| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Medals and Campaign Stars
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the numbers and type of medals and campaign stars awarded to date to national service men who served between (a) 1939 and 1945 and (b) 1946 and 1963; and if he will make a statement. [3749]
Mr. Spellar:
A list of the medals and campaign stars for which National Servicemen were eligible is as shown. In addition, they were eligible to be recommended for the
16 Jun 1997 : Column: 90
full range of gallantry awards. No differentiation was made between National Servicemen and Regular personnel.
MEDALS AND CAMPAIGN STARS 1939-1945
1939-45 Star
Atlantic Star
Air Crew Europe Star
Africa Star
Pacific Star
Burma Star
Italy Star
France and Germany Star
Defence Medal
War Medal 1939-45
CAMPAIGN MEDALS 1945-1963
Korea Medal 1950-53--Al Services
Africa General Service Medal 1902-56 (with clasp)--All Services Kenya
Naval General Service Medal 1915-62 (with clasps)--Royal Navy
SE Asia 1945-46
Minesweeping 1945-51
Palestine 1945-48
Malaya
Yangtze 1949
Bomb and Mine Clearance 1945-53
Bomb and Mine Clearance Mediterranean
Cyprus
Near East
Arabian Peninsula
Brunei
General Service Medal 1918-62 (with clasps)--Army and RAF
SE Asia 1945-46
Bomb and Mine Clearance 1945-49
Bomb and Mine Clearance 1945-56
Palestine 1945-48
Malaya
Cyprus
Near East
Arabian Peninsula
Brunei
General Service Medal 1962 with clasp--All Services
Borneo
Other Operational Service Awards--All Services
United Nations Service Medal with clasp Korea
United Nations Service Medal for the Congo
Non-operational Medals 1945-1963
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953
No statistics are available showing the total number of medals awarded between the years 1939-1963.
Prisoners of War (Compensation)
Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to complete the review of compensation for prisoners of war who were protected personnel or officers; and if he will make a statement.[3130]
16 Jun 1997 : Column: 91
Mr. Spellar:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Mr. Morgan), Official Report, column 485.
Mr. Fallon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the current posting of each battalion of the Scottish regiments indicating dates of commencement and expected departure. [3199]
Dr. Reid:
The 1st Battalion Scots Guards was posted to Windsor in July 1993.
The battalion of the Scottish Division are stationed as follows:
Mr. Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decisions his Department has made about contracting out the administration of service (a) pay, (b) personnel and training records and (c) pensions; on what dates these decisions were made; when they will come into operation; which companies have been awarded these contracts; and if he will make a statement about the (i) cost savings, (ii) future quality of administration and (iii) security implications of these decisions. [3138]
Mr. Spellar:
The Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency was launched on 1 April this year. Its tasks include record-keeping and the processing of pay and pensions for all Service personnel. The Agency's objectives and key targets are set out in its Corporate Plan, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House. These require new IT systems to be developed to enable improvements in efficiency and performance.
16 Jun 1997 : Column: 92
Plans to appoint a commercial partner to provide most of the Agency's services, and to develop and operate the new systems, are continuing. This would be a private finance arrangement. Two companies remain on the short-list as a result of the competitive process. They are EDS (Defence) Ltd., and Siemens Business Services Ltd. Negotiations are nearing completion and final bids are expected to be invited by the end of this month. These will be evaluated against the cost of the Agency undertaking the work through normal in-house methods. A decision on the results of the evaluation is expected by the end of September. A partnering contract will be awarded only if one of the companies' bids offers the best value for money. Transfer of responsibility to the successful company, including most of the Agency's staff and capital assets, would then follow after 2 to 3 months.
The security implications of appointing a private sector partner have been a particular concern since the competitive process began in April 1996. It has been the subject of full consideration by the relevant security authorities and by the Services themselves. The two companies remaining in competition are the only ones to have demonstrated, amongst other fundamental matters, that they could meet and maintain the very rigorous standards required. The Agency's services will continue to be delivered from existing, secure MOD installations.
Mrs. Ray Michie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans she has to amend the jobseeker's allowance to enable school cleaners to claim during the summer holidays. [1289]
Mr. Bradley:
The Social Security Commissioners are currently considering a case in this area. We will review the position in the light of their conclusions.
Dr. Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what indicators are incorporated into Benefits Agency district managers' performance targets; and if she will introduce a target for service delivery to local authorities; [625]
Mr. Field:
There are no current Secretary of State performance targets for Benefits Agency District Managers relating specifically to service delivery to local authorities. We have received no representations to introduce Benefits Agency service targets for Housing Benefit but are aware that the Local Authority Associations have expressed concern in the past about liaison between the Benefits Agency and local authorities. We will be reviewing the business relationship between the Benefits Agency and local authorities and within that review, we will consider the need for such a target over the coming months.
16 Jun 1997 : Column: 93
On security grounds I am withholding information on the future movement of the battalions under exemption of 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
The 1st Battalion The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) was posted to Colchester in August 1996.
The 1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) was posted to Fallingbostel, Germany in February 1994. The bulk of the Battalion is currently deployed in Belfast.
The 1st Battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers was posted to Edinburgh in February 1995.
The 1st Battalion The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) was posted to Inverness in August 1996. The bulk of the Battalion is currently deployed in Hong Kong for 4 months between February and June this year.
The 1st Battalion The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) was posted to Catterick in April this year.
The 1st Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) was posted to Edinburgh in August 1995).
(2) what representations she had received from local authorities in respect of targets for the service that the Benefits Agency provides for the administration of housing and council tax benefits. [624]
| Benefit | 1997-98 our targets are to pay the correct amount in |
|---|---|
| Income Support | 87 |
| Incapacity Benefit(12) | 94 |
| Family Credit | 91 |
| Jobseekers Allowance | 87 |
| Disability Living Allowance | 96 |
(12) Includes Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance and Maternity Allowance.
| 1997-98 our target is | |
|---|---|
| Recovery of Social Fund loans | £333 million |
| Security(13) | (14)£2,100 million |
| Unemployed register sign-offs | 160,000 claims withdrawn in 10 days 185,000 claims withdrawn in 28 days |
| Recovery of benefit overpayment(15) | £120 million |
(13) Security Savings--target relates to weekly benefit savings from activity in the year. It includes activity funded through the new Spend to Save fraud and evasion package announced in the 1996 budget.
(14) This level of saving will reduce programmed expenditure by £1.6 billion in 1997-98.
(15) Overpayment of recovery target--now includes recoveries arising from security and control activities, and reflects an increase of 31.15 per cent. from 1996-97.
| 1997-98 our target is to clear | |
|---|---|
| Jobseekers Allowance | 65 per cent. in 10 days |
| 90 per cent. in 21 days | |
| Faster Family Credit | 90 per cent. in 5 days |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |