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Radioactive and Toxic Waste
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each site in the United Kingdom and overseas territories where his Department has stored or located (a) radioactive or (b) toxic waste since 1966. [2622]
Mr. Soames: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 521
Apache Helicopter Order
Mr. Mark Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what benefits have resulted to British industry from the order for 67 Apache attack helicopters. [2480]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The order for Apache attack helicopters will lead to significant benefits for British industry. Work worth some £2 billion will be undertaken in the United Kingdom and it is estimated that over 180 firms will receive contracts. The scope of the project and its high technology nature will provide excellent opportunities for British companies to benefit through the demonstration of their capabilities and cost effectiveness.
Helicopter Flying School
Mr. French: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the defence helicopter flying school. [3032]
Mr. Soames: In my answer of 9 March 1995, Official Report, column 350-51, I outlined our plans, arising from the defence costs study, for the formation of a single, tri-service school with a strong contractorised element to provide those aspects of helicopter basic flying training common to the three services. The school will be established at RAF Shawbury and will commence training on 1 April 1997. I am now pleased to announce that we have awarded a 15-year contract to FBS Ltd. for the operation of the DHFS under contractor-owned, Government-operated arrangements.
FBS is a joint venture, UK company, comprising FR Aviation, Bristow Helicopters and SERCO and was formed specifically to bid for this contract. Collectively, the company has extensive experience of working with the services; Bristow Helicopters and SERCO already provide services to Middle Wallop and RAF Shawbury respectively.
The school will have the capacity to train approximately 230 pilot, navigator and crewmen students a year from our three services as well as a number from overseas. The helicopter fleet will consist of 38 AS350 Squirrel single engine and 9 Bell 412 twin-engine helicopters. Seventy-six military and 45 civilian flying instructors will be employed at the school. FBS will be responsible for the provision and maintenance of the helicopter fleet, all ground-school and support facilities and the provision of the civilian flying instructors.
The DHFS project has been procured in line with the private finance initiative, thus demonstrating the Government's strong resolve to continue to achieve value for money in defence support and to concentrate resources on the front line. The formation of the DHFS, utilising more modern equipment and taking advantage of the efficiencies brought about through contractorisation will provide a value for money, high quality training facility for HM forces well into the future. Compared with the current system of delivering training this represents a saving of some £80 million over 15 years.
Mr. French:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about his Department's proposals for the introduction of a defence fixed telecommunications system. [3033]
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 522
Mr. Portillo:
Good communications are crucial to the efficient and effective operation of the armed forces. The defence fixed telecommunications system--DFTS--will provide, in a single UK-wide network, the telecommunications link and exchanges required by all defence users. It will integrate and rationalise the five existing UK networks, and provide connections to commercial networks and to those of allies. It will also reduce current equipment and manpower costs while achieving important operational benefits.
The invitation to tender invited bidders to consider solutions based on the principles of the Government's private finance initiative to enable the MOD to transfer to the private sector the ownership, operation and maintenance of the network and thus relieve the MOD of the economic risks associated with changing technology and patterns of usage. The contractor will therefore assume responsibility for providing services at the required levels of performance. Two consortia submitted best and final offers.
I am now able to announce that, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of contractual negotiations, I have approved the implementation and commercial management of DFTS services, under a 10-year contract with the INCA consortium, led by British Telecommunications plc, in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, OASIS and GEC-Marconi.
Under the PFI arrangements, INCA will make maximum use of the infrastructure serving other customers. The contract will be worth in the region of £700 million, which makes it the MOD's biggest PFI deal so far. Taut contractual arrangements will be negotiated to provide incentives for INCA to meet required levels of performance. We estimate that this will result in savings to the MOD well in excess of £100 million.
The implementation of the DFTS will entail placing under commercial management the work currently undertaken by staff in some 1,200 military and civilian posts at about 100 defence establishments throughout the UK. Detailed arrangements for this will be agreed during contracts negotiations.
Mr. Barry Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what levels of accuracy have been achieved by the meteorological office over each of the last 10 years; [2586]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
These are matters for the chief executive of the Meteorological Office. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from J. C. R . Hunt to Mr. Barry Field, dated 6 November 1996:
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 523
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many members of the (a) Army (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy had applied for an interest-free advance of pay for house purchase as at 1 October; [1465]
Mr. Soames:
The long service advance of pay scheme--LSAP--provides an interest-free advance of pay up to a maximum of £8,500 to assist personnel with house purchase. The advance is repaid over 10 years or a lesser period if personnel have less that 10 years to serve. The LSAP scheme has been available in the Navy since 1963, but on 1 August 1996 it was extended on a limited basis to the other two services primarily as a result of the demise of the married quarter discount sales scheme. The number of Army and RAF personnel who applied for an advance between 1 August 96 and 1 October 96 was as follows:
The scheme in the Royal Navy is cost neutral with repayments broadly matching advances. A total of £6 million per annum has been earmarked to fund the scheme over the early years in the Army and Royal Air Force. However, the net outlay will reduce as repayments increase and the scheme in these two services is expected to be cost neutral after 10 years' operation.
Mr. Hall:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the county councils' legal responsibilities and duties under the relevant legislation during the transition of services to unitary authorities. [1088]
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 524
Sir Paul Beresford:
The Government expect the local authorities involved in local government reorganisation to use their best endeavours to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities to the unitary authorities. Most regulations are intended to facilitate this, for example by carrying over the powers, rights or liabilities of one authority to its successor.
However, there are also specific legal responsibilities and duties placed on councils during the transition. Those which apply to county councils are listed; they are made using powers either in the Local Government Act 1992 or the Superannuation Act 1972.
The Local Government (Compensation for Redundancy) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3025) set out the level of compensation which shall be paid to an employee between the ages of 18 and 50 who is made redundant during the period between the making of an order for a structural change and 18 months after the reorganisation takes place. The regulations also contain requirements regarding the notification of and payment of compensation.
The Local Government Changes for England (Property Transfer and Transitional Payments) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/402) require that authorities affected by reorganisation use their best endeavours to make agreements for the transfer of property, rights and liabilities, and the provision by county councils of information to facilitate such agreements.
The Local Government Changes for England (Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 1995 (SI 1996/1748) require all the local authorities involved in a structural change and their officers to co-operate with each other so as to facilitate the reorganisation. The county council must also supply a successor authority with all information which it may reasonably request for the purpose of reorganisation.
(2) what was the income from the marinecall weather line in the most recent period for which was figures are available. [2587]
I am replying to your Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence about the Meteorological office's income from out Marinecall service and our overall forecast accuracy over each of the last ten years, as these matters fall within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Meteorological Office.
The income to the Meteorological Office form the Marinecall telephone weather line in the twelve month period to September 1996 was some £239,000.
Turning to forecast accuracy we only have strictly comparable figures, expressed as a composite index of forecast performance (the most useful measure), for each of the last nine years. The data are set out below. You will note that there has been marked progress in the quality of your forecasts.
1987-88: 87.48
1988-89: 92.10
1989-90: 98.56
1990-91: 98.94
1991-92: 100.95
1992-93: 105.43
1993-94: 110.48
1994-95: 114.18
1995-96: 120.88
I hope this gives you the information you need.
(2) what annual budget has been set aside for his Department's interest-free advance of pay for house purchase scheme, and if he will make a statement. [1466]
It is not known how many personnel in the RN have applied for an LSAP since 1963. However, there were 9,321 loans outstanding on 1 October 1996.
Army: 335
RAF: 224.
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