The Clyde Commercial Framework supports the £1.3 billion Clyde programme to ensure that personnel responsible for delivering the UK’s continuous at sea nuclear deterrent are able to live work and train in safe, state of the art facilities.

The companies selected for the framework are VolkerStevin, Kier Graham Defence and Morgan Sindall. They will advise and deliver cost effective construction services and other infrastructure solutions to enable Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde to continue to endure in its new role as the Royal Navy’s Single Integrated Operating Base.

DIO, along with support from a team of procurement specialists including Mott Macdonald and Jacobs, adopted an innovative process to choose the successful suppliers.

In the past teams working on Clyde projects had tried various methods of contracting suppliers with varying degrees of success. All companies which bid for work on the Clyde programme could meet the core construction requirements of the contract, but through the new process the team was looking for an approach that could help them select not only a good construction company but a good partner.

Selection focused primarily on the company’s relationship with the Clyde team and its ability to work collaboratively. This new approach was put to potential bidders at a range of industry days and all were supportive of this new way of working.

This unique way of choosing suppliers, having established they all had the required technical capability, focused on evaluating their behaviours and on how well they work together with teams at the Clyde.

The Clyde team worked with behavioural experts to set out the criteria for successful companies. This team of experts then observed, scored and helped to evaluate the behaviours of each company as they took part in a series of practical exercises with members of the Clyde project teams. This included a series of interviews and workshops where companies worked together with the Clyde team to develop objectives, discuss how they would approach the work and how they would go about implementing their plans.

Ian Arbuckle, DIO Assistant Head of Commercial Services, said:

We are incredibly pleased to launch our new framework for the Clyde. We have successfully selected three reputable industry partners who have demonstrated a commitment to delivering better value for Defence.

The successful Framework contractors also commented on the new procurement process that it

Felt a refreshing way to do business, huge leap forward from a procurement perspective, and an enjoyable experience which they will learn a lot from.

This innovative approach supports the Modernising Defence Programme and ensures our Armed Forces capabilities and affordability are met. The long-term investment and collaborative approach will provide sustainable social and economic benefits for the local area.

Commodore Mark Gayfer, Naval Base Commander Clyde, said:

I am delighted that today we have put in place the framework to deliver the right infrastructure to ensure that we are able to continue to provide high quality support to our submarines and also our sailors and their families for the foreseeable future.

DIO’s Commercial Strategy was launched in 2017 and sets out our vision for future ways of working with suppliers in the soft and hard facilities management, construction and property advisory sectors.

Central to the strategy is the importance of a broad and more diverse supply base which increases value back to the taxpayer by generating wider competition. DIO aims to increase supplier numbers and create a genuinely competitive supply base which offers greater opportunities to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as larger suppliers.

The DIO Commercial Strategy direction for future DIO Procurement Plans.

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FireDragon, produced by 164-year-old Cardiff-based survival equipment manufacturers BCB International Ltd, is a pioneering new fuel used by British troops in-the-field to heat their combat rations, where regular catering facilities does not exist. Almost eight million of the tablets have now been supplied to the British Army.

Unlike alternative fuel tablets, FireDragon gives off no potentially harmful noxious fumes. It burns cleanly, is non-toxic and is made from sustainable natural ingredients.

The MOD’s contract with the Welsh manufacturer has an estimated value of £3.6 million, with the company supplying stoves and fuels to service personnel. The deal reinforces the department’s industrial commitment to companies around the UK, as well as the environment.

Defence Minister Guto Bebb said:

From fighter jets to fuel rations, it is essential that our troops have the best kit possible. FireDragon sees our armed forces benefit from a cleaner, safer and more sustainable fuel source.

BCB International has 164 years of industry experience in survival equipment, and this new production line will ensure the company can meet growing demand and continue to expand its workforce in the years ahead.

UK Government in Wales Minister Stuart Andrew said:

For decades, BCB International has been at the forefront of pioneering new innovative products that safeguard lives in extreme conditions around the world. Whether half way up a mountain, in the middle of the desert, deep in the jungle or in rough seas, their commitment to innovation can often mean the difference between life and death.

And this commitment continues to its workforce and to its operations in Wales. The opening of this new production line is a vote of confidence in the skills and expertise of its workforce and in the confidence the company has for continued growth in the future.

Fifteen new jobs will be created as a result of the £750,000 production line. FireDragon is a further example of the relationship between defence and Wales, where the MOD spends £300 for every member of the population, £20 more per person than last year. The work being done in Wales includes the UK’s biggest single order for an armoured vehicle in 30 years: the £4.5bn Ajax vehicles being built at General Dynamics’ Merthyr Tydfil factory.

In tribute to Wales and its capital city, the Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson recently named one of eight brand new, cutting-edge, anti-submarine warfare frigates, HMS Cardiff. She will go on to provide advanced protection for the likes of the UK’s nuclear deterrent and Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, and offer an unrivalled anti-submarine warfare capability.

BCB International’s Managing Director, Andrew Howell, said:

We are delighted to welcome the Minister to our FireDragon fuel facility. FireDragon is a safer and cleaner alternative. It is made from sustainable natural ingredients, it is non-toxic, burns cleanly, can be ignited even when wet and if necessary can be used as a hand cleanser.

