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National ME Centre
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many beds are currently available at the National ME Centre; [117515]
- (2) how many people are currently waiting for a bed at the National ME Centre; and for what periods of time they have been waiting. [117516]
Ms Stuart: The information requested is not collected centrally. The National Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Centre and Centre for Fatigue syndromes is not a National Health Service organisation but a registered charity which is based at the Disablement Services Centre at Harold Wood Hospital.
DEFENCE
Defence Agencies
Mr. Ernie Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the Defence Agency status of Military Survey and the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre. [117834]
Mr. Spellar:
On 10 May 1999 I announced that the Military Survey and Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC) Defence Agencies were to be merged into a single combined Agency, Official Report, columns 19-20W. The Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency (DGIA) will be launched today.
4 Apr 2000 : Column: 396W
DGIA will be based at four main UK sites: Feltham in West London, Brampton near Huntingdon, Tolworth in Surrey and Hermitage near Newbury. The Headquarters will be Feltham alongside its largest business unit, the Defence Geographic Centre. DGIA will have some 1,700 staff; over half will be civilians and all three Services will be represented.
The Agency will act as the Department's centre of excellence for the production of imagery intelligence and geographic information in support of current military operations, defence planning, general intelligence requirements and wider Government interests.
The Agency has the following Key Targets for the year 2000-01.
Copies of the DGIA Framework Document and the Agency's first Corporate Plan will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Ernie Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if reservists will continue to be called out to support military operations in the Balkans and the region of Iraq. [117835]
Mr. Spellar:
A new call-out order has been made under section 54 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 which allows the call out of members of the reserve forces to continue so that they may support operations in Yugoslavia and in the region of Iraq. The call-out order has effect until 31 March 2001. Since NATO operations commenced in the former Yugoslavia, the reserve forces have historically
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provided some 10 per cent. of the total UK manpower in theatre. As in previous years, only volunteers for these duties will be called out.
Mr. Cotter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Minister in his Department has responsibility for regulatory reform; and if he will make a statement. [117413]
Dr. Moonie:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Quinn) by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster today.
Mr. Shaw:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will provide the information promised in his answer to the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford of 27 July 1999, Official Report, column 205W, concerning the number of former Chatham Dockyard workers who have received compensation under the no-fault scheme. [117664]
Dr. Moonie:
I have written to my hon. Friend today.
Mr. Duncan Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans has he to send British forces to Israel for joint training exercises. [117562]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 3 April 2000]: There are no such plans at present.
Mr. Duncan Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings have been held with Israeli Government officials and his Department in the United Kingdom in the last year. [117563]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 3 April 2000]: During the past year there have been numerous meetings between MOD and Israeli officials in the UK and a wide range of issues were discussed. Similar meetings and contacts will continue this year.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact which a US decision to outfit its AGM-154C Joint Stand-off Weapon with BAe Systems' Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge would have on the UK defence industry; and if he will make a statement. [116937]
Dr. Moonie:
Although no decision has yet been made by the US authorities, the selection of BROACH as the preferred warhead for its Navy's Joint Stand-Off Weapon would be an important success for the UK defence industry. If successful, there would be new jobs created in both the UK and the US.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which overseas countries the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency has offices; and what are their functions. [117080]
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Dr. Moonie:
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. Matthew Taylor, dated 4 April 2000:
Mr. Duncan Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had in the last year with his Israeli counterpart on ballistic missile defence; and if he will make a statement. [117559]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 3 April 2000]: Neither the Secretary of State nor officials have held discussions with the Israelis on ballistic missile defence within the last year.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the area is of office space in the Craigiehall building to be occupied by Command HQ civilian and service personnel; and if the trade unions have been given this information; [116054]
(3) how many personnel and what volume of office equipment can be safely accommodated in the Craigiehall building; [116052]
(4) how many (a) civilian and (b) service personnel are planned to occupy the Craigiehall building following the transfer there of Army 2 Division Headquarters; and if this information has been disclosed to the relevant trade unions; [116037]
(5) if he will estimate the numbers of (a) civilian and (b) service personnel planned to occupy Craigiehall; [116051]
(6) what investigation has been carried out in the Craigiehall building, which is to house the Army Headquarters 2 Division, to establish the extent of the use of asbestos in its fabric and whether it is safely inert; what alterations to the interior of the Craigiehall building are planned that could disturb existing asbestos installation; at what cost; and what are the health and safety implications for his Department's personnel being accommodated there; [116036]
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(7) what load-bearing tests have been carried out in the Craigiehall building to establish whether it can safely accommodate the personnel and equipment needed in the reorganised Army Headquarters 2 Division; when and by whom the tests were conducted; what the findings of the tests were; and whether the report of the tests was disclosed to the trade unions; [116039]
(8) what representations he has received concerning the proposed accommodation to be provided for Army 2 Division HQ at Craigiehall; [116053]
(9) what is the total office space in the Craigiehall building to be occupied by Army Command HQ civilian and service personnel; and when the trade unions were given this information. [116038]
Mr. Spellar:
Following the move of the Headquarters 2 Division from York to Edinburgh, a total of up to some 262 staff posts are planned to be accommodated within Annandale Block, which is the Headquarters 2 Division HQ Building, Craigiehall. Of this total, some 204 are civilian and 58 military. Some 35 of the total number work for organisations other than Headquarters 2 Division. All these staff can be safely accommodated within the building.
The gross floor office space of the building, excluding corridors, is approximately 4,000 sq m, some 3,475 sq m of which will be utilised by Headquarters 2 Division staff. It is not possible to provide a meaningful figure of the maximum number of personnel and amount of office equipment that could be safely accommodated within the building, as the occupation of each room would be dependent on individual circumstances. Planning for reorganisation of accommodation within the building has been undertaken with due regard to The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations and the Approved Code of Practice 1992, Regulation 10 (Room Dimension and Space).
The presence of asbestos as an insulator behind convected heating panels and in ceiling tiles of the building was identified in December 1997. Although it was judged to be safely inert, it was nevertheless recorded as a potential hazard and brought to the attention of all staff. In line with the requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, Regulation 3 (Risk Assessment), a reassessment was carried out on Annandale Block in early 1999, and the judgment was that it remains safely inert.
In addition, a Legionellosis Risk Assessment relating to the building was carried out in February this year. The assessment made a number of minor recommendations to comply with statutory obligations, and implementation of these recommendations is now in hand.
Currently, alterations relating to the reconfiguration of the reprographic room in Annandale Block are being carried out at an estimated cost of £3,400. Safe systems of work have been applied and all necessary precautions have been taken in accordance with the control of Asbestos at Work (Amendment) 1992. No further work is currently planned for the building.
An intrusive structural survey has been carried out in March this year by Posford Duvivier Scotland Ltd., Edinburgh on behalf of the Estate Adviser Scotland and
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this confirmed that the structural integrity of the building and, in particular, the steelwork remained sound. The survey made a number of recommendations about the positioning of heavy objects such as filing cabinets on the upper floors with which the Headquarters is complying.
Key Target 1
To satisfy operational requirements for imagery intelligence and geographic support within timescales and to standards agreed between the Agency and its customers as follows:
(a) For imagery intelligence, providing at least 95 per cent. of requirements overall, while delivering not less than 98 per cent. of Priority 1 tasks.
(b) For geographic support, providing 100 per cent. of geographic products and services essential to support current operations, both from the Agency's UK based capabilities and its deployable units.
Key Target 2
To achieve the required level of operational readiness in line with Defence Planning Assumptions, while continuing to meet those deployable element outputs required under Key Target 1.
Key Target 3
To satisfy strategic and contingency requirements for imagery intelligence and geographic support within timescales and to standards agreed between the Agency and its customers as follows:
(a) For imagery intelligence providing at least 85 per cent. of requirements overall, while delivering not less than 92 per cent. of Priority 1 tasks.
(b) For geographic support, completing at least 90 per cent of a customer endorsed programme of work for geographic products and services.
Key Target 4
To demonstrate a 1 per cent. improvement in the coverage of geographic information holdings and to maintain their quality for Defence use in comparison with the baseline established in 1999.
Key Target 5
To achieve a 2.5 per cent. improvement in efficiency.
I am replying to your parliamentary question about overseas offices of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).
DERA has offices in Brussels and Moscow. The Brussels offices was established to develop DERA's commercial business and status in mainland Europe. This includes support to the European Commission and NATO. The Moscow office was set up as part of the DERA Programme for Partnership in Technology (PPT). The programme establishes and develops contacts between DERA scientists and those in the Russian Federation working in related fields. In some cases this has led to joint research projects being set up to the benefit of both partners. More information about both these offices may be found on the DERA website (www.dera.gov.uk/dera) under "Who we are" and then "Organisation".
I hope the above is helpful.
(2) if he will make a statement on the risk assessment relating to the Craigiehall building to be used for Army 2 Division Headquarters under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992; [116045]
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