Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK jobs are either (a) directly and or (b) indirectly supported by the Skynet 5 programme.

The SKYNET 5 capability is delivered by a complex consortium of industry providers, led by Airbus Defence and Space UK. As a result of the dynamic nature of the capability, and changing operational demands, the number of jobs in direct support of SKYNET 5 is not constant.

The SKYNET 5 consortium of 30 companies can be split into Tier 1 (major partners), consisting of Airbus Defence and Space, SERCO and CGI and Tier 2 (minor partners). Across the Tier 1 suppliers, the current number of direct jobs in support of SKYNET 5 is estimated to be 517. In addition, the MOD's SKYNET 5 Delivery Team within Defence Digital employs 52 staff (a mixture of civil servants, military personnel and contractors).

It would not be possible to determine the number of staff employed directly or indirectly within the Tier 2 suppliers (or their wider supply chain) without incurring disproportionate cost.