---

Military Pensions

Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the indexation of military pensions for those who retired between 1964 and 1974. [151443]

Mr. Spellar: There are no plans to review the indexation of public sector pensions.

HMNB Clyde

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the single bed capacity of the barracks being constructed at HMNB Clyde for the Fleet Royal Marines Protection Unit; how much it has cost; and what is its completion date. [150947]

Dr. Moonie: The single bed capacity of the barracks being constructed at HMNB Clyde for the Fleet Royal Marines Protection Group is 216. The contract value of the construction is approximately £7 million and it should be completed in August 2001.

RM Condor

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for alternative units to use the accommodation at RM Condor when the Fleet Royal Marines Protection Unit completes its move to Faslane. [150948]

Dr. Moonie: As a result of an initiative emerging from the Strategic Defence Review, the Army is seeking to identify suitable locations for five planned new Army Medical Regiments in the UK, each comprising some 250 Regular personnel. RM Condor, Arbroath is being considered as a location for such a unit.

Even if Arbroath were finally selected as a future location for an Army unit of this sort, it would not form there until 2005 at the earliest.

Sonarbuoys

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel within the DPA are employed on sonarbuoy procurement; how many DPA personnel have been employed on sonarbuoy procurement for (a) three to five years, (b) five to seven years and (c) greater than seven years; and if he will make a statement. [150286]

Dr. Moonie: There are currently five personnel working full time on sonarbuoy procurement within the DPA. Of these, one has done so for over seven years (although not consecutive years) and the others each for less than three years. They are supported by a number of other colleagues from various functions on an occasional basis.

26 Feb 2001 : Column: 564W

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the price is of (a) UK and (b) US Navy passive sonarbuoys and (i) UK and (ii) US Navy sonarbuoys; and if he will make a statement. [150289]

Dr. Moonie: The prices paid by the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) for UK sonarbuoys are commercially confidential and are withheld under exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Price information on US Navy sonarbuoys has been provided to the DPA on the basis that its confidentiality would be protected. Consequently, this information is withheld under the same exemption.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for incorporating an SR3 ASSS capability in (a) RN helicopters and (b) VAV's; and if he will make a statement. [150287]

Dr. Moonie: There are no current plans to incorporate SR(SA)903 Active Search Sonarbuoy System on RN helicopters or Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV).

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how interoperability aspects for SR903 are to be managed with (a) US forces and (b) European forces; and if he will make a statement. [150290]

Dr. Moonie: There is no requirement for the Active Search Sonarbuoy System (ASSS) to be interoperable with US or European forces, though SR(SA)903 ASSS will conform with NATO standards, thereby offering future potential for systems interoperability.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current procurement strategy for SR903 Active Search Sonarbuoy System; for what reasons this has changed; and if he will make a statement. [150283]

Dr. Moonie: BAE Systems is the Prime Contractor for the Nimrod MRA4 and the SR(SA)903 Active Search Sonarbuoy System (ASSS) Risk Reduction Programme. The original strategy for the ASSS programme included a sub-contract competition between two consortia for the next phase of the ASSS programme, to fully develop and integrate the system into the Nimrod MRA4. Thomson Marconi Sonar Ltd.(TMSL) led one of the Consortia, with Ultra Electronics Limited leading the other. Subsequently TMSL advised my Department that, though they would complete their contracted activity during the Risk Reduction Phase, they did not intend to bid into the next, Demonstration and Manufacture, phase of the project. The Defence Procurement Agency is working with BAE Systems to review options and develop a proposal for the SR(SA)903 Demonstration and Manufacture phase.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding has been allocated for the acquisition programme for SR903; when he expects an operational capability to be available; what target was set for SR903 during the renegotiation of the MRA4 Nimrod programme; and if he will make a statement. [150288]

Dr. Moonie: A contract for the Demonstration and Manufacture phase to meet SR(SA) 903 Active Search Sonarbuoy System (ASSS) has yet to be awarded. Consequently, the funding allocation is withheld under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. ASSS performance targets are classified and are withheld under Exemption 1 of the

26 Feb 2001 : Column: 565W

Code of Practice on Access to Government information. Renegotiation of the Nimrod MRA4 contract included an option to provide an ASSS capability at the Nimrod MRA4 ISD, contracted for March 2005.

Chinook Crash

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from what distance helicopter ZD 576 could have detected the guidance beacon at Corran on 2 June 1994. [150413]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 14 February 2001]: There is no guidance beacon at Corran.

RAF Fylingdales

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what payments have been received by his Department from the US military for use of facilities at RAF Fylingdales in each of the past three years. [150477]

Mr. Hoon [holding answer 15 February 2001]: No payments have been received by the Ministry of Defence from the US military for use of facilities at RAF Fylingdales in any of the past three years.

Tour Cycle

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is regarding monitoring the cycle of tours while on peacekeeping duties and its effect on families and retention. [150659]

Mr. Spellar: We recognise that the welfare of service personnel and their families is vital for retention and, therefore, for operational effectiveness. The tour cycle is just one aspect of service life that bears on retention, and we already collect data on this and a range of other relevant factors. This includes continuous attitude surveys of the views of service personnel and their spouses, as well as those seeking premature voluntary retirement, to understand the factors that affect retention. However, we are concerned to ensure that monitoring arrangements are adequate and a number of changes are either in hand or under consideration to improve our capability to monitor individual separation.

Military Establishments (Northern Ireland)

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on (a) capital works, (b) refurbishment of buildings and (c) repairs in respect of each (i) Army and (ii) other military establishment in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years and in the current year. [150921]

Dr. Moonie: The figures for the current year and last three years are in the table. It is not possible separately to identify "refurbishment of buildings" and "repair" costs, and these are shown together as "maintenance". The figures for the current year represent the forecast spend for this year, and include both actual spend to date and further spend anticipated by the end of the financial year. The "other military establishments" column includes the RAF, as well as Territorial Army and other volunteer reserves.

26 Feb 2001 : Column: 566W

£ million

	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	Total
Army
Capital works	25.1	18.3	14.1	14.3	71.8
Maintenance	41.6	41.4	45.1	43.3	171.4
	Other military establishments
Capital works	2.2	0.7	1.5	9.0	13.4
Maintenance	3.2	3.4	3.2	3.3	13.1

Service Personnel

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military service personnel (a) resigned and (b) retired from each of the military services in the last 12 months. [148330]

Mr. Spellar: For the period 1 January to 31 December 2000 the outflow from UK regular forces is as follows:

	Naval service	Army	RAF
Trained outflow
PVR(87)	1,489	5,758	1,847
Retirements(88)	1,240	2,048	1,731
Other(89)	858	2,118	331
Untrained outflow(90)	1,506	5,759	670
Total	5,093	15,683	4,579

⁽⁸⁷⁾ For military service personnel figures are quoted for the number leaving early on Premature Voluntary Retirement (Officers), and Premature Voluntary Release (Other Ranks). This results from the open engagement system which means servicemen can serve for 22 years. As these are not engagement periods as such those who leave earlier do so on Premature Voluntary Requirement.

⁽⁸⁸⁾ Defined as personnel leaving at the end of an agreed period of service.

⁽⁸⁹⁾ All other outflow of trained personnel. This includes medical, death, disciplinary, dismissal and services no longer required.

⁽⁹⁰⁾ No breakdown of this category is available.

---