQ Group plc 31 January 2008 Ministry of Defence written statement on Defence Training Review (DTR)Rationalisation Programme QinetiQ Group plc ('QinetiQ'), the international defence and security technologycompany, draws attention to the following written statement on the Defence Training Review (DTR) Rationalisation programme, issued by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) today, the full text of which is included below. Responding to today's announcement by the Minister of State for the Armed Forcesregarding the DTR programme, Graham Love, Chief Executive Officer at QinetiQsaid: "We welcome the commitment shown to Package 1 in today's statement. It isan important milestone towards the delivery of the largest part of the DTRProgramme. The Programme and the Metrix solution provide the chance to make astep change in training delivery supported by a bespoke environment fortri-service training for the 21st century. We continue to expect to reachfinancial close on Package 1 in 2009 and will continue to support any work withthe customer to develop options for Package 2." QinetiQ is a joint lead company in Metrix UK, a consortium that was appointedpreferred bidder on Package 1 and provisional preferred bidder on Package 2under the Government's DTR programme in January 2007. For further informationsee: www.MetrixUK.com. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth):"This statement updates the House on the Defence Training Review (DTR)Rationalisation Programme and BORONA Programme following announcements made lastyear on DTR on 25 October 2007 (Official Report, column 15WS) and BORONA on 12September 2007 (Official Report, column 122WS). The BORONA Programme willestablish HQ ARRC, 1 Signal Brigade and 102 Logistics Brigade in enduring basesin the UK. Work continues on DTR Package 1, which aims to deliver training for Engineeringand Communications and Information Systems at a new site at St Athan in SouthWales. It is still anticipated that the Department will be in a position toconsider the main investment decision in the spring of this year. As part ofthis work to secure contract signature as soon as possible for Package 1, aprogramme of risk reduction work to the value of £9.5M has been proposed withthe Metrix Consortium. A Departmental Minute outlining this activity was laid inthe House on 29 January. The proposed activities will be focused on the propertyand the estate, in particular securing planning consent, and development of thetraining solution. The cost of this work is included in Metrix's overall bid andis at no additional cost to the Department. After reviewing further options for Package 2, which aims to provide trainingfor Logistics and Personnel Administration, Police and Guarding, Security,Languages, Intelligence and Photography, it has become apparent that the MetrixConsortium is not able to offer an affordable and acceptable Package 2 solutionand, as a consequence, the competition has been brought to a close. The decisionhas therefore been taken to remove Provisional Preferred Bidder status fromMetrix. This does not have any impact on the Department's commitment to the DTRProgramme, and particularly in pursuing a Package 1 Metrix solution with vigour,but it does allow the Department to focus its efforts on alternative approachesfor Package 2, which are not legally constrained by the original terms of theprocurement. These alternatives may continue to be open to Metrix and otherpotential industry partners. Options will continue to aim to rationalise andimprove the estate, maintain the Department's commitment to its supervisory careresponsibilities under the Blake agenda, and match the scale of investment intraining modernisation to what is affordable. A further DTR update on bothPackages will be provided later this year after the appropriate investmentdecisions are made. In addition, I wish to advise the House on Defence Estate solutions related toboth the DTR and BORONA Programmes. Following the announcement to releasePrincess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, for disposal on 8 January 2008 (OfficialReport, column 7WS), and further work on the Defence estate, an agreement hasbeen reached that, in principle, the Defence College of Logistics and PersonnelAdministration (DCLPA) and the Director Royal Logistics Corps (DRLC) willrelocate to Worthy Down and Southwick Park. This move, which will consolidateelements of DCLPA and logistics training already on these sites, will allow theclosure of the Deepcut site, currently anticipated to be not before 2013. A decision has also been taken that, under the BORONA Programme, both 1 SignalBrigade and 102 Logistics Brigade returning from Germany will move to Cosford.This will maintain a significant long term Defence presence on this site andcontinue to provide the associated benefits that this brings to the localcommunity and to the West Midlands following the relocation of the DTR Package 1units currently based there. Furthermore, Metrix propose to establish a LearningCentre and Design facility at the Cosford site which may also generate otherbusiness and employment opportunities for the local area. The BORONA Programme Team (BPT) will now develop proposals to deliverconstruction and service requirements at Cosford. In addition, the BPT will alsodraw up detailed plans and undertake wide consultation with all interestedparties, including local authorities, health, education and welfare providers aswell as the trades unions. A key piece of this consultation work will involvecommunication and discussion with the German authorities and with our locallyengaged workforce in Germany and their representatives. This detailed planningand consultation will review all possible options and will result inrecommendations, including the actual timings of the moves, being made for afinal investment decision in Spring 2009. The implications of these moves on our people will continue to be handledsensitively and in full consultation with Trade Unions and staff. However, bothof these estate solutions are still subject to the appropriate final investmentdecision being made, after which further updates will be announced." Contacts: QinetiQ investor relations: Adrian Colman +44 1252 395366 / +44 7740 [email protected] QinetiQ press office: David Bishop +44 1252 394573 / +44 7920 [email protected] This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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