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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Know How Fund

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is the total budget of the Know How Fund. [19555]

Clare Short: We plan to spend £89 million on Know How Fund programmes in 1997-99.

Strategic Defence Review

Sir Alastair Goodlad: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's contribution to the Strategic Defence Review. [17745]

Clare Short: I had a very interesting and constructive meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Charles Guthrie, which covered a number of subjects of mutual interest, and plan to meet the Secretary of State for Defence later this month.

8 Dec 1997 : Column: 440

We have been consulted on the Strategic Defence Review and continue to participate in the discussions and seminars. DFID has participated as a member of the Defence Review Steering Group chaired by the Cabinet Office, and in more detailed discussions of particular issues. These include consideration of the Government's wider international responsibilities, particularly in relation to the maintenance of peace, international order and stability, humanitarian principles and democratic rights. Particular issues of interest to us include:










DEFENCE

Car Parking

Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many car park spaces are provided for his Department's (a) Ministers, (b) employees and (c) visitors in (i) London and (ii) the United Kingdom. [19365]

Mr. Spellar: This information is not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Service Personnel (Compensation)

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the arrangements for compensating service personnel for death or injury due to service. [20025]

Dr. Reid: The Government share a number of concerns about the anomalous and complex nature of the current arrangements for paying compensation to Service personnel who are killed, injured or suffer serious illness as a result of their service. Experience from the Gulf conflict and operations in Bosnia underline the need for arrangements which properly reflect the special nature of the commitment which Service men and women make to the defence of our country.

We have therefore decided there should be a comprehensive review of the arrangements for compensating Service personnel (or their dependants) and for the payment of death and invaliding pension benefits. Our aim is to devise a modern, fair and simplified scheme which could apply to all Service personnel injured or

8 Dec 1997 : Column: 441

killed on peacetime duties--in training or on operations--where death or injury was attributable to military service, to replace the current complex arrangements.

The main aim of the review will be to recommend new arrangements for the future, but it will also examine the extent to which personnel currently serving may be able to benefit from a simpler and more comprehensive approach. The War Pensions Scheme will continue to be available to existing ex-Service personnel.

The review will be conducted jointly with the Department of Social Security, the Department responsible for the War Pensions Scheme. We intend to publish the results of the review in a consultation document.

A review of compensation for Service personnel was recommended in the House of Commons Defence Committee Sixth Report on Gulf War illness, published earlier this year. I hope that the whole House will support the initiative we are now taking.

Drug Misuse

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reported incidents involving drug misuse in the armed forces there have been in each of the last three years. [18586]

Dr. Reid: It is not yet possible to provide confirmed figures for 1996 and 1997. However, figures for 1993-1995 are as follows:

Drug offences dealt with by Court Martial, Summary Trial or Summary Proceedings, or civilian courts

RN/RMArmy(36)RAFTotal
199328662779992
199423635548639
19951111747292

(36) The Army figures may be subject to slight revision.


Those dismissed for drug related offences following a sentence of dismissal from Service at Court Martial, Summary Trial or Summary Proceedings, or a sentence of imprisonment from a Service or civilian courts:

RN/RMArmyRAFTotal
1993518120152
199445688121
19953137169

(Latest figures available).


In addition to the above figures, the numbers of those administratively discharged for drug related incidents are:

RN/RMArmyRAFTotal
1993220410216
1994013622158
1995025314267

Publicity and Advertising

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the total expenditure on

8 Dec 1997 : Column: 442

all forms of publicity and advertising by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies for (i) 1993-94, (ii) 1994-95, (iii) 1995-96, (iv) 1996-97, (v) the 1997-98, year to date, (vi) the 1997-98 full year estimate and (vii) the 1998-99 planned expenditure. [15269]

Dr. Reid [holding answer 11 November 1997]: Details of central MOD expenditure on publicity and advertising are contained in the annual MOD Departmental Reports. For 1993-94, the information is shown on page 39 of Cm 2801; for 1994-95, the information is shown on page 43 of Cm 3055; for 1995-96, the information is shown on page 32 of Cm 3448; and for 1996-97, the information is shown on page 49 of Cm 3781. Copies of these Reports are available in the House.

Estimated expenditure for 1997-98 is £40.97 million. We do not publish detailed future plans as approval to commit expenditure is subject to formal endorsement through Ministers and the Parliamentary supply system.

Expenditure by non-departmental public bodies for the years in question is set out below.

£
1993-94629,262
1994-95487,663
1995-96456,644
1996-97408,826
1997-98 to date291,816
1997-98 full year421,995
1998-99(37)--

(37) Detailed figures not yet agreed.


Publicity expenditure for Departmental Agencies is not held centrally. I have asked Chief Executives, where appropriate, to write direct to the hon. Member.

Letter from J. R. Drew to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



Total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising for the Army Base Repair Organisation

£
1993-94 (Actual)5,036
1994-95 (Actual)7,618
1995-96 (Actual)30,026
1996-97 (Actual)37,721
1997-98 (Forecast)176,868
Total257,269
1997-98 (To date)77,943

8 Dec 1997 : Column: 443

Letter from M. J. Heritage-Owen to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



Financial yearTotal
(£)
1995-9654,460
1996-97359,741
1997-98 (To end of October)135,668
1997-98 (Estimated full year)405,531
1998-99(38)--

(38) Detailed figures not yet available. Information for FY 1993/94 and FY 1994/95 is not available in the format requested and is, therefore, not provided. Expenditure includes advertising and promotional costs. The increase since 1995/96 is due primarily to increased civilian recruiting costs resulting from the drawdown of Service manpower.

I hope this information is helpful.


Letter from David G. Wadsworth to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:






Annex A: Expenditure on all forms of recruitment advertising

£000
1993-94(39)--
1994-9532
1995-9652
1996-9766
1997-98 (year to date)18
1997-98 (full year estimate)51
1998-99 (planned expenditure)(40)--

(39) No information available.

(40) Not yet finally agreed.


Letter from Peter Ewins to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:


8 Dec 1997 : Column: 444


PeriodExpenditure
£000
1993-94777
1994-95758
1995-96735
1996-97666
1997-98 (to date)288
1997-98 (full year estimate)765
1998-99 (planned expenditure)955

This should be set against income from our commercial activities as a Trading Fund, currently running at over £22 million per annum.


Letter from D. L. Burden to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



£
First advertisement, April 19963,578
Second advertisement, April 19961,037
Total4,615

There is no planned expenditure of this nature for the remainder of this FY or during FY 1998/1999.

I hope this is helpful.


Letter from D. J. Stevens to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



£
1996-9719,464
1997-98 (to date)37,035
1997-98 (full year estimate)48,035

Letter from T. McG. Brown to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



8 Dec 1997 : Column: 445

£000

YearPublicityAdvertisingTotal
1993-9410.90.0(41)(42)10.9
1994-9516.90.0(42)16.9
1995-9618.67.626.2
1996-9723.26.629.8
1997-98 (to date)0.74.2(43)4.9
1997-98 (year end estimate)20.010.0(43)30.0

Detailed figures for 1998-99 are not available at present.

(41) Production costs for the first Annual Report, a smaller document containing unaudited accounts, were significantly lower than for subsequent larger Annual Reports with complete audited accounts.

(42) During 1993-94 and 1994-95 there were no advertising costs as staff recruitment for the Agency was the responsibility of central MOD organisations at that time.

(43) Final costs for the latest Annual Report have not been finalised.

I hope this information is helpful.


Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Malcolm Bruce dated 8 December 1997:



£
i. 1993-94(44)--
ii. 1994-95888,000
iii. 1995-961,366,000
iv. 1996-971,392,000
v. 1997-98 (to date)1,033,000
vi. 1997-98 (full year estimate)1,570,000
vii. 1998-99 (planned expenditure)1,685,000

(44) Information not available.

Other advertising and publicity costs are in the region of £200,000 per annum. This figure includes the cost of the DERA Press Office and the Annual Results Press Conference.

I hope this information is helpful.


Letter from M. J. A. Smallwood to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



Letter from Brian Raine to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:










8 Dec 1997 : Column: 446

Letter to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:

In November you asked the Secretary of State for Defence a Parliamentary Question relating to expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising. As this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKII0), I have been asked to reply to your direct.


