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Principle Anti-air Missile Systems
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medium-range Principle anti-air missile systems the United Kingdom has developed in the last three years. [103033]
Troop Movements
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK troops will be transferred from East Timor to (a) Brunei and (b) the UK at the end of December. [103060]
Mr. Hoon:
All UK troops, with the exception of two UN Monitoring Observers, returned from East Timor before the end of December. A total of 284 troops were transferred from East Timor, with 46 returning to the UK
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and 238 returning to Brunei. The withdrawal started on 8 December, following confirmation from the INTERFET Commander, Major-General Cosgrove, that their tasks were complete. The final contingent of Gurkhas arrived back in Brunei on 10 December and UK-based troops arrived home on 17 December.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the United Kingdom's asymmetric warfare; and if he will make a statement. [103032]
Mr. Spellar:
My Department continually monitors and assesses threats to UK interests, whether they are conventional in nature or "asymmetric". The analysis influences our defence policy and planning to ensure that British defence capability is well placed to respond to the threats and opportunities we face now and may face in the future. The subject of asymmetric warfare is so broad as to appear frequently in representations and debates on defence and security policy.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list of the organisations and individuals who responded to the consultation document on the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency public private partnership proposals published by his Department in May. [103183]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
I have today placed in the Library of the House a list showing all the non-Governmental organisations that have provided written responses to the DERA PPP consultation document. Some responses, for example from trade associations, represented a consolidated view from a number of organisations consulted as part of their own consultation process. Similarly, a number of organisations and individuals responded orally through participation in consultation events. For reasons of confidentiality, the list does not include the names of individuals who responded on a personal basis, either to the Ministry of Defence or through their Member of Parliament.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings officials from the Gulf Veterans' Illnesses Unit were held with officials of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs between January and December 1998; (a) on what dates and (b) where each meeting took place; and for which section of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs the officials who attended each meeting worked. [103149]
Mr. Spellar:
During 1998, officials from my Department's Gulf Veterans Illnesses Unit visited Washington DC on the following occasions: 16-18 February; 14-20 June; 26 September-3 October and 23-26 November. They would have met officials representing the US Department of Veterans Affairs on these occasions. In the time available, it has not proved possible to trace records of the meetings to establish in which sections of the Department of Veterans Affairs these officials worked. I will write to the hon. Gentleman if this information can be found.
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In addition to the above, a member of the Gulf Veterans Illness Unit (GVIU) based in Washington DC maintains continuous dialogue with United States Department of Veterans Affairs colleagues.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times Ministers in his Department met members and officials on the United States Government between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 1998; on what dates and at which locations; and which (a) Ministers and (b) US counterparts and officials attended each meeting. [103181]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
Between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 1998, MOD Ministers met US Government members and officials on the following occasions:
| Date | Minister | |
|---|---|---|
| For the Armed Forces | ||
| 4 July 1997 | The right hon. John Dalton, Secretary US Navy--in UK | |
| 15 October 1997 | Dr. John Hamre, Under Secretary--in US | |
| 16 October 1997 | The hon. Togo West, Secretary of the Army--in US | |
| Defence Procurement | ||
| 1 July 1997 | Joe Reeder, US Secretary of State of the Navy--in UK | |
| 6 October 1997 | The hon. John Dalton, Secretary of the Navy--in US | |
| 6 October 1997 | Dr. John Hamre, Deputy Secretary of Defense--in US | |
| 8 October 1997 | The hon. William Cohen, Secretary of Defense--in US | |
Full records of the officials present at these meetings are not kept.
Departmental Productivity
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he is taking to increase the productivity and reduce the running costs of his Department. [103847]
Mr. Spellar: Delivering efficient and modern public services is a key part of the Government's agenda for improving productivity. Greater efficiency is being sought within the public sector to ensure that the most effective results are obtained from available resources. The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Public Service Agreement (PSA) sets out the objectives, key targets and resources for the MOD and the Armed Forces, and includes a range of measures to ensure that the budget allocated to defence purchases the maximum capability for the Armed Forces and fulfils the plans set out in the Strategic Defence Review.
The key measures from the PSA that will help raise the Department's productivity are shown below:
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Mr. Gardiner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees of his Department took early retirement packages and at what total cost, in the financial year 1996-97. [103362]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
Early departure packages are available for staff over 50 years of age (classed as retirement) and under 50 years of age (classed as severance). The total number of early leavers, including voluntary and compulsory redundancies, caused by reductions and geographical relocations (but excluding Trading Fund Agencies) were 1,712 in Financial Year 1996-97. The total is broken down by category in the table.
The MOD is committed to achieving efficiency savings of 3 per cent. a year (as a percentage of the operating costs efficiency baseline) for the period 1998-99 to 2001-02. In support of this, savings of at least £15 million a year are generated from ideas implemented through MOD's GEMS scheme, one of the most successful staff suggestion programmes in the UK.
The appointment of a Chief of Defence Logistics, followed by the creation of a unified organisation to provide logistic support to all three Services, will help to achieve a reduction in book value of non munitions stockholdings of £2.2 billion by April 2001.
The MOD is reforming its procurement organisation through the creation of the Defence Procurement Agency and implementation of the Smart Procurement Initiative. The DPA has been set a target to reduce its operating costs by 20 per cent. by 2001-02.
The Department is committed to slimming down its central headquarters organisation, which has already reduced by 30 per cent. since 1990; and to reducing the planned number of office buildings to be occupied to two (from 24 in 1990).
The Department is developing a strategy for better management and utilisation of the overall defence estate, including the realisation of gross receipts of more than £700 million from the sale of surplus property.
MOD will regularly and systematically review all services and activities not directly associated with front line forces over a five year period in line with Government policy, "Better Quality Services". The Department will pursue private sector involvement in MOD business, where it provides best value for money, through Public/Private Partnership initiatives.
The MOD is on track to meet the targets described above. The Defence White Paper 1999 (Cm 4446) and the Ministry of Defence Performance Report 1998-99 (Cm 4520), which were published on 20 December 1999, describe the progress that has been made in implementing the Strategic Defence Review and against the targets set in the MOD's PSA.
| Retirement category | Category sub-total | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Approved early retirement | -- | 109 |
| Actuarially reduced retirement | -- | 11 |
| Compulsory early retirement/Severance: | ||
| CER on Structural grounds | 30 | -- |
| CER on Redundancy grounds | 595 | -- |
| CES on Structural grounds | 14 | -- |
| CES on Redundancy grounds | 443 | -- |
| CER/CES total | -- | 1,082 |
| Flexible early retirement/severance: | ||
| FER on Structural grounds | 73 | -- |
| FER on Limited Postability | 6 | -- |
| FES on Structural grounds | 1 | -- |
| FES on Limited Postability | 5 | -- |
| FER/FES total | -- | 85 |
| Voluntary redundancy | ||
| Voluntary Redundancy (CER terms) | 214 | -- |
| Voluntary Redundancy (CES terms) | 211 | -- |
| Voluntary Redundancy total | -- | 425 |
| Total | 1,712 |
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