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Naval Manpower (South Atlantic)

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of naval manpower is deployed in the South Atlantic. [109863]

Mr. Spellar: The proportion of naval manpower currently deployed in the South Atlantic represents less than 1 per cent. of the Naval Service Trained Strength.

Falkland Islands

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total annual cost is of maintaining and manning the Falkland Islands military base. [109862]

Mr. Spellar: The cost to the Ministry of Defence of the Falkland Islands Garrison in financial year 1999-2000 is expected to be approximately £73 million.

This figure relates to the costs incurred by the Commander British Forces Falkland Islands only. It does not include the costs of the RAF airbridge to the Falkland Islands, nor the cost of naval deployments to the South Atlantic. These costs fall to other budgets and are not separately identified.

Lloyd's Register

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact the new Lloyd's Register rules will have on the readiness and functioning of Royal Navy ships; and if he will make a statement. [109674]

Mr. Spellar: The Ministry of Defence has operated Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships in an appropriate Lloyd's Register Class for many years with no significant impact on the required readiness and functioning of these ships. The new Lloyd's Naval Ship Rules, developed in full consultation with the Ministry of Defence, provide planned and monitored standards for Royal Navy warships that will ensure availability, functionality and sustained readiness. Care has been taken to ensure that Lloyd's Rules are at least as effective as current MOD Naval Standards.

Nepal

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was to his Department of participating in the multinational peacekeeping exercise in January 2000 in Nepal; which units took part and for how long; and if he will make a statement. [109800]

Mr. Spellar: My Department did not participate directly in Exercise Shanti Prayas, the South Asian multinational peacekeeping exercise held in Nepal from 16 to 30 January 2000.

However, at the invitation of the Nepalese Army, the Ministry of Defence sent two observers to part of the exercise at an additional cost of around £500.

14 Feb 2000 : Column: 375W

Austria (Bilateral Meetings)

Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many bilateral meetings were held between his Department and its Austrian counterpart in each of the last five years; and what was discussed at each meeting since May 1997. [109874]

Mr. Hoon: Since 1995 the following senior-level bilateral meetings were held between representatives of the Ministry of Defence and its Austrian counterpart:

YearNumber of meetings
19952
19960
19975
19983
19990

In addition, a number of low-level or informal meetings will have been held but details of such meetings are not held centrally. Discussions will have covered a wide range of issues of defence co-operation.

Departmental Contracts

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what level of profit his Department permits contractors to make on non-competitive contracts; and if he will make a statement. [109967]

Dr. Moonie: The level of profit included in prices negotiated for non-competitive government contracts is calculated in accordance with the Government Profit Formula. Copies of the Reports on the Annual Reviews and triennial General Reviews of the Government Profit Formula for Non-Competitive Contracts, produced by the Review Board for Government Contracts (a non-departmental public body), are available in the Library of the House. These advise on the appropriate calculation of profit on non-competitive contracts for the year in which the contract is priced.

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-competitive contracts, to what aggregate value, were let during the last year for which records are available; and if he will make a statement. [109966]

Dr. Moonie: The total number of contracts placed by the Ministry of Defence during Financial Year 1998-99 was 55,496, of which 8,616 were non-competitive. The total value of the contracts was £7.09 billion, of which the non-competitive element was worth £2.3 billion. These figures exclude Local Purchase Orders, the average value of which is less than £500.

Making the best use of competition at prime and sub-contract level, is the MOD's preferred means of supplier selection, for achieving value for money in the delivery of defence capability. Where competition is not practicable, or is dispensed with on value for money grounds, contract placement is normally accompanied by price agreement at the outset.

Procurement (Capability Working Groups)

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of capability working groups in the defence procurement system. [109968]

14 Feb 2000 : Column: 376W

Dr. Moonie: Capability working groups are being established as part of our Smart Procurement reforms. Such groups bring together key stakeholders to develop the broad strategy for the capability area concerned, and to assess options to meet capability gaps. The groups thus inform and support the work of the Defence Procurement Agency teams responsible for managing equipment projects.

Service Discipline

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each country where HM forces are deployed (a) the nature of the deployment, (b) the numbers deployed, by service, and (c) the numbers of civil servants, their dependants and the civilian dependants of service personnel who may be tried under the service discipline Acts. [110009]

Mr. Spellar: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Declaration of Principles

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Declaration of Principles he signed with the US Secretary for Defense on 5 February. [109732]

Mr. Hoon: A copy of the UK/US Declaration of Principles has been placed in the Library of the House.

Challenger 2

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money, and over what time scale, he intends to save by purchasing a new track for Challenger 2; and if he will make a statement. [109734]

Dr. Moonie: The whole-life costs of all weapons systems are being examined as part of the Department's Smart Procurement initiative. Challenger 2, which only entered service in June 1998, is no exception. It is too early to say with absolute accuracy what savings will be achieved from on-going studies into the running costs of the vehicle.

TRACER

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect the recent changes to the US Army budget plan will have on the TRACER/Future Scout and Cavalry System; and if he will make a statement. [109733]

Dr. Moonie: The UK and USA have entered into a joint Project Definition phase for TRACER/FSCS under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding. This commits both nations to an equal share of the cost of this stage of the project. There is no commitment, by either nation, to proceed beyond the Project Definition phase and, therefore, no agreement to fund any further development beyond this stage. The UK contribution to the cost of the collaborative Project Definition contracts for TRACER is some £90 million. My officials are in close touch with their US counterparts over the TRACER/FSCS programme.

14 Feb 2000 : Column: 377W

Armed Forces Legal Branches

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the official establishments of each of the armed forces legal branches. [110007]

Mr. Spellar: The Royal Navy does not have a legal branch but there are 21 established legal posts. The establishments of the Army and Royal Air Force legal branches are 100 and 37 respectively.

Royal Military Police

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are (a) the official establishment figures for the Royal Military Police, (b) the current manpower and (c) forecast manpower levels for the next three years. [110008]

Mr. Spellar: As at 1 February 2000, the RMP currently has 1,961 serving personnel and has a manpower planning target of 2,007. The current manpower planning target is not expected to change significantly in the next three years. That target includes the small number of posts that will be needed to meet the provisions of the Armed Forces Discipline Bill.

Smart Procurement

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what stage in the Smart Procurement process the defence industry will become involved; what impact such involvement will have on the policy of competitive procurement; and if he will make a statement. [109690]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 11 February 2000]: Under Smart Procurement, the industry is involved in procurement projects from the outset. However, the nature and level of its involvement will vary according to the stage of the project, from initial studies, procurement, through-life support and disposal. This does not affect MOD policy on competition. Making the best use of competition at prime and sub-contract level remains the MOD's preferred means of supplier selection for defence requirements and achieving value for money. Industry understands this principle.


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