| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
Mrs. Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the key targets for 1998-99 for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. [65478]
Mr. Spellar: Consistent with Treasury requirements, DERA is required to achieve a 6 per cent. return on capital employed.
The Agency is required to keep any increase in the hourly manpower rates charged to MOD customers below the annual rise in the Retail Price Index. These manpower rates include overheads and depreciation but not direct contract costs.
DERA will seek to increase income from work for non-MOD customers from the £106 million achieved in 1997-98 to £122 million in 1998-99.
DERA will seek to increase the number of staff elected as Fellows of professional bodies by 10 per cent. from a baseline of 126 at the end of 1997-98 to 139 in 1998-99.
DERA is required to achieve on time 90 per cent. of the agreed milestones on work for MOD customers.
DERA has been set the target of maintaining at least the same score as last year, 655 points out of a possible 1,000, for overall satisfaction in the core questions in the annual customer satisfaction survey and, because of the particular significance of project management skills in the efficient delivery of scientific programmes, to achieve an improvement of 5 per cent. in the score for project management, from 596 points to 626, in the same survey.
DERA will seek to increase the value of its contribution to projects jointly funded by DERA and industry by 10 per cent. from £38.3 million to £42.1 million. DERA will seek to achieve, over a period of 3 years, a 20 per cent. increase in the number of articles that appear in scientific and technical publications and which are subjected to scrutiny and validation by a panel of experts. Under this target, the increase would be from 4.8 publications to 5.8 publications per 100 professionals in DERA, with professionals being defined as all those staff who have a scientific, technical or other specialist background or training.
DERA is required to increase by 50 per cent., from 16 to 24, over a period of three years, the number of its scientific teams that achieve the rating of "world-class" in DERA's technical assessment exercise. The latter involves both internal assessment and validation by outside experts form academia, industry and MOD.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in the last year the Royal Green Jackets have hosted breakfasts for charities or other organisations; and if he will list the organisations concerned. [64761]
Mr. Spellar:
The Royal Green Jackets have not hosted breakfasts for any charitable or other organisation in the last year.
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 149
Mr. Patrick Hall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre for 1998-99. [65635]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The role of the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre is to train the Armed Forces and other Intelligence agencies in intelligence and security disciplines and conduct after capture; to maintain an operational capability; and to contribute to effective and timely advice to the Armed Forces on appropriate intelligence and security matters. The Key Targets for the Agency for the 12 months from April 1998 are:
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list of the papers produced by the Radiation Physics Division of the Atomic Weapons Establishment in its Plasma Physics Notes and Radiation Physics Department Technical Notes series of papers which are currently unclassified, indicating the title of each paper and the date on which each paper was produced. [65057]
Mr. Spellar:
I have arranged for a list of unclassified papers from the relevant series to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when export licences for a stand-off weapon known as the Black Shaheen were granted. [62919]
Mr. Wills
[holding answer 9 December 1998]: No licence has been issued for the export of the Black Shaheen missile or its sub assemblies, but we expect to licence the export of sub assemblies to France subject to the agreement and implementation of suitable technical safeguards.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ensure that the licensed production of arms by British companies requires that (a) deals to license arms production overseas have to pass the same
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 150
checks as direct exports, including parliamentary reporting and (b) exports via UK licensed products overseas must require UK export licences. [64534]
Mr. Wills
[holding answer 11 January 1999]: In its recent report on Strategic Export Controls, the Trade and Industry Committee recommended that the question of controls on licensed production overseas should be addressed in the Wassenaar Arrangement. We are currently considering this and the Committee's other recommendations and will be responding to the Committee in due course.
The issue of controls on licensed production overseas has also been raised in a number of the responses to the White Paper on Strategic Export Controls and will therefore also be considered in our review of the White Paper proposals in the light of the results of the consultation.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what export licences have been applied for and granted since 1 May 1997 for military and dual use goods; and how many licences were refused. [64531]
Mr. Wills
[holding answer 11 January 1999]: The Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been interrogated and the following results were obtained. Between 2 May 1997 and 27 November 1998, decisions were made on 14,423 applications made in the same period for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) or Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) covering the export of goods subject to export control by being listed in Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, the so-called Military List; or of goods subject to export control by being listed in Schedule 2 to the Dual-Use and Related Goods (Export Control) Regulations 1996, as amended, or in Annex 1 to Council Decision No. 94/942/CFSP, as amended. Of these, 13,965 SIELs and 382 OIELs were issued, and 76 applications for SIELs were refused.
In addition, goods may have been exported under certain Open General Export Licences; copies of all Open General Export Licences valid at any time during the period are in the Library of the House.
This information should be considered in light of the answer given by my predecessor to my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) on 30 October 1997, Official Report, columns 256-58.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the countries for which licences have been given for military and dual use goods since 1 May 1997, indicating the types of goods concerned. [64532]
Mr. Wills
[holding answer 11 January 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd), to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones) on 14 July 1998, Official Report, column 149.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to simplify the process of registration of patents in the United Kingdom. [64643]
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 151
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 11 January 1999]: The Government's 1998 Competitiveness White Paper recognises the fundamental importance of intellectual property rights, including patents, to an innovative economy, and the need for such rights to be accessible. The Patent Office will therefore be continuing its drive to simplify its detailed rules and procedures to make it easier for businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, to obtain patent protection. Building on steps it has already taken, for example in making patent application forms available on its web-site, the Office will be actively pursuing the possibilities for its customers to deal electronically. The Government will also be working with their European partners to simplify and harmonise the patent system in Europe, in particular in response to European Commission proposals expected following its Green Paper on the Community Patent and the Patent System in Europe.
Key Target 1:
To meet 100% of operational taskings required by the Department to the standards agreed by the Director General of Intelligence and Geographic Resources.
Key Target 2:
To establish an effective quality evaluation methodology for training by March 1999 and establish the baseline for future improvements.
Key Target 3:
To deliver the training programme endorsed by the Defence Intelligence Training Policy Group within agreed resources.
Key Target 4:
To investigate measures of efficiency within Agency training Outputs.
Key Target 5:
To achieve a 2.5 per cent. improvement in efficiency.
(Technical Papers)
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |