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NHS Management (Salaries)

Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of staff on each point of the senior managers scale in the NHS pay spine; and what is the number of female staff on each spine point. [23731]

Mr. Malone: This information is not available centrally.

NHS Divisional Chief Executives

Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the pay of each regional chief executive of NHS regional suppliers in each of the last five years. [23420]

Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally, as it is an operational matter for national health service supplies. Divisional chief executives of NHS supplies are paid on the same scale as a district general manager 2, which from 1 September 1995 ranges from £47,980 to £69,180.

Health Authority Chief Executives (Remuneration)

Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the total remuneration for each district health authority's chief executive for 1993-94. [23554]

Mr. Malone: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 16 February 1995, column 808.

NHS Trusts (Executive Pay)

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the payments made in each NHS trust to (a) chairs, (b) non-executive directors, (c) chief executives and (d) executive directors in each year since 1993-94. [21562]

Mr. Malone [holding answer 18 March 1996]: Information as extracted from the annual accounts of national health service trusts for 1994-95 will be placed in the Library. The payments listed represent remuneration in respect of the total gross salary, bonus payments, monetary value of benefits in kind, taxable expenses allowances and pension contributions in relation to the offices described rather than to an individual. They may also include remuneration in respect of services other than directorships, such as clinical duties.

DEFENCE

Departmental Staff (Working Hours)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons in his Department worked in excess of 48 hours per week in any of the last 52 weeks; and what percentage of the staff employed this represents. [21505]

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Mr. Arbuthnot: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Pay and Personnel Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from A. P. Isaacs to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 29 March 1996:

You asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons in his Department worked in excess of 48 hours per week in any of the last 52 weeks; and what percentage of the staff employed this represents.
2. The number of staff recorded as being paid for overtime which took their hours worked to over 48 hours in a week is 10,624 non-industrials and 21,716 industrial staff, which represents approximately 10% and 58% respectively of the Department's staff employed in these groups during the 52 weeks up to the end of February 1996.
3. However, no records are held centrally of the hours worked either by senior staff not eligible for paid overtime or those on flexible working schemes.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) research, (b) development and (c) procurement studies for unmanned aerial vehicles his Department has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated. [22590]

Mr. Arbuthnot: My Department maintains an active programme of research into technologies relevant to unmanned aerial vehicles, focusing on uses in support roles such as surveillance, target acquisition and communication relay. Development studies are in progress on more realistic targets for air-to-air weapon systems, which could have wider application to UAVs. A study into alternative systems to meet the Army's Phoenix requirement has been undertaken, while an agreed programme of work is conducted by the contractor at its own expense. This study assessment has been completed and is now being evaluated.

Anti-personnel Fragmentation Grenades

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice his Department has given to Compass Safety International in respect of the description of anti-personnel fragmentation grenades since 1987. [22972]

Mr. Arbuthnot: I am not aware of any advice provided by my Department to Compass Safety International in respect of the description of anti-personnel fragmentation grenades.

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's classification of anti-personnel fragmentation grenades. [22970]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Anti-personnel fragmentation grenades are classified as high explosives.

Married Quarters

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what study has been carried out into examples overseas, with particular reference to Australia, of selling the armed forces married quarters estate to private property developers; and what have been its conclusions.[23068]

Mr. Arbuthnot: We have studied the defence housing arrangements of both the French and the Australian Governments, and in particular the latter's experience in

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establishing a defence housing authority. We are not aware of any overseas parallels to our current proposals for the transfer of the married quarters estate in England and Wales to the private sector.

Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the main terms proposed for the sale of the married quarters estate, indicating the variations from the terms of sale of local authority housing by means of large-scale voluntary transfer under sections 135 and 136 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. [23106]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The main terms proposed for the sale of the married quarters estate in England and Wales were set out in the preliminary information memorandum published on 30 November 1995, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House. The proposed sale cannot readily be compared with large-scale voluntary transfers, as is illustrated by the fact that those properties which are required to accommodate service families will be transferred on a leasehold basis and rented back to my Department.

Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assumptions his Department has made on the anticipated level of income from rents from the married quarters estate over the period (a) five, (b) 10, (c) 20 and (d) 30 years. [23105]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The level of married quarters charges recovered from occupants by my Department in future years will depend upon future recommendations on charges by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, and on the take-up of married quarters by entitled personnel. Our assumptions concerning the level of rents payable by my Department to the future owners of the married quarters estate in England and Wales are commercially confidential.

Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance is being offered to potential purchasers of the married quarters estate towards the cost of renovating the properties; and under what provisions this is being offered. [23104]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Under the terms of the sale, maintenance and renovation of quarters leased by my Department will be its responsibility for the duration of the relevant leases. Maintenance and renovation of surplus quarters which are passed over to the owners of the estate--whether at the outset or subsequently on the termination of leases--will be a matter for those owners.

Portland Naval Base

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to sign a contract with Portland Port Ltd. for the sale of Portland naval base; and if he will make a statement. [23553]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Contracts for the sale of Portland naval base to Portland Port Ltd. will be exchanged today, when the purchaser will take possession and accept responsibility for the site.

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Service Children (Education)

Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about Defence Agency status for service children's education. [24412]

Mr. Soames: On 1 April 1996, the existing Service Children's Schools (North West Europe) defence agency and the Service Children's Education Authority will be merged to become a new defence agency to be known as Service Children's Education. The aim of SCE will be to provide or ensure an efficient and effective education service for dependent children residing with MOD personnel serving outside the United Kingdom; and to provide advice and support to service parents on the provision of local education authority, grant-maintained and independent education to service children in the United Kingdom. The new defence agency will be owned by the Adjutant General on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence. The location of the SCE headquarters is under review but it will initially be based at Rheindahlen in Germany, with a small advisory branch in Worthy Down, Hampshire. The defence agency's 58 schools will be responsible for educating some 14,500 pupils and are located in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sardinia, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Belize, Falklands, Brunei, Naples and Viborg.

The chief executive will be required to build upon the SCS(NWE) and SCEA reputation for providing a high standard of service and to achieve even better value for money. The chief executive has been set the following key targets for the first year of operation:

1. To sustain an effective education service overseas which is comparable to sound UK practice, the agency will:
Exceed the United Kingdom Local Education Authority average percentage of pupils gaining GCSE grades A to C in five or more subjects by 2 per cent.
Achieve A-level pass rates at grades A to C that equal the UK average percentage.
Achieve an overall percentage pass rate for BTEC diploma of 90 per cent.
Exceed the UK average percentage pass rate at standard attainment tasks and tests at ages seven, 11 and 14 in English, maths and science by 2 per cent.
Achieve as a minimum a satisfactory standard in each Ofsted school inspection.
2. Formulate policy and seek approval for an overseas nursery education scheme by 30 June 1996.
3. Have three establishments and supporting organisations gaining accreditation in investors in people.
4. Introduce comprehensive monitoring, reporting and evaluation management procedures by 31 March 1997.
5. Achieve an overall efficiency improvement of 4 per cent. of which 2.5 per cent. will be achieved through a reduction in unit costs and the remainder through improved academic performance.
6. Introduce a new estate management system by 31 March 1997.
7. Implement an educationally sound programme of contact between all schools and their host nations, "partner" schools or local communities by 31 March 1997.
8. Achieve an index of satisfaction with service children's education within the Army's wives continuous attitude survey above 350.
9. Achieve the Treasury accounts direction by 31 March 97.

I have arranged for copies of the agency's framework document to be placed in the Library of the House.

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