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Goods Vehicles
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 27, for what reasons he does not collect figures for the number of objections received in the renewal of goods vehicle operator licences.
Mr. Key : The Department collects figures for the number of objections to all types of applications and these are held on computer. It would be possible to collate the information for the number of objections to renewals of goods vehicle operator licences received but for 1991-92 and 1992-93 that could be done only at disproportionate cost. This is because a special computer programme would be needed to extract the necessary information.
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Guide to Making Representations"
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in which month and year the last two editions of his "Guide to Making Representations" were printed.
Mr. Key : The goods vehicle operator licensing "Guide to Making Representations" was first published in October 1986. A revised edition of the guide was published in October 1992.
Rail Privatisation
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to ensure that his target of at least 51 per cent. of British Rail being privatised by April 1996 is met ; what assurances he has received from the Franchising Director that this target will be met ; and what penalties and measures are available to him to take action if the target is not met.
Mr. Freeman : The Secretary of State has set for the Franchising Director the targets of commencing the competitive process for the first six franchises by the end of 1994, awarding the first six franchises by the end of 1995, and securing that 51 per cent. or more of the railway passenger services currently operated by BR are provided under franchise agreements by 1 April 1996. It will be for the Franchising Director to achieve these targets, and the franchising programme he announced on 21 April indicates how he intends to do so. We have no reason to believe that these targets will not be met. Should a problem arise which would result in the targets not being met we would need to consider with the Franchising Director what action would be appropriate in the particular circumstances of the case.
Prohibition Notices
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report , column 389 , if he will provide a breakdown of the reasons for the issue of immediate prohibitions against passenger-carrying vehicles in 1992-93.
Mr. Key : The information is not held in the form requested and could be produced at only disproportionate cost. However, an analysis of all prohibitions by defect type is available for 1992-93 and is as follows.
Defect |Number of
|times
|occurred
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seat belts |0
Diesel smoke emission |259
Road wheels and hubs |67
Size and type of tyres |3
Condition of tyres |150
Bumper bars |3
Spare wheel/carrier |6
Vehicle/trailer coupling |0
Coupling on trailer |1
Trailer landing legs |3
Wings and wheel arches |3
Cab security |0
Passenger doors, drivers doors and emergency exits |255
Drivers accommodation |16
Driving seat |13
Security of body |17
Exterior of body, including access doors/luggage flaps |139
Interior of body, passenger entrance, exit steps and platforms |321
Mirrors |2
View to the front |6
Condition of windows, glass or other transparent material |38
Windscreen wipers and washers |50
Speedometer |1
Audible warning (horn) |5
Driving controls |70
Tachograph |3
Play at steering wheel |8
Steering wheel |5
Steering column |6
Speed limiter |0
Pressure/vacuum warning |4
Build Up of Pressure Vacuum |15
Hand Lever Operating Mechanical Brakes |20
Service Brake Pedal |4
Service Brake Operation |6
Hand Operated Brake Control Valves |5
Condition of Chassis |40
Electrical Wiring and Equipment |48
Engine and Transmission Mountings |15
Oil and Waste Leaks |325
Fuel Tanks and Systems |275
Exhaust and Waste Systems |112
Suspension Pins and Bushes |71
Suspension Spring Units and Linkages |145
Attachment of Spring Units, Linkages and Sub-Frame |90
Shock Absorbers |27
Axles, Stub Axles and Wheel Bearings |16
Steering Linkage |112
Steering Gear |29
Power Steering |71
Transmission |57
Additional Braking Devices |1
Mechanical Brake Components |58
Brake Actuators |54
Braking Systems and Components |220
Rear Markings |1
Front Position of Front End Outline Marker |24
Rear Position, Rear End Outline Marker, Rear Fog and Rear Registration Lamps |15
Reflectors |3
Direction Indicators and Hazard Warning Lamps |44
Aim of Headlamps |23
Headlamps |50
Stop Lamps |55
Trailer Parking Brake |0
Service Brake Performance |94
Secondary Brake Performance |52
Parking Brake Performance |104
Addition Brakes Performance |2
Annual Team Item |1
Other |19
Public Appointments
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many persons are employed by (a) the British Railways Board, (b) the regulator, (c) the Franchising Director, (d) Railtrack and (e) train operating companies on salaries in excess of £30,000 per annum.
Mr. Freeman : BR employs 1,228 staff with salaries in excess of £30,000 per annum : the regulator, 17 ; the Franchising Director, 17 ; and Railtrack, 349. Staff employed in the train operating units are still employees of BR and are included in BR's total.
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Red Warning Vehicles Scheme
Ms Coffey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what increase in the licensing of vehicles there has been resulting from the national red warning vehicles scheme launched by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 1993.
Mr. Key [holding answer 28 April 1994] : The windscreen warning notice scheme started as a pilot in 1992 and was extended throughout England and Wales early in 1993.
We estimate that in 1991-92, before the start of the scheme, some 115,000 evaders or would-be evaders were encouraged to relicense their vehicles as a direct result of vehicle excise duty enforcement activity, realising some £8.4 million in revenue that would otherwise not have been collected. In 1993-94, with the scheme in full operation, an estimated 345,000 motorists were encouraged to relicense, with a revenue recovery of some £27.9 million.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Press Releases
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for York (Mr. Bayley) of 18 April, Official Report, column 365, if he will ensure that all Government news releases are transmitted electronically to POLIS at the same time as they are placed in the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
Mr. Waldegrave : Distribution of news releases is a matter for individual Departments.
DEFENCE
Reserve Forces
Mr. Colvin To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what percentage of the Regular Reserves in 1993 (a) responded to questions as to their suitability for military service and (b) provided full details as to their medical conditions ;
(2) how frequently the information which is held centrally by each service on the suitability for military service of members of the Regular reserve is (a) updated and (b) verified with individual reservists.
Mr. Hanley : Information on the suitability for military service of members of the Royal Fleet Reserve and the Regular Army Reserve is provided by personnel completing an annual questionnaire, which includes a section on the individual's medical condition. The Royal Navy introduced a postal reporting system in July 1993 and in the first six months some 1,300 members of the Royal Fleet Reserve were contacted, of whom approximately 50 per cent. replied. The Army's Regular Reserve use a similar system, and at the end of 1993 about 55 per cent. of those contacted had responded.
The Royal Air Force system requires the reservist to inform his management centre only when his or her circumstances change. In 1993, less than 1 per cent. of the reserve strength did so.
Column 389
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the respective roles of the Army Reserve, Army service pensioners with recall liability and the Army's Long-term Reserve.
Mr. Hanley : Ex-Regular Army reservists can be used in the following roles regardless of the category of reserve to which they belong :
a. To provide reinforcements to bring regular and TA units and headquarters up to their war establishment.
b. To provide Battle Casuality Replacements.
c. To form sub-units for Home Defence tasks.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service pensioners have a recall liability.
Mr. Hanley : The numbers of service pensioners excluding officers who had a recall liability at 31 March 1994 are as follows rounded to the nearest 100 :
|Number
-------------------------------
Royal Navy: |11,300
Royal Marines: |1,000
Army: |32,900
Royal Air Force: |21,900
The liability of ex-Regular officers for recall is not dependent on receipt of a pension, and information in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions, and in what numbers, men of the Army Reserve have been called out for training over the past five years (a) for a period not exceeding 15 days and (b) for a period not exceeding 36 hours.
Mr. Hanley : The number called out once annually for training since 1989 are as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1989-90 |54,719
1990-91 |53,559
1991-92 |47,278
1992-93 |Nil
1993-94 |Nil
On all of these occasions the training period did not exceed 36 hours.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the sequence of call-out of all components of the Army Reserves under section 10 of the Reserve Forces Act 1980 when it appears to Her Majesty's Government that national danger is imminent or a great emergency has arisen.
Mr. Hanley : Section 10 of the Reserve Forces Act 1980 applies directly to the Territorial Army and Army Reserve. There is no restriction on the order in which they or any other Army reservists are called out.
The Act also provides that when members of the Army Reserve are called out for permanent service under section 10, Army pensioners may be recalled under section 32(1) and men of the Army Long-term Reserve may be recalled for service under section 34(1).
Call-out of members of the Regular Army Reserve of Officers--RARO--is governed by the Pay Warrant 1964,
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article 285. It provides that class I of RARO, which includes most ex-Regular officers, may be called-out if the call-out of Army reservists has been ordered when national danger is imminent or a great emergency has arisen.Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria were used, and what specialist training was required, in respect of those members of the Regular Reserve called out during the Gulf conflict.
Mr. Hanley : Regular Reserves were called out during the Gulf conflict to fill specific posts. The selection process was designed to identify individuals who, because of their experience and qualifications, needed only the minimum of training to achieve operational readiness in those posts.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Territorial Army units are between two thirds and 80 per cent. recruited.
Mr. Hanley : As at 1 April 1994 there were 10 Territorial Army units between two-thirds and 80 per cent. recruited. They are as follows :
Unit |District |Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
102 Battalion Royal Electrical and |Eastern District |67
Mechanical Engineers
77 Engineer Regiment |Eastern District |73
Scots Yeomanry |Scotland |67
32 Signal Regiment |Scotland |77
205 Field Hospital |Scotland |68
2 Wessex |Southern District|80
103 Battalion Royal Electrical |Southern District|72
and Mechanical Engineers
203 Field Hospital |Wales and Western|74
|District
31 Signal Regiment |London |75
257 Field Hospital |London |70
Imphal Barracks
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what vacant office space there will be at Imphal barracks, York, once the pay and manning function has completed its relocation.
Mr. Hanley : The move of the Infantry and Royal Artillery manning and record offices and the regional pay office will release approximately 32,895 sq ft of office space at Imphal barracks.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the cost of maintaining the office buildings at Imphal barracks during 1994 -95.
Mr. Hanley : The estimated cost of maintaining the office buildings at Imphal barracks for financial year 1994-95 is £40,000.
Officer Training Corps
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the established strength and the actual strength as at 1 January of the Officer Training Corps.
Mr. Hanley : As at 1 January 1994 the established strength of the Officer Training Corps was 4,884 and the actual strength was 5,579. The higher number in actual strength results from permitted overbearing during the
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recruitment process between October and April of each year. Numbers are planned to reduce to the established strength by 1 April each year.Air Vice Marshal Colville
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the salary and financial value of other benefits paid to Air Vice Marshal Colville as Air Officer Commanding as at 31 March ; and what will be his payments from 1 April as chief executive of the Training Group Defence Agency.
Mr. Hanley : The rate of salary and range of allowances to which Air Vice Marshal Colville is entitled as a two-star officer filling a command appointment are unaffected by his appointment as chief executive of the Training Group Defence Agency.
The salary of two-star officers on 31 March 1994 was £56,710.05. On 1 April 1994, it was increased to £59,794.30 on payment of the 1994-95 pay award and the final stage of the 1992 pay award for senior military personnel.
In respect of his current appointment, Air Vice Marshal Colville is entitled to an entertainment allowance of £8.73 per day. In common with all service personnel, he is entitled to claim various allowances appropriate to his domestic and personal circumstances.
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Clothing and Textiles Directorate
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take into account when determining the location of the clothing and textiles directorate the loss of civilian jobs in York and surrounding areas caused by the relocation of Ministry of Defence functions.
Mr. Hanley : Full account is being taken of civilian job losses at all Ministry of Defence establishments where the reduction of a task or a closure has given rise to surplus accommodation which could be considered for an alternative defence requirement. This includes the sites at Imphal barracks and Strensall barracks in York and MOD sites in Harrogate.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the criteria being applied by consultants in identifying a suitable site for the clothing and textiles directorate.
Mr. Hanley : The criteria being applied to identify a site or sites for the directorate of clothing and textiles authority are that it should be located to the best advantage to the authority while offering the best value for money.
Civilian Employees
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by region the number of Ministry of Defence civilian employees in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.
Mr. Hanley : Civilian employees include scientists, engineers, security and medical staff and many other disciplines, as well as administrators. The overall numbers are as follows :
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Economic planning |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
region
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South East |57,798.5 |58,339.5 |57,007.0 |55,230.0 |46,836.0
East Anglia |2,552.5 |2,506.5 |2,537.0 |2,694.0 |2,667.5
South West |30,019.0 |29,939.0 |29,756.5 |28,882.5 |28,398.0
West Midlands |8,762.5 |8,775.5 |8,820.0 |8,721.0 |8,510.0
East Midlands |3,470.5 |3,407.0 |3,658.5 |3,753.0 |3,831.5
Yorks and Humberside |5,850.0 |5,889.0 |5,685.0 |5,397.5 |5,167.5
North West |2,949.5 |2,974.0 |2,967.0 |2,858.0 |2,729.5
Northern |3,107.0 |3,081.0 |3,038.5 |2,929.0 |2,727.0
Wales |5,566.5 |5,530.5 |5,490.0 |5,436.0 |5,026.0
Scotland |12,314.5 |12,151.5 |11,984.0 |11,735.0 |11,624.0
Northern Ireland |2,688.5 |2,646.5 |2,632.5 |2,782.0 |2,933.0
Elsewhere in United Kingdom |3.0 |3.0 |3.0 |2.0 |0.0
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total United Kingdom |135,082 |134,243 |133,579 |130,420 |120,450
Ammunition
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 19 April, Official Report, column 501, what was the total cost of (a) the L15 rounds and (b) the M107 rounds referred to and the present item cost of each round.
Mr. Hanley : The total cost of the F15 rounds was about £55,000,000 and that of the M107 rounds about £70,000,000. It is not the practice of my Department to disclose current prices as they are commercially confidential.
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PINDAR Bunker
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many crisis and contingency plans exist for the use of PINDAR bunker ; what is the staffing level for each of these ; how many exercises have so far been held in the PINDAR bunker ; and how many are planned ;
(2) if he will make a statement on the role and function of the PINDAR bunker ; and when PINDAR was first declared to have its full operational capability ;
(3) which categories of persons have spaces allocated for them in PINDAR ; and how many spaces are allocated in the PINDAR bunker for each job function.
Mr. Hanley : The purpose of the PINDAR joint operations centre is to provide the Government with a protected crisis management facility. It became operational on 7 December 1992. A number of crisis and contingency
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plans exist for the use of PINDAR and the centre is manned by a permanent staff, which is augmented as necessary in times of crisis. There are a number of categories of personnel allocated space in PINDAR, including Ministers, senior military and civilian personnel, plus service and civilian operational and support staff. It would not be appropriate to give any more detailed information than this as it would relate to operational capability.There have been two major exercises and a number of small ones held there to date, and it is planned to hold one major and a varying number of minor exercises each year.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many toilet (a) cubicles and (b) urinals are installed in the PINDAR bunker ; and how long the toilet facilities in the PINDAR bunker are planned to last if it was sealed from the outside world.
Mr. Hanley : There are sufficient toilet facilities provided for the full complement of the site. These facilities are usable as long as power within the site is maintained for pumping waste.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provisions have been made for the occupants to escape the PINDAR bunker in the event that the building above it has collapsed on top of it.
Mr. Hanley : A variety of routes exist which would enable the occupants to escape from the facility in the event that the building above it had collapsed.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the location of the PINDAR bunker ; how many square metres of space it comprises ; and on how many levels.
Mr. Hanley : The PINDAR facility is located beneath the Ministry of Defence main building in Whitehall. Details of its size and layout are of an operational nature and it is not our practice to reveal such information.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will place plans of the PINDAR bunker in the Library ;
(2) at what depth below the surface is (a) the highest and (b) the lowest level of the PINDAR bunker.
Mr. Hanley : It is not our practice to reveal information of this kind as it relates to operational capability.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) lifts and (b) staircases connect the PINDAR bunker with the surface level ; and what transport systems connect the PINDAR bunker to other sites.
Mr. Hanley : There are sufficient means of access and egress from the PINDAR facility.
The facility is not connected to any transport system.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost of the PINDAR bunker from conception to operational status ; and from which subheads of which votes the funds for PINDAR were taken.
Mr. Hanley : The total cost of the PINDAR facility has been £126, 300,000 of which £66,300,000 was spent on the civil works programme. All costs since 1989 have been charged against vote subheads 2L2 and 2M5. Prior to this date civil works costs were charged against vote 4.
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Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many beds are contained in the PINDAR bunker.
Mr. Hanley : There are sufficient bunks within the PINDAR facility for the full complement when working a three-shift system.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long the catering facilities in the PINDAR bunker are planned to last if sealed from the outside world.
Mr. Hanley : Catering facilities within the PINDAR facility are designed to support operations for as long as is considered operationally necessary.
Diver Mist
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement about Exercise Diver Mist ;
(2) which parts of the final exercise evaluation report of Exercise Diver Mist will be made public.
Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 25 April, Official Report, columns 84-85.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total financial cost to Her Majesty's Government of Exercise Diver Mist ; and from which subheads of which votes these costs were taken.
Mr. Hanley : The costs attributable to exercise Diver Mist are not separately identified within departmental budgets and the information requested could therefore only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) British and (b) United States personnel were involved in Exercise Diver Mist.
Mr. Hanley : Approximately 700 British and 800 United States personnel were involved in Exercise Diver Mist at the site at Barnham in Suffolk.
Costs Study
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the defence costs study ; when the defence costs study started ; and when it is expected to be completed.
Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 7 December 1993 at column 176 . The defence costs study was formally launched on 1 December 1993. We hope to be in a position to make an announcement about its outcome before the summer recess.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 15 April, Official Report, column 348 , which of the reports from the defence costs study he has received are final reports ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : Ministers have now seen final reports from 31 of the 33 individual defence costs studies.
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