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Eurofighter
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the additional cost implications in (a) support, (b) fatigue and (c) training of arming the Eurofighters with a cannon; and what are the cost implications of changing the original specifications. [139962]
Mr. Hoon: The RAF have assessed that the support, fatigue and training cost implications of the Mauser cannon on Eurofighter outweigh the cannon's minimal operational utility, particularly given the capability of the
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advanced short-range air-to-air missiles with which the aircraft will be armed and the pattern of operations over the last decade.
Specifically, the disadvantages of the cannon include: the damaging effects of the shock of its recoil on the electronics; the corrosive effects of its exhaust gas; the strain which it puts on the aircraft, reducing the aircraft's useful life; and a range of training costs, including new targets and the cost of removing training rounds from the environment.
The deletion of the gun will save some £30 million over the forward equipment programme, and more than £3.5 million every year of Eurofighter's operational life in support costs.
Medical Staff
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the establishment requirement
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of (a) anaesthetists, (b) general physicians, (c) general surgeons, (d) orthopaedic surgeons, (e) burns and plastics, (f) accident and emergency, (g) psychiatrists, (h) ophthalmic surgeons, (i) radiologists, (j) pathologists, (k) dental officers, (l) ear, nose and throat, (m) rheumatology and rehabilitation, (n) occupational medicine, (o) general practice and (p) command and staff stating in each case the (i) manning and (ii) percentage shortfall; and if he will make a statement. [139703]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 22 November 2000]: The establishment requirements against manning figures for accredited consultants, vocationally trained general medical practitioners and dental officers are set out in the table. There is no separate requirement for command and staff posts and the table shows those consultants, general medical practitioners and dental officers filling such appointments. The figures show continuing serious shortfalls among medical officers, although their manning levels have stabilised over the last two years.
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| Specialty | Operational and retained task requirement(13) | Consultants/GMPs etc. in specialty(14) | Consultants/GMPs etc. command and staff posts | Total consultants/ GMPs etc. | Percentage shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaesthetists | 120 | 29 | -- | 29 | 76 |
| General physicians | 51 | 19 | 9 | 28 | 45 |
| General surgeons | 44 | 18 | 3 | 21 | 52 |
| Orthopaedic surgeons | 28 | 8 | -- | 8 | 71 |
| Burns and plastics | 10 | 3 | -- | 3 | 70 |
| Accident and emergency | 23 | 3 | -- | 3 | 87 |
| Psychiatrists | 34 | 14 | -- | 14 | 59 |
| Ophthalmic surgeons | 10 | 5 | -- | 5 | 50 |
| Radiologists | 11 | 10 | -- | 10 | 9 |
| Pathologists | 18 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 33 |
| Ear, nose and throat | 10 | 4 | -- | 4 | 60 |
| Rheumatology and rehabilitation | 6 | 5 | -- | 5 | 16 |
| Occupational medicine | 49 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 35 |
| General practitioners | 437 | 175 | 33 | 208 | 52 |
| Dental officers | 277 | 248 | (15)12 | 251 | 9 |
(13) Figures exclude manning and training margins
(14) Figures exclude specialists under training
(15) Dental officers in command and staff appointments may undertake occasional clinical work
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Doctors
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many civilian doctors were employed (a) in the hospital sector and (b) in primary care in the DMS in each month since April 1999; and how many of these were employed in civilian in lieu of military posts; [139701]
- (2) how many (a) military consultants, (b) military junior doctors and (c) civilian consultants employed by his Department were employed at Haslar on 31 March; and how many of each of these (i) continue to work at Haslar, (ii) have prematurely retired from the DMS or otherwise left the services and (iii) have been deployed elsewhere. [139699]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 22 November 2000]: This information will take some time to collate. However, I will write to the right hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) consultants, (b) junior hospital doctors, (c) general practitioners and (d) GP registrars sought premature voluntary retirement from the DMS in each month since April 1999. [139700]
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Dr. Moonie [holding answer 22 November 2000]: This information will take some time to collate and I will write to the right hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Service Pilots (Pay and Conditions)
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on ensuring competitive conditions and rates of pay for service pilots in relation to civil aviation pilots. [140128]
Mr. Spellar: Levels of Service pay are based on the recommendations of the independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body who work on the principle of broad comparability with the pay of civilians in jobs of similar weight and responsibility (derived by job evaluation) against a number of factors. An additional element called the "X-factor" (currently 13 per cent. of basic pay) is then added to basic pay in order to reflect the difference between conditions of service experienced by members of the armed forces and conditions in civilian life which cannot be taken into account when assessing pay comparability. X-factor is paid in full to all ranks up to the mid-point on the Lieutenant Colonel scale. In addition
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to basic pay, certain groups are paid additional pay, as a supplement to basic pay, as a supplement to basic pay, to counter market forces' pressures. Pilots receive such payments, in the form of flying pay, at levels geared to support retention.
The pay package for pilots, as with all groups where market forces have an impact, is kept under review.
War Widows Pensions
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what data his Department collect on the numbers of United Kingdom war widows whose war widows pensions and in respect of which years ceased on remarriage. [140142]
Dr. Moonie: I assume that the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) refers to those widows who have been awarded a War Widows Pensions Agency and who have, in addition, been awarded an attributable forces family pension under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). We can retrieve from our computer database records of the numbers of widows who have remarried since 1998, but our records of past remarriages do not separately identify which widows receive attributable forces family pensions. The number of widows remarrying in each of the last two years is:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1998-99 | 52 |
| 1999-2000 | 67 |
Although our past records do not distinguish between attributable and non-attributable widows, we believe that around one in 20 widows are paid an attributable forces family pension. More detailed information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Future Strategic Tanker
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the Future Strategic Tanker project and the roles of RAF Brize Norton and DERA Boscombe Down. [140086]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 24 November 2000]: The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) is planned to begin replacing the RAF's current fleet of VC10 and Tristar tanker/transport aircraft from around 2007. We are currently investigating the potential for achieving a service-based solution to the requirement under the Private Finance Initiative. The current fleet is based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. DERA is seeking to act as a commercial partner to the FSTA consortia and is promoting its Boscombe Down airfield as a potential alternative operating base. Our work on development of the Public Sector Comparator for FSTA has concluded that RAF Brize Norton is likely to offer the most cost effective operating base for the FSTA service.
However, under a PFI procurement strategy we would be prepared to consider innovative proposals from the bidding consortia that maintain operational capability and offer value for money. We have not yet launched the formal bidding process for the FSTA requirement and do not expect to make final decisions on the programme before 2002.
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