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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 25 March 1999
DEFENCE
Iraq
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost to public funds of British military activities relating to Iraq since the end of Operation Desert Fox. [75672]
Mr. George Robertson [holding answer 9 March 1999]: Operation Desert Fox ended on 19 December 1998. Expenditure on subsequent British military activity relating to Iraq in January and February 1999 is approximately £10 million.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the approximate weight of ordnance fired against targets in Iraq between Wednesday 17 March and Saturday 20 March. [78716]
Mr. George Robertson: I am withholding the information requested under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government information relating to Defence, Security and International Relations.
Electronic Red Boxes
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will name the Ministers in his Department who are regular users of electronic Red Boxes. [76171]
Mr. Spellar: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, on 16 March 1999, Official Report, columns 651-52.
Naval Recruiting and Training Agency
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are currently employed by the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency; what was the figure at its inception; on what date the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency published its report for 1997-98; and what was the cost of production of the report. [76896]
Mr. Doug Henderson: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from John Chadwick to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 25 March 1999:
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I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the numbers of people currently employed by the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency (NRTA), currently and at its inception, and the date of publication and cost of the 1997-98 Report, in my capacity as Chief Executive of the NRTA.
The NRTA currently employs 4,600 Naval and civilian personnel. At its inception in April 1995, the Agency employed 5,100 Naval and civilian personnel. The Agency Report for 1997-98 is currently being printed, after a delay in producing financial figures due to the
requirement for reconciliation with the Ministry of Defence's overall Opening Balances. The cost of production will be in the order of £4,500.
I will arrange for a copy of the Agency Report for 1997-98 to be forwarded to you when it is available.
Defence Vetting Agency
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are currently employed by the Defence Vetting Agency; and how many were at its establishment. [76636]
Mr. Spellar: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Vetting Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Wilson to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 25 March 1999:
I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the number of staff employed by the Defence Vetting Agency, as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Agency.
The Agency employed 349 staff when it was established on 1st April 1997. The strength of the Agency at 1st February 1999 was 365. The bulk of the additional 16 staff are 3-year Fixed Term Appointees, recruited for the specific purpose of clearing a developing backlog in one particular part of the organisation. As you are aware, the Agency plans to collocate at York by early 2001, at which time the strength will reduce to about 310. The exact figure will depend to some extent on how well a number of underlying management assumptions bear up.
I hope this is helpful.
Brimstone and Storm Shadow Programmes
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current forecast (a) in-service date for and (b) cost of (i) the Brimstone and (ii) the Storm Shadow programmes; and what was the forecast in each case at the time that the contract was placed. [77262]
Mr. Spellar: The in-service dates for the Brimstone and Storm Shadow programmes remain the same as those forecast at the time the contracts were placed, namely October and December 2001 respectively.
The forecast programme cost for Brimstone was £783 million compared with a current estimate of £793 million. The forecast programme cost for Storm Shadow was £858 million compared with a current estimate of £878 million.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the work for the (a) Brimstone and (b) Storm Shadow programmes is being placed with UK registered companies; and what was the forecast proportion when the contract was placed. [77263]
Mr. Spellar:
At the time the Brimstone contract was negotiated, the proportion of work by value, expected to be placed with UK registered companies was some 63 per cent. There has been no significant change in this percentage since placement of the contract.
When the Storm Shadow contract was placed, it was envisaged that in excess of 70 per cent. of work would be placed with UK registered companies. Matra BAe Dynamics have to date placed 85 per cent. of work by value; of which 80 per cent. has been placed in the UK.
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Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 8 March 1999, Official Report, columns 34-35, on in-service dates for aircraft, what are the reasons for the different definitions of in-service. [77265]
Mr. Spellar:
The current practice is to define in-service dates as the date by which an equipment, or a specified number of equipments, will contribute to the operational capability of the Service concerned. The in-service date quoted for the Hercules C130J conforms with this practice. The in-service dates for Eurofighter, Merlin HM Mk 1 and Merlin HC Mk3 were defined some years ago when the practice was to take account of a range of operational, production and international factors.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his future plans for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. [77903]
Mr. Spellar:
My noble Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement is expecting initial advice from a team studying the Public Private Partnership options for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency at the end of this month. Following a period of discussion and consultation, Ministers would hope to make a decision and an announcement about the future of DERA later this year.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the turnover of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency is civil. [77059]
Mr. Spellar:
This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Michael Colvin, dated 25 March 1999:
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the titles of the study groups established by his Department to examine the globalisation of technology transfer; what are the terms of reference of each; and when they are due to report. [77904]
Mr. Spellar:
I am not aware that any working groups have been established specifically to study the globalisation of technology transfer. The UK continues to
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benefit from a wide-ranging programme of international collaboration in defence research, principally with our NATO Allies.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions there have been between his Department and the American Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; and if he will make a statement. [77902]
Mr. Spellar:
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, DERA, as the UK MOD's main source of defence scientific and technical expertise, has regular exchanges with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on a range of research matters. These discussions form a part of the UK's wider collaborative relationship with the US.
I have been asked to reply to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the turnover of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in view of my responsibilities as Chief Executive.
The turnover of DERA for the financial year 1997/98 can be broken down into a number of constituent parts. Total income, as stated in our last Annual Report and Accounts, was £1006.3 million, of which £105.7 million came from non-Ministry of Defence sources. Defence related activities for either UK industry or foreign customers accounted for £38 million of this figure. Of the remaining £67.7 million which came from civil markets, £27.8 million was from British Government Departments other than the Ministry of Defence.
I hope this is helpful.
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