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Nimrod Aircraft
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the star window upgrade to the Nimrod R.1 is expected to be completed. [22353]
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Mr. Soames: All the star window equipment for the Nimrod R.1 has been delivered. It is not my Department's policy, however, to provide detailed information on specific operational capabilities.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many unmanned aerial vehicles are in service with United Kingdom armed forces; and which service arms have operational control over them. [22588]
Mr. Soames: There are currently no unmanned aerial vehicles in operational service with the armed services. However, some 440 unmanned aerial vehicles are used at various Ministry of Defence ranges as targets or for target towing. They are operated by the Royal Navy, the Army or the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, or by contractors on behalf of the armed services.
Contracts
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts for goods or services have been awarded by his Department and its executive agencies on the basis of single negotiated contracts in each of the last three years; if he will list the companies involved and the value of the contract in each case; what percentage this represented of contracts awarded by his Department and its agencies after competitive tendering; and, in each case, why the contracts were awarded on the basis of a single negotiated tender. [22868]
Mr. Arbuthnot: For the statistical information requested, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him of 19 March, Official Report, columns 124-25. The information sought in respect of individual non-competitive contracts could be produced only at disproportionate cost. I have asked the chief executives of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency and of the Meteorological Office to write to the hon. Member in respect of their procurement activity in the period for which he seeks information.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 28 March 1996:
I hope this is helpful.
Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 28 March 1996:
As Chief Executive of the Meteorological Office I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about single negotiated contracts.
Unfortunately the information could only be produced at disproportionate costs, although naturally as an Agency of the Ministry of Defence we follow the Department's policy on competitive tendering. I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful.
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You asked the Secretary of State for Defence for the number and value of single negotiated tenders awarded by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; for a list of the companies involved, what percentage of contracts awarded this represented and on what basis single negotiated contracts were awarded. I am replying on behalf of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).
I am able to give you the total number of single negotiated contracts and the percentage of total contracts awarded that these represent. I cannot give you the other details you request as this information is commercially confidential.
Year Single negotiated contracts Percentage of total contracts
1992-93 873 69
1993-94 1,294 68
1994-95 8,894 74
Asbestos-related Compensation Payments
Sir Peter Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the letter of 11 March from the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, what was (a) the highest individual payment, (b) the lowest (c) the average of the asbestos-related compensation payments made to civilian employees of his Department from 1987 to the end of 1995. [22941]
Mr. Soames: In accordance with normal legal practice, the level of payments varies greatly accordingly to individual factors such as the person's loss of income, and the number and age of his dependants. The highest individual compensation payment made on behalf of my Department to a civilian employee or ex-employee in respect of an asbestos-related claim during the period in question was £298,080. The lowest was about £1,500. The average settlement--the total amount of compensation paid during the period divided by the number of claims paid--was £18,165; this figure includes claimants' legal costs.
Land Mines
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date his Department last deployed anti-personnel land mines for operational use. [23260]
Mr. Soames: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 22 November 1995, Official Report, column 174.
Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many anti-personnel land mines British forces have deactivated to date as part of their United Nation implementation force duties in Bosnia. [23261]
Mr. Soames: Under the terms of the Dayton agreement, the clearance of mines is the responsibility of the parties. IFOR's role is limited to monitoring their work, except where there is a serious threat to life or clearance is essential to IFOR's own operations. In accordance with this, British forces have deactivated some 160 anti-personnel mines.
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the impact of anti-personnel land mines on the duties carried out by British forces in the United Nations implementation force in Bosnia; and what conclusions his Department has drawn from the prevalence of anti-personnel mines in Bosnia. [23263]
Mr. Soames: Land mines continue to pose a hazard to IFOR forces in Bosnia, but steps have been taken to reduce the risks. All UK service personnel who deploy to Bosnia undergo mine awareness training and our contribution to IFOR includes personnel who are specially
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trained in explosive ordnance disposal. The damage caused by the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel mines in Bosnia reinforces our determination to press for tighter international controls on the use and export of these weapons.
EC (Civil Service Employment)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the implications of the European Communities (Employment in the Civil Service) Order 1991 for service in the regular or reserve armed forces of the Crown. [22919]
Mr. Soames: The European Communities (Employment in the Civil Service) Order 1991 has no direct effect on service in the regular or reserve armed forces of the Crown.
Pricing and Quality Services Organisation
Mr. Dicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence agency status for the pricing and quality services organisation. [23812]
Mr. Arbuthnot: I have decided that the pricing and quality services organisation should be considered as a candidate for defence agency status under the status steps initiative. The agency review process provides an opportunity to align more closely the provision of essential services to customer needs. Once complete, it will establish a framework that allows a much sharper focus on the need for those services, together with pressure to improve performance through the development of clear and rigorous targets.
Currently, there are four discrete business units within PQS:
A "prior options" study is being undertaken to establish whether agency status or other options would be appropriate. I would welcome comments from interested parties. Such comments should be sent to:
Mr. Hicks:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence agency status for the Army individual training organisation. [23958]
Mr. Soames:
The Army individual training organisation will become a defence agency of the Ministry of Defence on 1 April 1996. The aim of the AITO is to provide the appropriate numbers of
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well-trained and motivated individuals to meet the operational requirements of the Army. The headquarters of the AITO will be at Upavon, Wiltshire alongside the headquarters of the adjutant general who will be the owner of the agency on behalf of the Secretary of State. The agency will control 32 separate training centres throughout the United Kingdom and have a staff of 6,315 military and 4,546 civilian personnel.
The AITO chief executive, a major general, who will also be the Army's director general of individual training, will be required to build upon the current organisation's reputation for providing the Army with highly trained personnel while, at the same time, achieving greater efficiency effectiveness and value for money.
The chief executive has been set the following key targets for the first year of operation:
The directorate has approximately 935 staff located in 41 offices throughout the UK. The headquarters are currently located in central London and scheduled to transfer to Abbey Wood, Bristol, later this year.
(a) Support to Contract Pricing;
(b) Quality Assurance;
(c) Defence Cost Forecasting; and
(d) The Equipment Accounting Centre.
J. R. Brown
AD/PQS/PMIT
Ministry of Defence
Room 229
St. Georges Court
14 New Oxford Street
London WC1A 1EJ
1. To meet 95 per cent. of agreed customer training requirements in terms of the quality of trained manpower delivered.
I will arrange for copies of the agency's framework document to be placed in the Library of the House.
2. To meet 95 per cent. of agreed customer training requirements in terms of the quantity of trained manpower delivered.
3. To meet 95 per cent. of agreed customer training requirements in terms of timeliness of delivery.
4. To ensure success rates for phase 1 officer training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
5. To ensure success rates for phase 1 soldier training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
6. To ensure success rates for apprentices training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
7. To ensure success rates for phase 2 officer training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
8. To ensure success rates for phase 2 soldier training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
9. To ensure success rates for phase 3 officer training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
10. To ensure success rates for phase 3 soldier training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
11. To deliver the approved AITO programme within plus or minus 5 per cent. of agreed cash budget.
12. To achieve efficiency improvements of £16.07 million in the first year of operation.
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