Kris Hopkins: Our troops deserve to wear the best of British uniforms

SHOULD it matter where the kit worn by our brave servicemen and women is made or, in times of huge economic difficulty such as we are experiencing at the moment, should we simply be seeking to get the best price for the UK taxpayer?

I pose this question because, as a newly-elected MP still struggling to get to grips with the inner workings of Whitehall departments, I found myself stumbling across some information which surprised me.

Prompted by a tenacious and commendably patriotic constituent in Ilkley, I tabled a written parliamentary question asking the Secretary of State for Defence to detail which companies manufacture the battlefield clothing and boots worn by British troops serving in Afghanistan.

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It was issue I had no difficulty in taking up. I am very proud to be a Conservative MP. But, as the saying goes, "once a squaddie, always a squaddie", and that is certainly the case with me.

During my time serving with the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, I cannot say for certain where my clothing and boots were made. In truth, my colleagues and I had relatively more important matters on our minds.

However, I would imagine that most of us probably assumed that our kit was manufactured back "home". This would undoubtedly have been our

wish – as, I assume, it would be for our heroic men and women now serving in uniform in Afghanistan.

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And this brings me back to the answer to my parliamentary question I received from Defence Minister Peter Luff – it was not quite what I was after. It listed four firms, three of them from the UK, under the heading "Prime Contractor/Supplier," but added: "The Department's relationship is with the prime contractor, who may choose to

subcontract out some or all of the manufacturing work."

I subsequently wrote to the Minister asking him to identify the names and locations of the firms which actually manufacture the kit. And it was this response which left me a little taken aback.

In summary, it revealed that our troops' battlefield clothing is currently made in China and Lithuania, their socks in China, their footwear in Germany, the Czech Republic and China, and their waterproof garments in Tunisia and Romania. Indeed, the only elements of a British soldier's kit not now made entirely overseas are their warm weather combat gloves – and one of the two firms that manufacture these is based in India.

Clearly, this situation raises a number of issues on which I have already written to Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

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Prime among these is the question of whether the kit worn by our Armed Forces should, in fact, be made in this country as a matter of course.

There can only be two arguments against this. The first is whether companies here have the technical expertise to manufacture the kit required, and I believe there can be little doubt that they do. Indeed, I can think of a number of firms in my constituency that would be extremely well-qualified to supply some of the items required – and, like so many other manufacturers across the country, would welcome

the work.

Added to this are the regular complaints we have heard in recent years, from anonymous soldiers and families of servicemen and women, that

the quality of clothing and footwear supplied to our service personnel is often sub-standard – to the point that a significant number have felt forced to purchase better quality kit themselves, or have it posted over.

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The second obvious counter to British firms being allowed, as of right, to supply kit is on grounds of cost. And it is here where I hope the

Defence Secretary will make a concerted effort to assist UK manufacturers.

One of the strongest commitments the new coalition Government has made thus far is to strip away bureaucracy, and there can be fewer more glaring areas for action than public sector procurement.

The process of tendering for local or central government contracts is grossly over-complicated and hugely expensive in terms of time and resources, often ruling many – particularly smaller – firms out of the running for work they could easily do.

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However, the shocking state of our nation's finances, as bequeathed by the previous Labour government, must dictate that strong action is taken to save public money in this area – and if that means challenging Brussels, then so be it.

For I believe most people in this country would wish and expect the kit supplied to our Armed Forces to be manufactured in the country they serve with pride, and I will continue to push for it to happen.

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