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Middle East
17. Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the state of readiness is of the armed forces for an engagement in the middle east; and if he will make a statement. [40913]
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Mr. Hoon: The Strategic Defence Review recognised that our national interests were directly affected by events in the middle east. Most recently, the deployment of our armed forces to Oman for exercise Saif Sareea II illustrated both our commitment to the region and ability to project military power and sustain it there.
We have taken no decisions to heighten the readiness of our armed forces elsewhere in the region.
Procurement
15. Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of Government procurement and support on the defence industry and employment among subcontractors in the north-west. [40911]
Dr. Moonie: In 1998–99, around £1.2 billion or some 14.5 per cent. of total defence equipment expenditure was placed with companies in the north-west, sustaining an estimated 11,000 jobs. This figure reflects jobs which arise directly from equipment contracts placed by the Ministry of Defence. In addition, work will have been placed with suppliers in the north-west on a sub-contract basis, but regional estimates for sub-contracting are not maintained.
Defence Procurement Agency
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the savings made by the review of support arrangements in the Defence Procurement Agency. [44220]
Dr. Moonie: The Defence Procurement Agency's operating cost reduction target and achievement are recorded in its Annual Report (HC 243). The cost reduction in 2000–01 was 10.6 per cent., a saving of £29.7 million.
Marine Services Royal Maritime Auxiliary
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if STC W95 applies as the international standard for staff within the Marine Services Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service; and if he will make a statement. [43482]
Mr. Ingram: Although not a requirement in Marine Service Officers and Crews Terms and Conditions, the Ministry of Defence applies the industry standard, STCW 95, to the maritime operations conducted by the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service. Trade unions have supported the retraining and qualification of their members to this industry standard since the mid-90s.
Bloody Sunday
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions were issued to members of the Parachute Regiment concerning off duty activities on the weekend of the thirtieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the commemorative march on 27 January; and what instructions were given to the Parachute Regiment regarding military memorabilia. [43887]
Mr. Ingram: No instructions were issued to members of the Parachute Regiment concerning off duty activities on the weekend of the thirtieth anniversary of Bloody
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Sunday or regarding military memorabilia. We are not aware of any commemorative march taking place on 27 January 2002.
Efficiency Measures
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what savings the Royal Air Force has achieved by reducing the number of postings that require a domestic move. [44222]
Mr. Ingram: During financial year 2001–02 the Royal Air Force has reduced the number of planned postings that require a domestic move by 500. This is estimated to have saved approximately £0.5 million.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what savings have accrued from the introduction of flexible working practices for dock workers. [44218]
Mr. Ingram: A scheme of "Annualised Hours" was introduced at HMNB Devonport in 1999 to establish a group of flexible, multi-skilled workers at the waterfront, who would fulfil an annual working hours requirement rather than the standard 37 hours per week, on a fixed schedule. Annual savings achieved are estimated to have been in the region of £200,000 to £300,000.
Territorial Army
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the future of the Millbay Territorial Army Centre in Plymouth; and if he will make a statement. [44481]
Dr. Moonie: As part of the Strategic Defence Review Territorial Army restructuring process we decided to close the Millbay Territorial Army Centre (TAC) in Plymouth and relocate the units there to the other TAC in Plymouth at Derriford.
We have now reviewed those plans in the light of the estimated cost of the move and the impact that the closure of the Millbay TAC would have on the ability of the TA to recruit and retain personnel in Plymouth. I am pleased to say that, as a result of this review, I have decided that Millbay TAC should remain open. This is excellent news for the city of Plymouth and will allow it to retain a modern TAC. By keeping both TACs open we also aim to enhance the visibility of the TA with the general public and improve recruiting opportunities.
Press and Public Relations
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual budget for communications activities, including press, public relations, marketing and internal communications, was for his Department for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02. [39920]
Dr. Moonie: Details on central Ministry of Defence expenditure on advertising and publicity, which incorporates press, public relations, marketing and internal communications are contained in the annual MOD performance reports. For 1997–98, the information is shown on page 49 Cm 4170; for 1999–2000 the information is shown on page 60 Cm 5000; for 2000–01 the information is shown on page 68 Cm 5290.
Copies of these reports are available in the House.
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The figures for 1998–99 were not provided in the annual performance report. They are as follows:
| Category | Expenditure |
|---|---|
| Recruitment | |
| Royal Navy/Royal Fleet Auxiliary | 6.65 |
| Army | 11.77 |
| Royal Air Force | 10.17 |
| Civilian | 3.27 |
| PR, marketing, and business support services | 0.84 |
| Chief of public relations expenditure | 2.39 |
| Sales promotion | 1.06 |
| Scholarships | 0.38 |
| National Employers Liaison Committee(3) |
(3) Territorial Army
The expenditure for advertising and publicity is spread among many different budgets, and budget holders. The Ministry of Defence thus does not have a central advertising and publicity budget, and forecast information—in this case for financial year 2001–02—can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as in recent years, information on the outturn figure is collated, and expected to be included in the 2001–02 performance report, when that document is published.
The figures relate to programme expenditure. Running cost data (e.g. staff salary costs) for the subject headings are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, running cost data are available for the Chief of Public Relations expenditure heading—which covers the cost of Director General Corporate Communications and his staff. These figures are as follows:
| Year | Expenditure |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | n/a |
| 1998–99 | (4)3.77 |
| 1999–2000 | (4)4.03 |
| 2000–01 | 5.92 |
| 2001–02 | (5)6.30 |
(4) Allocation
(5) Forecast expenditure
Training
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on military training areas in the UK, with particular reference to (a) their uses and (b) their value for large training operations. [41316]
Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has 172 training area and range sites in the UK, the tenure of which is either freehold, leasehold or licensed land. They are used for a wide variety of Army training but fall into one of the following three categories:
- Dry training (training without the use of live ammunition although blank ammunition and pyrotechnics may be used);
Field firing (training with the use of live ammunition);
Fixed ranges (such as small arms ranges).
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vehicles) level training has to be tailored to the respective area. In the case of mechanised and armoured formations (formations equipped with wheeled and tracked armoured vehicles), their training is usually conducted overseas. Light role formations can exercise in the UK with careful planning.
The RAF maintains five Air Weapons Ranges and an Electronic Air Weapons Range, which enable aircrew to practice weapons delivery techniques. These are not generally suitable for large numbers of aircraft. The Royal Navy has training areas used as offshore gunnery ranges. DERA also utilises ranges for test and evaluation purposes.
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