The British Army were the first military to have the vision and make the switch to FireDragon. This move has encouraged other Armies to consider FireDragon as a fuel for the future.

Note to editors:

• BCB International Ltd (BCB) is contracted to supply Operational Ration Heaters (ORH) – consisting of stoves and associated fuel – to the UK Armed Forces. ORH is used to boil water for preparing hot drinks and heating pouched meals within the Operational Ration Packs (ORP).
• The fuel is supplied with a small lightweight cooker which can be packed with 3 FireDragon fuel blocks.
• The contract is a legacy MOD contract which is now managed by Team Leidos as part of the Logistics Commodities and Services (Transformation) contract.
• The four year ORH contract was awarded on 6 October 2015 and has an estimated value of £3.6 million.

For more information contact the MOD News Desk on 0207 218 7907 or the Defence Equipment & Support Press Office on 01179130537.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and French Minister of the Armed Forces Mme Florence Parly today (17 May) held the first Defence Ministerial Council since the announcement of a permanent and regular forum for the discussion of UK-France defence cooperation in January 2018. During the meeting a bespoke technical arrangement which will oversee the exchange of test pilots between the two nations was signed.

The agreement formalises an exchange enabling French pilots to train at the UK Empire Test Pilots’ School based at MOD Boscombe Down, and British pilots to train at the French Test Pilots’ School, Ecole du Personnel Navigant d’Essais et de Reception based on the Istres Le Tube Airbase. This reciprocal exchange of personnel ensures that the skills of military flight test, analysis and capability enhancement are shared between the Armed Forces of UK and France, further strengthening the UK’s relationship with France and building on the strong partnership between our armed forces.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

France is one of our most important allies and this agreement symbolises the importance of deep defence and security relationships. By participating in this exchange programme, we will strengthen understanding between our personnel.

We are the only two European powers willing and able to deploy and sustain significant military power and we will continue to work towards a special partnership for the future.

The UK and France have also successfully carried out the second development firing of the Sea Venom missile which will equip the Royal Navy and French Navy helicopters to prosecute a wide range of surface threats, from fast inshore attack craft up to corvette-sized vessels, including in coastal environments. Sea Venom has both ‘fire and forget’ mode as well as a ‘man in the loop’ capability, which allows full missile control until target impact.

French and British Armed Forces operate alongside each other in NATO, including as part of the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Estonia. The UK and France have been fighting Daesh together in Iraq and Syria, and last month launched coordinated strikes against Syrian regime chemical weapons stocks. The UK and French navies work together around the globe to uphold freedom of navigation and the laws of the sea, with UK personnel currently taking part in France’s Jeanne d’Arc naval deployment to the Asia-Pacific region, and are building on work last year to increase coordination of hurricane relief efforts in the Caribbean.

We are also developing cutting-edge defence capability projects together and deepening links across our Armed Forces, vital actions as both the UK’s National Security Capability Review and last year’s French Strategic Review of Defence and National Security described a world of rising instability and unpredictability – which is why we are conducting the Modernising Defence Programme to make sure we are configured to address the intensifying and complex threats that we are our allies now face.

Andy assumed the role of Temporary Chief Constable last July following the untimely death of Alf Hitchcock.

The MDP provides a range of specialist armed policing skills and capabilities that help to ensure the protection of Defence people, assets, information and the Defence estate. As Chief Constable, Andy will lead the MDP’s delivery of armed policing services to a range of Defence and external customers.

Andy joined the MDP in September 2015 as the Deputy Chief Constable, having previously served as the Deputy Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary. He has overseen the MDP’s ongoing programme of organisational reform and development, including the implementation of the new MDP Operational Policing Model and the MDP’s deployments under Operation Temperer.

Julie Taylor, Director General Head Office and Commissioning Services said:

I am delighted that Andy has been appointed as Chief Constable for the MDP. Having worked for the Force since 2015 he has a comprehensive and effective understanding of the emerging threats facing our Armed Forces and the country. He’ll continue to take the Force from strength-to-strength and I look forward to continuing to work with him closely.

Sir Brian Burridge, Chair of the MOD Police Committee, said:

As the new Chief Constable of the MOD’s specialist police force, Andy Adams brings an extensive wealth of experience from across the spectrum of policing. This will be vital in transforming the MDP in order to meet tomorrow’s complex security challenges.

Andy Adams, Chief Constable of the MDP, said:

I am absolutely thrilled to have been appointed as the Chief Constable of the MDP and look forward to leading the Force and continuing our important work, protecting our people at home and overseas.
“I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me whilst in the role of Temporary Chief Constable.

Andy formally takes up post with immediate effect.

They will be joined at the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, by nearly 300 family members and friends who lost loved ones in terrorist attacks abroad.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will lead the ceremony to dedicate the memorial, entitled Still Water, which was designed by Alison Wilding and Adam Kershaw.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Defence People and Veterans, who has led on the delivery of the Memorial and whose brother was killed in the 2002 Bali bombing will also attend.

Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Defence People and Veterans said:

Today is a day when we remember the lives of those who were tragically taken in terrorist attacks abroad.

I know from personal experience that in times of pain we must come together to support and help one another. This memorial stands as a symbol of our unity against violence and hatred and will be a peaceful space for families to remember their loved ones.

It is hoped that the memorial will become a place of reflection, remembrance and contemplation for anyone who has been affected by terrorism.