Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there is a requirement for Defence Equipment and Support to give due consideration to Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's safety assessment notices.

The Defence and Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) are contracted by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Delivery Teams to provide independent safety advice.

As part of the safety management process DSTL staff have participated in the Ajax Hazard Working Groups and Ajax Safety Panels where they and other participants are able to raise their concerns for consideration by DE&S.

As set out in the Ajax Health and Safety Report, the Department missed opportunities to act on safety and risk management across the programme, including the extent to which DSTL concerns were taken into account. MOD agreed with the conclusions made in the report and its recommendations. We are now working towards their implementation. This will be examined by the follow-on review into Ajax.