Supplementary answer from the Ministry
of Defence (22 May 2000)
MR JOHN
HOWE'S
SECONDMENT TO
THOMSON-CSF
Mr John Howe will shortly leave his present
appointment as the Deputy Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement
Agency to take up a secondment with Thomson-CSF Plc.
The secondment is expected to last for two years
and is part of a Civil Service wide programme of interchange with
industry designed to improve understanding and co-operation between
the public and private sectors.
During the secondment Mr Howe will remain an
employee of the Ministry of Defence. The MoD will continue to
be responsible for payment of salary, pension contributions, Earnings
Related National Insurance Contributions (ERNIC) etc in accordance
with Civil Service rules. As part of the formal agreement between
the MoD and the company, the MoD will recover salary and other
costs at the rate equivalent to the Civil Service grade held by
the secondee.
All Civil Servants on secondment must conform
to the normal Civil Service rules and may not engage in any occupation
or undertaking which might in any way conflict with the interests
of the MoD or be inconsistent with their position as a public
servant.
An internal Whitehall competition is being conducted
to appoint Mr Howe's successor as Deputy Chief Executive of the
Defence Procurement Agency. Mr Howe takes up his new post on 30
May.
At a time of continuing consolidation in the
defence industry the secondment will be important to the MoD in
ensuring that the Company is able to provide the MoD with the
best possible value for money. Mr Howe will not be involved in
preparing bids or executing contracts for UK defence work. His
duties will include:
— Protection of security classified
information relating to both UK and overseas interests.
— Assisting with the company's relationship
with the US.
— Integration of the company's business
particularly from a Human Resources viewpoint.
— Chairmanship of certain subsidiaries.
— Advice on smart procurement and prime
contracting.
The Chief of Defence Procurement, Sir Robert
Walmsley, wrote on 9 March to six of the MoD's leading prime contractors,
advising them of Mr Howe's forthcoming secondment to Thomson-CSF.
He wrote in similar terms to the Director General of the Society
of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC). In his letter, Sir Robert
set out the background to the secondment and invited the recipients
to discuss with him any concerns they might have. No objections
were made; indeed support for the arrangement was expressed.
Mr Howe's secondment is part of the MoD's Interchange
programme, which has an important role in the wider Modernising
Government and civil service Reform Agenda. It is increasingly
important that the civil service should seek closer links with
other sectors of the economy in order to encourage and develop
innovative thinking, broader horizons and different skills. The
MoD, as a consequence of its close links with industry, has run
an Interchange Programme for many years and greatly values the
benefits that it brings. The MoD is aware of the need to protect
against actual or perceived conflict of interest issues and the
terms of our secondment agreements are carefully constructed to
that end.
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