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DEFENCE
Customer Charters
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) the customer charters which are currently in use within his Department and its executive agencies and (b) the charters which have been withdrawn. [32830]
Mr. Arbuthnot: My Department keeps no central record of the customer charters which are currently in use. Many areas of the Ministry of Defence have drawn up statements of the service standards which they have committed themselves to provide to internal or external customers as appropriate. Of the Ministry of Defence's agencies, the Pay and Personnel Agency and the Meteorological Office have customer charters. The Defence Secondary Care Agency and the Queen Victoria School abide by the national patient's charter and the Scottish parents charter, respectively. None of the Department's agencies' customer charters has been withdrawn.
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Porton Down
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons files with the classmarks WO 188/473-4, WO 188/652 and WO 188/656 recorded at the Public Record Office concerning the work of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down are currently retained by his Department; and if he will consider opening them under the open government initiative. [34467]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Arrangements are being made to review the papers listed at the Public Record Office under references WO 188/473-4, WO 188/652 and WO 188/656 to establish whether release into the public domain is now possible. I will write to the hon. Member on completion of the review process.
Property Sales
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the amount of revenue received by his Department from the sale of ex-military accommodation in the United Kingdom during 1995. [34632]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The receipts from the disposal of married quarters are not recorded separately from the receipts from the sale of other property and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Overall disposal receipts for financial year 1995-96 were £63.4 million.
Decimomannu
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the last RAF deployments to Decimomannu will take place; what range facilities will be used for the training currently undertaken at Decimomannu; and what is the estimated saving from ceasing to use Decimomannu. [34642]
Mr. Soames: It is currently envisaged that RAF flying will cease at Decimomannu in autumn 1997. Some of the training currently undertaken there will be transferred to existing ranges in the UK and Germany, where spare capacity exists. It is expected that the decision to withdraw from Decimomannu will save some £8 million to £10 million per annum.
RAF Deployment (Arizona)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the dates of the next scheduled RAF deployment to Marine Corps air station Yuma, Arizona. [34643]
Mr. Soames: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 12 March 1996, Official Report, column 509.
Procurement Costs
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's 25 most expensive current procurement projects; what was the original estimated cost of each of these projects at today's prices; what is the current estimated final cost of each of the projects; and if he will list the delays in the in-service dates of these projects. [33999]
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Mr. Arbuthnot: My Department's most recent annual "Major Projects Report", MPR95, to the Committee of Public Accounts, lists the current 25 most expensive projects and details the original estimated cost, the current cost estimate and the delays in the in-service dates. A copy of this document is in the Library of the House.
Army Equipment
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the trends in the availability of Warrior vehicles, Challenger tanks and the multiple-launch rocket system, as indicated by the Army's battlefield equipment reliability returns, have improved over the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [34460]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The battlefield equipment reliability return system was introduced during 1994 and BERR data are not therefore available for the whole period. However, the figures obtained from Army equipment availability reporting systems indicate that availability rates for Warrior and Challenger 1 have improved considerably over the past three years. Both these vehicles have consistently achieved availability rates in excess of 90 per cent. when deployed to Bosnia. The multiple launch rocket system fleet was undergoing a major base modification programme during 1994-95, which meant that availability rates for this equipment fell. Although two of the three MLRS regiments have undertaken operational tours in Northern Ireland during 1994-95, there has been a slight improvement in MLRS availability over the last year.
Roll on/Roll off Ferries
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the purchase by his Department of two roll on/roll off ferries; and if he will state the nationality of the crews to be deployed on these ferries. [34457]
Mr. Arbuthnot: A number of possible enhancements to the civil and military strategic lift available to the Joint Rapid Development Force have been examined. In the short term, the intention is to issue an invitation to tender and take subsequent contract action to charter one roll on/ roll off ship, for transporting lead elements of the JRDF.
The longer-term option, for the second of the two vessels required, include new build, the purchase or lease of an existing vessel and the involvement of the private finance initiative.
Subject to the outcome of tender evaluation, the options for crew would be either Royal Fleet Auxiliary or nationals from countries in NATO or western Europe.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much feel was allocated to the surface flotilla in 1995-96; and how much is planned for 1996-97. [34458]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
The information requested is shown in the table, in cubic metres. The figures for 1995-96 show the quantity of fuel procured for issue to the surface flotilla. The figure for marine gas oil is approximate because its use is not centrally controlled after budgets
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have been agreed. The figures for 1996-97 reflect current plans; actual amounts will be governed by operational circumstances during the year.
| FY 1995-96 | FY 1996-97 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dieso F76(21) | 209,000 | 225,000 |
| Marine gas oil | 20,000 | 33,000 |
(21) Fuel produced by refineries to specific NATO standards.
Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much fuel was purchased for allocation to the Royal Navy fleet in 1992-93. [34459]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Total quantities of fuel purchased in 1992-93 are shown in the table. These include fuel purchased for shore establishments and vessels other than Her Majesty's ships, as well as those for allocation to the fleet. Segregation of quantities for allocation to the Royal Navy fleet alone could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
Dieso F76 1 : 596,000 cu m
Avcat F44 1 : 46,000 cu m
Marine Gas Oil 2 : 35,000 cu m
1 These fuels are produced by refineries to specific NATO standards.
2 Commercially supplied fuel for ships.
Correspondence
Ms Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to answer the correspondence he has received from the hon. Member for Dunfermline, West concerning the sale of his property in Rosyth to the Home housing association. [34795]
Mr. Arbuthnot: My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence wrote to the hon. Member today.
Compliance Cost Assessments
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has to ensure that each legislative measure put forward by his Department contains a compliance cost assessment (a) relating to small firms and (b) in respect of which small firms have been consulted. [34142]
Mr. Arbuthnot [holding reply 26 June 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on Wednesday 26 June 1996, Official Report, column 119.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Licensing Authority
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date he last attended a meeting in his role as a member of the Licensing Authority. [33849]
Mr. Moss: The Licensing Authority does not meet to consider its functions under the Medicines Act 1968. There is no statutory requirement for such meetings to be held.
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