UKHO--Total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising

Financial yearAmount (£)
1993-94228,741,97
1994-95226,396.90
1995-96340,446.88
1996-97323,672.13
1997-98 (to date)239,776.25
1997-98 (full year estimate)(45)494,887.15
1998-99 (planned expenditure)687,000.00

(45) Includes to date figure.

As the UKHO operates in an international commercial market, the attainment of Trading Fund status has provided the UKIIO with additional flexibility to respond to commercial activities. In the first year of operating as a Trading Fund the UKHO achieved a net profit of £3.7M which clearly demonstrates that costs are more than fully recovered by sales activities.

I hope the above has been of assistance. Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch with my Office.


Letter from J.D. Coles to Mr. Malcolm Bruce dated 8 December 1997:


£
(b)(iv) 1996-9730,000
(b)(v) 1997-98, year to date15,000
(b)(vi) 1997-98, full year estimate15,000

Detailed budgets for 1998-99 have not yet been agreed.

The figures relate to actual and planned expenditure associated with: Agency launch; the printing of the Agency's Framework Document, Corporate Plan, and Annual Report and Accounts; and the Agency's input to the International Maritime Defence Exhibition 1997 at the Royal Naval College Greenwich.


Letter from P. D. Foxton to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



Financial YearCost (£)Estimate (£)
1994-953,788n/a
1995-9610,379n/a
1996-975,824n/a
1997-983,6498,248
1998-99n/a

The Agency was not formed until 1995 and therefore no expenditure is recorded for the Financial year 1993-94.

I trust I have answered your questions satisfactorily.


8 Dec 1997 : Column: 447

Letter from S. R. Hill to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



Parliamentary Question--Expenditure on Publicity and Advertising by Defence Agencies

Financial yearRecruitment costs (civilian)PR/Marketing and business support
££
1993-94934988
1994-951,2053,153
1995-961,4780
1996-974,15445,416
1997-98 (to date)5,6042,606
1997-98 (forecast)11,08315,000

The recruitment costs are for advertising.


Letter from K. A. Bradshaw to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



£
1996-9738,438
1997-98 (to date)14,525
1997-98 (forecast)21,000
1998-99 (yet to be finalised)--

For background information, the Defence Codification Agency was launched in June 1996. At that time funds were disaggregated from the Defence Information Division (DINFOD) for our Marketing function.


Letter from I. G. McIntyre to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



Letter from R. J. Mealing to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:


8 Dec 1997 : Column: 448


Financial yearExpenditure (£)
1993-94(46)--
1994-95Nil
1995-965,901
1996-9724,261
1997-98 (so far)24,650
1997-98 (estimate)27,053
1998-99(47)--

(46) DCTA not formed as an Agency.

(47) Detailed budget not yet agreed.


Letter from Malcolm Westgate to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:



Letter from P. R. Wildman to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:










Letter from M. I. Laurie to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:

I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about expenditure on publicity and advertising as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Defence Intelligence and Security Agency. The Agency was formed on 1 October 1996 and the figures below represent expenditure after that date:

£
(a) 1996-97 (October 96-March 972,686
(b) 1997-98 (to date)5,370
(c) 1997-98 (full year estimate)6,694
(d) 1998-99 (estimated)Nil

On its formation the Agency began a collocation programme, moving from five previous sites to one. The expenditure detailed above relates to newspaper advertising of job vacancies at the new site.


Letter from G. Jones to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:

I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising, by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, in each of the last four financial years, the current financial year to date with a full-year estimate, and that planned

8 Dec 1997 : Column: 449

for 1998-99, for which figures are available, as these matters fall within my responsibility as Chief Executive of the Royal Air Force Signals Engineering Establishment Defence Agency.


Letter from D. D. Allan to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:

1. I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about estimates of expenditure on publicity and advertising as this matter falls within my area of responsibility. I am replying in the absence of the Chief Executive of the Logistics Support Services Agency who is away on business.


Total
1993-940
1994-950
1995-960
1996-976,990
1997-98 (spend)5,360.08
1997-98 (estimated)8,100
1998-99(48)--

(48) Planned figures not yet accepted.



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