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Disposal Sales Agency
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Disposal Sales Agency for 1997-98. [12205]
Mr. Spellar: Since its launch in October 1994, the Disposal Sales Agency has achieved over £340 million in gross sales receipts and has made significant efficiency savings. The following key targets set for the chief executive for this financial year have a continuing focus on receipts, for improvement in the services provided by the agency.
- 1. To achieve disposal sales income of £48 million from Government-to-Government sales of surplus capital equipment and stores.
- 2. To achieve disposal sales income of £30 million from commercial sales of MOD's surplus items.
- 3. To offer the agency's disposal service to the wider public sector market to secure £2 million in sales income on behalf of new non-MOD customers.
- 4. To expand the agency's disposal services to cover waste disposal for MOD and the wider public sector market--to undertake market research, selection of approved contractors and the placement of appropriate contracts by 31 March 1998.
- 5. To introduce new agency information technology systems and trial link to IT storage and marketing contractor by 30 September 1997.
- 6. To secure investors in people accreditation by 31 March 1998.
- 7. To achieve key targets and other management actions within cash budgetary allocation of £3.5 million.
Regimental Museums
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the public funding of regimental museums. [7114]
Mr. Spellar: The funding of regimental and corps museums was reviewed in 1995. This led to a decision to reduce the funds allocated to museum operation by 12.7 per cent. from April 1998. Since then, an Army museums panel has been constituted whose responsibilities include reviewing the allocation of public funds that are applied to the operation of regimental and corps museums.
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he or his Department have had with the Department of National Heritage concerning attracting a wider range of sources of funding for regimental museums. [7115]
Mr. Spellar:
An Army museums panel has been established with responsibility for guiding policy for
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regimental and corps museums. The panel includes representation from the Museums and Galleries Commission, and the Department of National Heritage. The panel as a whole considers opportunities for alternative sources of funding including bids to the heritage lottery fund. Three regimental museums have so far obtained HLF funding.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what figure for personnel in the Army will be used as the benchmark under the current defence review.[11088]
Dr. Reid:
The strategic defence review will decide upon the size and structure of the Army in accordance with what is needed to meet our nation's interests and commitments. There is no benchmark figure for the strength of the Army in relation to the review.
Mr. Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has taken to retain, recruit and re-enlist service personnel to fill vacancies in the Army. [11087]
Dr. Reid:
The Army has a number of initiatives in place to ensure that personnel of the right quality are retained in the service in sufficient numbers. This includes retention bonuses to target specific groups of soldiers where retention problems have been identified, for example in the Household Cavalry, the Royal Armoured Corps, the Royal Artillery and the infantry. In addition, re-enlistment bounties are available to ex-regular soldiers in the above regiments and corps who agree to rejoin the active list. A recruiting bounty is also payable to serving soldiers in the arms with particular recruiting difficulties, who sponsor a recruit to join their regiment or corps.
Recruiting for the Army is a continuous process, but from time to time, campaigns are undertaken to target specific population groups. At the present moment, there is an enhanced summer advertising campaign in progress, which is aimed at 16 and 17-year-olds who have just left school. Other measures planned and approved are the Army Foundation college, due to open in September 1998, and the Scotland school leavers scheme, due to begin its first course in January 1998. This scheme is a short-term measure to address the acute manpower shortages in the Scottish infantry. Both these schemes are aimed at 16-year-old school leavers and will provide a good grounding in core skills in the NVQ/SCOTVEC schemes, as well as basic military training. In addition, I have approved the retention of 41 high street Army careers information offices until at least 2000. Further measures are being considered.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what problems have been reported to his Department with the mark 2 Chinook helicopter since 1993. [11203]
Mr. Spellar:
We regularly receive service bulletins from the manufacturers of the aircraft and its engines which identify potential, or actual, technical problems.
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Appropriate action is taken to respond to this advice. No major problems have been reported since the aircraft entered service with the RAF in November 1993.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what trials his Department is conducting to investigate the operational safety of the mark 2 Chinook.[11201]
Mr. Spellar:
All trials are aimed at ensuring that an aircraft is safe for operational use. For the Chinook HC Mk2, flight trials are currently taking place, or are planned, to extend the operational capability of the aircraft within the manufacturer's cleared flight envelope and to evaluate new equipments.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel in the (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) RAF have invalided out due to injuries received during non-combatant duties in the last 10 years.[10433]
| Year | Royal Navy | Army | Royal Air Force |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 64 | 121 | 12 |
| 1988 | 57 | 160 | 29 |
| 1989 | 70 | 182 | 18 |
| 1990 | 36 | 132 | 16 |
| 1991 | 21 | 55 | 17 |
| 1992 | 24 | 122 | 18 |
| 1993 | 26 | 139 | 12 |
| 1994 | 64 | 213 | 23 |
| 1995 | 98 | 390 | 46 |
| 1996 | 106 | 482 | 59 |
1. Figures are for calendar years and are as at 25 July 1997.
2. Army figures include Gurkhas.
Service Colleges
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the annual defence budget of (i) amalgamating the Royal naval college Greenwich and the Army staff college Camberley, and (ii) establishing and running the Joint Service Command and Staff College at Bracknell until its move to a permanent site at Watchfield, Wiltshire. [8192]
Dr. Reid: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Press Releases
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much her Department spends on biking press releases to (a) hon. Members and (b) other individuals or groups, each time her Department issues a press release; how many such press releases were issued by her Department (i) in the period 1 May to 1 July and
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(ii) in the period 1 January to 1 March; and if she will review her Department's use of couriers to deliver press releases and investigate the possibility of using fax or e-mail. [8815]
Mr. Field
[holding answer 17 July 1997]: The Department of Social Security's press releases are made available to hon. Members and to the media via the Central Office of Information's news distribution service. NDS's delivery mechanisms include a newswire service which, among others, supplies press releases to the parliamentary online information service, which can be accessed by all Members of Parliament and peers, hand deliveries, fax and postal services, online databases and a widely accessed world wide web site.
These methods are used either singly or in combination to ensure the most cost-effective methods are used to reach the relevant target audiences and to suit the nature of the documents--for example, whether press releases are dispatched on their own, or accompanied by reports, consultation documents and so on. No separate costing is available for the hand delivery service alone.
The Department also runs its own mailing list for press releases for organisations such as welfare rights and charities. This is a postal service.
The number of press releases issued from 1 May to 1 July was 52 and from 1 January to 1 March was 66.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances (a) carers can claim invalid care allowance about the age of 65 years and (b) eligible carers below the age of 65 years can postpone their receipt of invalid care allowance until they reach the age of 65 years or above. [10857]
Mr. Denham:
The Government recognise the valuable contribution made by carers to providing community care. Benefit provision is aimed at helping to maintain the income of someone who gives up the opportunity of full-time work to provide care on a regular and substantial basis to a severely disabled person.
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