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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 23 November 1999
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Grand Committee Room
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee if he will break down the total costs of refurbishing the Grand Committee Room into those costs which would have been incurred anyway as part of the planned programme of refurbishment, and those which arise specifically from the use of the Grand Committee Room for Westminster Hall sittings. [98551]
Sir Sydney Chapman: The total cost of £882,000 for the refurbishment of the Grand Committee Room includes within it £670,000 (at current prices) which had already been included in the 10 year rolling programme for Parliamentary works over the period 2002-06 prior to the House approving the Report from the Modernisation Committee which recommended using the room for Westminster Hall Sittings.
This latter amount covers works such as building services, replacement of fan coils, internal stone cleaning, cabling for the Parliamentary Data and Video Network, automatic fire detection and rewiring.
DEFENCE
Departmental Transport
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on civil servants transport in each of the last two years. [98721]
Mr. Kilfoyle: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Savidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in his Department's plans to procure two new aircraft carriers. [99741]
Mr. Kilfoyle: I am pleased to be able to announce that competitive contracts were placed today with British Aerospace Land and Sea Systems Ltd. and Thomson-CSF NCS France for the Assessment Phase of the Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) project.
The two contracts, each potentially worth £29.4 million VAT inclusive, consist of two phases. The first phase of each contract, worth £5.9 million, will involve work to examine a variety of aircraft carrier design options. This phase will also help inform the choice of the type of Future Carrier Borne Aircraft (FCBA). The second phase, worth a further £23.5 million, will involve risk reduction on the preferred carrier design option when the decision on the selection of FCBA has been taken. Progression
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to this second phase will be subject to BAe and Thomson-CSF satisfactorily completing the first package of work. The Assessment Phase will complete in 2003 when bids for the Demonstration and Manufacture Phase of CVF will be delivered. The two carriers are scheduled to enter service in 2012 and 2015.
The new carriers will form a key element of the modern force structure that emerged from SDR. They will be particularly relevant to the foreign and security policy demands of the next century and will ensure the UK retains one of the most powerful and effective navies in the world.
Ms Squire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the C-130 J transport aircraft will enter service. [99740]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
The first C-130 J transport aircraft was delivered to RAF Lyneham today. Initially the aircraft will be used for maintenance training and groundcrew familiarisation only. The In-Service Date is defined as delivery of the twelfth aircraft, currently estimated to be in May 2000.
Mr. Savidge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are planned for appointing the prime contractor for the Type 45 Anti-air Warfare Destroyer. [99742]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
Our plans for the T45 Destroyer programme build on the work accomplished in the design definition phase of the tri-national Horizon frigate project and continuity of the UK contractor is an essential element for this. Marconi Electronic Systems has therefore been contracted to complete the next phase of the work on the T45 Destroyer. Under Smart Procurement principles this is known as the Preparation for Demonstration (PFD) phase and, subject to satisfactory progress, this will lead into the Demonstration and First of Class Manufacture phase.
Graves
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what conditions pertaining to relatives' access to graves are required as a condition when Church lands are sold. [98999]
Mr. Stuart Bell: In order to secure a suitable alternative use for a redundant church, some churchyard land may be included in the disposal. Where such land contains burials, continued public access is normally reserved for the tending of graves. If necessary, rights of way can also be granted or reserved.
St. John's Church, Whitby
Mr. Quinn:
To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners,
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what representations he has received concerning St. John's Church within the Parish of Whitby; and if he will make a statement. [99003]
Mr. Stuart Bell:
Following publication of a draft Scheme to declare the church redundant the Commissioners received nine representations in favour of closure and four against, including a petition. After careful consideration, the Commissioners' Pastoral Committee, acting in its quasi-judicial role, concluded that the church was pastorally required and upheld the representations against the draft scheme.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien:
To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what proportion of Church of England liquid and fixed assets is represented by those held under freehold by the incumbent clerks in holy orders. [99004]
Mr. Stuart Bell:
Parsonages represent about 15 per cent. of the Church's total assets. About 60 per cent. of parsonages are legally held under freehold by incumbent clergy. However, any holding by an incumbent is in a corporate capacity and so is not analogous to freehold ownership in the traditionally understood sense.
Parish churches also normally vest in the incumbent but are not valued in terms of disposal value as they are not usually realisable.
Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what representations he has received concerning the issuing of formal employment contracts for the clergy. [99005]
Mr. Stuart Bell:
No representations have been received to date. However staff of the Archbishops Council will be meeting with the representatives of the MSF union in the near future to discuss questions arising from the Employment Relations Act 1999.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, to what extent the Commissioners take into account extra income earned by bishops (a) from giving lectures and (b) from other sources in determining their remuneration. [99118]
Mr. Stuart Bell:
Bishops are advised that if they take on further, paid commitments, and that work involves time which would otherwise be used for episcopal responsibilities, they should inform the Commissioners of the gross annual amount. An equivalent sum can then be deducted from their stipend. This is on the same basis as the rules for other clergy.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list the expenses claimed by each bishop for the last year for which figures are available. [99117]
Mr. Stuart Bell:
The Commissioners' current policy is not to make public the expenditure on individual bishops' working costs. The overall expenditure under this heading in 1998 was £8.8 million. Of this £5.1 million was spent
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on staff salaries, pensions and fees; £3.3 million on other working costs; and £0.4 million on costs connected with last year's Lambeth Conference.
This expenditure is the necessary costs of supporting the bishops' ministry: principally the salaries and pensions of their staff, the costs of running an office, of official travel, of hospitality, and other miscellaneous costs. All this expenditure is subject to detailed and continuous audit to ensure that it is incurred in line with the Inland Revenue's requirement that it be "wholly, exclusively and necessarily" incurred in the performance of a bishop's duties.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what obligations the Regional Development Agencies are under to act in accordance with the commitments made in their (a) published strategies, (b) action plans and (c) corporate plans. [98527]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
Section 7 (1)(b) of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 requires the RDAs to have regard to their regional strategies and action plans in exercising its functions. The agencies will submit their corporate plan proposals to the Government, and the Government will give a response. Following that, performance will be monitored against the plan.
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