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Strategic Defence Review
Mrs. Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given to his Department's procurement plans in the Strategic Defence Review. [8518]
Dr. Reid: One of the aims of the Strategic Defence Review is to ensure that the Armed Forces are properly equipped to undertake the tasks asked of them. Our procurement plans will therefore be considered as part of the Review, including projects already on contract.
However, during the review there will be no moratorium and projects where contracts have already been placed will continue. Decisions on major equipment programmes not yet under contract will be considered on their individual circumstances in relation to progress with the Review.
Departmental Property
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the property and assets owned, leased or rented by his Department and its agencies at home and overseas, stating their current value and their current use. [7151]
Dr. Reid: The information requested is not yet available. As part of the Department's preparation for the introduction of Resource Accounting on 1 April 1998 an exercise to identify, register and value departmental assets is currently being undertaken. However, the scale of the exercise is considerable and the work will not be concluded until next year.
Open Government Review
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency about the Government's Review on Open Government. [7251]
10 Jul 1997 : Column: 532
Dr. Reid:
None. The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, like all my Department's Agencies, is, of course, subject to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Mr. Desmond Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's policy towards the presentation of the Royal Yacht Britannia. [7579]
Dr. Reid:
The Government is considering the future of Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia in the light of proposals for preservation submitted by several organisations.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list, for each regiment, the number by which it was below complement on 30 April; and what plans he has to bring each up to its complement. [6817]
Dr. Reid
[pursuant to his answer, 8 July 1997, c. 422-24]: I regret that the information on the manning level against the complement within the Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) were omitted in error. The information is set out in the following table.
| Regiment | Manning level |
|---|---|
| Household Cavalry | |
| Household Cavalry Regiment | -22 |
| Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment | -38 |
| Total | -60 |
| Royal Armoured Corps | |
| Queens Dragoon Guards | -23 |
| Scots Dragoon Guards | -38 |
| Royal Dragoon Guards | -4 |
| Queens Royal Hussars | -51 |
| 9/12 Lancers | -45 |
| Kings Royal Hussars | -42 |
| Light Dragoons | -5 |
| Queens Royal Lancers | -39 |
| 1st Royal Tank Regiment | -39 |
| 2nd Royal Tank Regiment | +28 |
| Total | -258 |
Prisoners of War (Pay)
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the report following the Review of Officer Prisoners of War Protected Personnel Pay Deductions will be published. [7556]
Mr. Spellar: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Mr. Morgan) on 11 June (Official Report), column 485.
Defence Test and Research Organisation
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on the strategic review initiated by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 1996 into the Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation; and if he will make a statement. [6429]
10 Jul 1997 : Column: 533
Mr. Spellar:
There has not been a "strategic review" of DTEO but in 1996 there was a review of the mixture of contracts that were in place to support the DTEO ranges. The outcome of this review was made public in December 1996.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the estimated costs for the next 10 years for the replacement maritime patrol aircraft. [6752]
Mr. Spellar:
The total procurement cost of the Nimrod 2000 replacement maritime patrol aircraft is around £2 billion. The Department's internal plans represent projections and assumptions which inform advice to Ministers on the affordability of particular elements of the Defence programme. Accordingly, I am withholding the information requested under exemption two of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. In addition, disclosure of some elements of this information could prejudice the competitive position of the Department in future negotiations with contractors and reveal commercially confidential data. Accordingly, exemptions 7 and 13 of the Code also apply.
Sir George Young:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings he has had with ministerial colleagues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department of Trade and Industry on the defence sales policy review. [6650]
Mr. Spellar:
My right hon. Friend Secretary of State for Defence has had a number of formal meetings with my right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the President of the Board of Trade at which the criteria used in considering licence applications for the export of conventional arms were discussed.
Mr. David Atkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's timetable for dealing with the year 2000 computer problem; who is in charge of the project; how many staff are working on it; what is the projected cost of resolving the problem; and whether the project is on schedule.[7132]
Mr. Spellar:
The Ministry of Defence programme for dealing with the Year 2000 Computer Problem is led by the Director General Information and Communication Services (DGICS). The programme complies with guidelines issued by the Cabinet Office and CCTA Year 2000 Public Sector Group which call for costed programmes to modify or replace affected systems to be in place by October of this year with all work on critical systems completed by 31 December 1998. DGICS heads a coordination group of MOD Top Level Budget Holders to direct the programme. Projet managers have been appointed throughout the Department to oversee work on systems in their respective areas of responsibility. A Year 2000 awareness campaign has been mounted and private sector computing assistance is being provided to Year 2000 projects. It is too early to say what the final costs might be, but work to identify and cost the necessary remedial measures is on schedule to be completed by
10 Jul 1997 : Column: 534
October, when the results will be reported to the Cabinet Office in accordance with the overall Government timetable.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the analysis by Professor Graham Rook and Dr. Alimuddin Zumla of University College, London, published in The Lancet, on the relationship between vaccines, exposure to insecticides and Gulf War illness. [6949]
Dr. Reid:
Officials in my Department have held discussions with Professor Rook and Dr. Zumla concerning their hypothesis. Whenever my Department receives suggestions for additional research into subjects which could have a bearing on Gulf veterans' illnesses, our advice is always that the researcher(s) should submit a formal proposal to the Medical Research Council. I understand that Professor Rook and Dr. Zumla intend to submit a proposal for work to test their hypothesis in due course and we therefore await the MRC's advice.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 June, Official Report, columns 220-21, for what reasons (a) Algeria, (b) Belgium, (c) Russia and (d) Sri Lanka have not been invited to send delegations to the forthcoming Royal Navy and British Army Equipment Exhibition in Farnborough. [7324]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 8 July 1997]: Invitations to the Royal Navy and British Army Equipment Exhibition are influenced by a number of factors including our perception of market opportunities for British defence companies as well as our political, strategic and security interests. Taking into account all of these factors, Algeria, Russia and Sri Lanka were not seen as priority candidates on this occasion; Belgium has now been invited.
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