(Secretary of
State for Defence): I have today laid before
the House a Departmental Minute describing the provision of
equipment and infrastructure worth £13.3 million to the Jordanian
Armed Forces over the period 2015-17 that was not previously
notified to Parliament.
The provision of equipment was treated as a grant-in-kind.
Following correspondence from the Chair of the Public Accounts
Committee in 2016, Departments which previously treated these
payments as gifts undertook to notify the House of Commons of any
such grant-in-kind of a value exceeding £300,000 and explaining
the circumstances; and to refrain from making the grant until
fourteen parliamentary sitting days after the issue of the
minute, except in cases of special urgency.
The granting of this equipment and infrastructure supported the
Jordanian Defence and Borders Programme and is fundamental to the
aims of the UK Government’s Strategy for Jordan. Delivery of
targeted areas of equipment and infrastructure support is an
integral part of the approach in order to assist Jordan in
developing the capability to protect its borders. In this case,
the equipment and infrastructure provided ranged from armoured
4x4 vehicles, IT, personal equipment (including protective
clothing) to administration, accommodation, training and
logistics buildings.
The activity was in support of the National Security Council
objectives and was funded through the Conflict, Security and
Stability Fund administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, the Department for International Development and the
Ministry of Defence.
The Ministry of Defence has conducted a detailed examination of
the errors made and has taken robust measures to ensure than an
oversight such as this does not occur again.
