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South-East Wales Ambulance Trust
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the previous chairman of the South East Wales Ambulance Trust concerning the conclusions in relation to both value for money and regularity and propriety contained within the district auditor's reports of 11 November. [4156]
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South East Wales Ambulance Trust regarding the contents of the district auditor's reports of 11 November, what proposals he has for ensuring the return of (a) the performance-related pay bonuses paid, (b) the cost of the camperwagon converted at public expense and (c) other trust funds diverted into private hands via the credit cards and fuel cards; and if he will make a statement. [4153]
Mr. Hague: None. My officials are continuing to monitor progress at the South East Wales Ambulance Trust and are receiving regular reports on issues raised by the district auditor. The trust has taken legal advice and, where appropriate, is doing all within its power to recover losses incurred.
Cardiff Bay Barrage
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the environment directorate of the European Commission concerning the complaint in relation to the Cardiff bay barrage. [4136]
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what independent legal advice he has sought on the implications of the Lappel bank judgment on the Cardiff bay barrage. [4135]
Mr. Hague: It is not my practice to disclose the nature of the legal advice I receive.
14 Nov 1996 : Column: 290
DEFENCE
Bosnia
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the British bases established as part of the IFOR operation in (a) Bosnia and (b) Croatia; and how much Britain is charged for these bases to be situated in each of these areas. [4058]
Mr. Soames: The British bases established as part of NATO's implementation force operation in Croatia and Bosnia, and the charges agreed for their occupation, are as follows:
| Monthly charge £ | |
|---|---|
| Location--Croatia | |
| Split--Divulje barracks | No charge |
| Split--port facilities | 117,000 |
| Split--factories and warehouse | 224,000 |
| Location--Bosnia | |
| Tomislavgrad-factory and warehouse | 40,000 |
| Lipa | 12,000 |
| Kupres | 32,000 |
| Gornji Vakuf--3 factories | 41,000 |
| Sipovo--3 factories, sawmill and hotel | 21,000 |
| Glamoc-sawmill and factory | 7,000 |
| Sanski Most--two factories | 8,000 |
| Mrkonjic Grad--two factories, sawmill and dam | 11,000 |
| Banja Luka--factory and offices | 36,000 |
| Vitez-bulk fuel installation and school | 11,000 |
| Jajce-factory | 6,000 |
| Kljuc-depot | 1,000 |
| Bosanski Petrovac-garage | 5,000 |
| Krupa--two factories | 5,000 |
Air Crashes
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) dates on which and (b) types of aircraft which his Department has lost through crashes in each of the last five years; and what were the causes of these accidents. [4059]
Mr. Soames: The information requested is given in the table.
| Date | Aircraft type | Cause |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | ||
| 12 May | Tucano T1 | Aircrew error |
| 12 May | Lynx AH7 | Aircrew error |
| 14 February | Hunter T8C | Technical fault |
| 14 May | Harrier GR3 | Operating hazard |
| 28 May | Sea Harrier FRS1 | Not positively determined |
| 30 May | Viking | Natural hazard |
| 9 July | Buccaneer S2B | Technical fault |
| 9 July | Viking | Aircrew error |
| 7 August | Harrier GR5 | Technical fault |
| 30 September | Hawk T1A | Aircrew error |
| 16 October | Bulldog T1 | Not positively determined |
| 21 October | Sea King HC4 | Aircrew error |
| 26 November | Puma HC1 and Gazelle AH1 | Operating hazard |
| 1993 | ||
| 18 March | Gazelle HT2 | Human factors (non-aircrew) |
| 19 May | Chipmunk T10 | Aircrew error |
| 27 May | Hercules C3 | Not positively determined |
| 28 June | Harrier GR7 | Natural hazard |
| 1 July | Hawk T1 | Aircrew error |
| 20 July | Gazelle AH1 | Aircrew error |
| 12 August | Wessex HC2 | Technical fault |
| 26 August | Chipmunk T10 | Aircrew error |
| 9 September | Gazelle HT3 | Aircrew error |
| 17 September | Wessex HC2 | Natural hazard |
| 21 October | Tornado F3 | Aircrew error |
| 6 November | Sea King HAS6 | Technical fault |
| 23 November | Harrier GR7 | Technical fault |
| 1994 | ||
| 6 January | Sea Harrier FA2 | Human factors (non-aircrew) |
| 14 January | Harrier GR7 | Aircrew error |
| 25 March | Lynx HAS3 | Aircrew error |
| 10 April | Lynx AH7 | Aircrew error |
| 2 June | Chinook HC2 | Aircrew error |
| 7 June | Tornado F3 | Technical fault |
| 8 July | Tornado F3 | Aircrew error |
| 19 July | Tornado GR1 | Technical fault |
| 1 August | Tornado GR1 | Under investigation |
| 1 September | Tornado GR1A | Not positively determined |
| 19 September | Tornado GR1A | Technical fault |
| 22 September | Lynx AH7 | Technical fault |
| 11 November | Gazelle AH1 | Aircrew error |
| 15 December | Sea Harrier FRS1 | Technical fault |
| 1995 | ||
| 10 March | Tornado F3 | Technical fault |
| 16 May | Nimrod R1 | Technical fault |
| 1 June | Harrier GR7 | Not positively determined |
| 21 June | Jaguar GR1A | Under investigation |
| 5 August | Viking | Aircrew error |
| 10 August | Hawk T1W | Aircrew error |
| 20 August | Lynx AH7 | Aircrew error |
| 27 August | Viking | Aircrew error |
| 2 September | Nimrod MR2 | Under investigation |
| 5 October | Gazelle HT2 | Aircrew error |
| 30 October | 2 x Tornado F3 | Under investigation |
| 1996 | ||
| 10 January | 2 x Tornado F3 | Under investigation |
| 11 January | Tornado GR1 | Under investigation |
| 23 January | Jaguar GR1B | Under investigation |
| 13 February | Sea Harrier F/A2 | Under investigation |
| 13 February | Hawk T1 | Under investigation |
| 19 February | Harrier GR7 | Under investigation |
| 26 February | Harrier T4N | Under investigation |
| 26 February | Tornado GR1 | Under investigation |
| 13 May | Tucano T1 | Under investigation |
| 26 May | Hawk T1 | Under investigation |
| 24 July | Jaguar GR1 | Under investigation |
| 18 September | Jaguar T2A | Under investigation |
| 28 September | Tornado F3 | Under investigation |
14 Nov 1996 : Column: 291
Unexploded Bombs
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the precise location of the unexploded bombs in West Ham and East Ham. [4079]
Mr. Soames: The information available to my Department on this subject is obtained from public records. A summary was placed in the Library of the House in response to an earlier question from the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes), Official Report, column 863.
14 Nov 1996 : Column: 292
Sea Crusader
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the breakdown of the Japanese roll on roll off vessel, Sea Crusader chartered by his Department; when the vessel broke down; how many of its engines have broken down; when the vessel was chartered; what is the vessel's current position; what actions his Department has taken to replace the vessel; and if he will make a statement. [4061]
Mr. Soames: The Japanese-built vessel was the only suitable ro-ro available to meet the requirements of the joint rapid deployment force. Named RFA Sea Crusader, it was chartered on 17 September 1996, is a UK registered vessel and is manned and operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The vessel lost power in its starboard engine on 1 November 1996 while en route to its UK base at Marchwood. This reduced the ship's speed but it continued to carry out its operational duties. The engine fault has now been rectified under guarantee and at no cost to my Department. The vessel is due to arrive in UK waters in late November 1996 as originally planned.
EDS Ltd.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts his Department, agencies and associated bodies have had with EDS for each year since 1985; what was the value of each contract; if he will indicate for each contract (a) if it was completed, (b) what modifications were made at the request of (i) the company and (ii) the Department and (c) if work under contract is being undertaken in-house; and if he will make a statement on the number of job reductions in his Department arising from the contracting out of work by EDS. [3798]
Mr. Arbuthnot: As the management data held centrally for MoD headquarters contracts branches shows in excess of 150 live contracts and does not include the information required, the answers to this question could be provided only at disproportional cost. In addition, I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 16 October 1995, Official Report columns 31-32.
Where chief executives of my Department's agencies exercise responsibilities for this matter under the terms of their framework documents, I have asked them to write to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 14 November 1996:
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about contracts with EDS. DERA is a next steps Agency within the Ministry of Defence which, through a predecessor agency, the Defence Research Agency (DRA), has had delegated authority to make contracts since 1991.
14 Nov 1996 : Column: 293
Our current contracts records system goes back to 1992, which is when the DRA introduced a new Improved Commercial Accounting System. These records show that DERA currently has 135 contracts with EDS at a total approximate value of £20.5M and 270 completed contracts with a total value of just under £21M. In the time available we have not been able to identify any direct job losses in DERA or its predecessor organisations arising from contracts with EDS.
I am sorry but the remaining information you have asked for could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 14 November 1996:
Letter from Michael R. Pack to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 14 November 1996:
I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence and his colleagues about contracts with EDS. I am answering on behalf of the Meterological Office to the extent that the questions fall within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive.
The Meterological Office has let only one contract with EDS in the period in question. It was let in May 1995 and its value was some £27K. The work involved was completed satisfactorily. No modifications to the specified work were called for either by myself or the contractor, there was no in-house involvement and in consequence no job reductions followed.
I hope this gives you the information you need.
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Defence a Parliamentary Question about contractual relations between his Department and EDS.
For the Hydrographic Office Defence Agency, the issues raised fall within the responsibilities delegated to the Chief Executive, Rear Admiral J P Clarke. In the normal course of events, Admiral Clarke would reply to you personally. However, he is at present absent from the Office on official duty and I am replying on his behalf.
Before 31 March 1996, contracts were not let by the Hydrographic Office but by the appropriate contract branch within the Ministry of Defence. Since becoming a trading fund on 1 April 1996, two contracts have been placed by the Hydrographic Office with EDS: one small contract to provide training in a software package for the management of geographic data; and a more substantial contract to provide post design services for the document management and geographic management systems themselves. The former is complete; the latter on-going.
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