House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 25 Mar 2002 (pt 4)

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the public service agreement targets which have been revised and those which have been introduced since the publication of the 2001 departmental report. [43247]

Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence's service agreement remains as published in the 2000 Spending Review White Paper (Cm 4808, July 2000).

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which public service agreement targets scheduled to be met in 2002 will not be achieved by the due date. [44823]

Dr. Moonie: Information about progress on PSA targets was published in the Ministry of Defence Performance Report 2000–01 (Cm 5290, November 2001). A summary of progress made since then will be included in the Government's Expenditure Plans 2002–03 to 2003–04 for the MOD, due to be published in the spring.

Nuclear Tests

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates he has made of the number of cancer cases caused by radioactivity released from nuclear bombs in testing in the 1950s and 1960s. [43402]

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Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has commissioned epidemiological studies into the health of those British personnel who participated in British atmospheric nuclear tests which took place in the 1950s and 1960s.

The National Radiological Protection Board carries out studies into the exposure to radiation of the population of the United Kingdom as a whole, including fallout from weapons testing, and publishes reports on this subject. This does not include estimation of the rates of cancer that might arise.

Aviation Repairs

Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the competition process for deep aviation repair work within his Department. [43805]

Mr. Ingram: I am satisfied that our acquisition strategy for aviation repair work is coherent, provides best value for money for the British taxpayer and ensures fair treatment for all competitors in this field. I therefore have no plans at present to review the competition process.

Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) for what reason the Defence Aviation Repair Agency was not awarded the contract for Tornado rudder, air intake, windscreen and wing nibs under the Tornado Tiger Team; [43804]

Mr. Ingram: The intended support solution for the Tornado rudder, air intake, windscreen and wing nibs work, a prime contract with BAE Systems with the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) acting as repair sub-contractor, was developed by a joint team that included representation from the Defence Logistics Organisation, BAE Systems, HQ Strike Command and DARA. The process was fair and fully transparent to all those involved but in the event, DARA was unable to agree acceptable prices. The eventual prime contract, which was awarded to BAE Systems, represents best value-for-money and incentivises BAE Systems to manage sub-contract arrangements accordingly.

Defence Aviation Repair Agency

Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the ability of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency to achieve its targets for the financial years (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [44575]

Mr. Ingram: For 2001–02, end of year performance against the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) Key Targets will be independently audited and reported in the Agency Annual Report and Accounts. While DARA will continue to strive to meet its targets, at this stage it is too early to give an accurate forecast.

For 2002–03 the Key Performance Indicators are still being developed, and will be announced in the House shortly.

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Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many films made by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down had been transferred to the Imperial War Museum as of 14 February. [43455]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 May 2001, Official Report, column 196W. No further films have been transferred since that date.

Senior Armed Forces

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion (a) now, (b) five years ago and (c) 10 years ago of senior officers in each of the armed forces attended (i) independent and (ii) state schools; and if he will make a statement. [43855]

Mr. Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HMS Sheffield

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of keeping HMS Sheffield (a) in reserve and (b) in mothballs; when its Royal Navy service will end; how many personnel are involved in keeping it in service and at what cost; and if he will make a statement. [43924]

Mr. Ingram: The estimated costs of holding HMS Sheffield at extended readiness from November 2002 until September 2004 is £3.3 million. This figures includes £0.8 million for the costs of the 13 RN personnel directly involved in maintaining her in service. On current plans HMS Sheffield will be withdrawn from service towards the end of this decade.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many answers to parliamentary questions are more than (a) two weeks and (b) three months outstanding; and if he will make a statement. [43927]

Dr. Moonie: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Approximately 3,200 parliamentary questions have been tabled to the Ministry of Defence during the current session. Ministers aim to answer ordinary written parliamentary questions within five working days and named day parliamentary questions on the day requested.

Fighter Jets

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Royal Air Force's total inventory is of (a) Harrier GR7s, (b) Tornado GR1s and (c) Jaguar GR1s; and how many of each are operationally available. [43635]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 15 March 2002]: On 13 March 2002 there were 74 Harrier GR7 aircraft in the departmental fleet (the total number of aircraft owned by the Ministry of Defence), of which 55 were assigned to the Actual Operating Fleet (the total number of aircraft allocated to meet the fleet task); 23 Tornado GR1 aircraft in the departmental fleet, of which 14 were assigned to

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the Actual Operating Fleet, and 51 Jaguar GR1 aircraft in the departmental fleet, of which none were assigned to the Actual Operating Fleet.

Overseas Territories/Sovereign Bases

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the military presence is on each (a) British Overseas Territory and (b) Sovereign Base; and what plans there are to change that presence in each case. [44033]

Mr. Ingram: There is no permanent military presence on Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, or the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The military presence on the Falkland Islands comprises: Joint Headquarters and support elements; offshore patrol vessel; Roulement Infantry Company; one Tornado F3 flight; one VC10 tanker; one C-130 Hercules; Rapier Squadron; one helicopter squadron (Sea King and Chinook); air support services.

The military presence on Gibraltar comprises: Joint Headquarters and support elements; two coastal patrol vessels; RAF Gibraltar; Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

The British Indian Ocean Territory has a naval party of approximately 40 personnel. There are approximately 25 service personnel on Ascension Island, with support provided by a civilian Multi-Activity Contract. A small number of service personnel are on loan or secondment in Bermuda and British Antarctic Territory.

The military presence on the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus comprises: Joint Headquarters; signals units and Cyprus Joint Support Unit; two Sovereign Base Area HQs; two Resident Infantry Battalions; one Engineer Squadron; one Gazelle helicopter Flight; Port and Maritime elements; RAF Regiment personnel; one Wessex Squadron; RAF Akrotiri.

Helicopter operations on Cyprus will be transferred to a Commercially Owned, Military Registered arrangement next year.

There are no current plans to make significant changes to the military presence in other areas, but all commitments are subject to periodic review to meet changing requirements.

Snagge Report

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 655W, on the Snagge report, if the report was produced using his Department's facilities; to whom it was submitted; when he took a decision on its publication; and if he will make a statement on his policy with regard to the publishing of unsolicited reports which he regards as (a) misleading and (b) accurate. [44257]

Mr. Ingram: The report written by Colonel C. E. M. Snagge, although unsolicited from the then 2 Division based in York, was an official, internal document submitted to Headquarters Land Command. As such it was taken into account when the future location of the divisional headquarters was being considered. As I said in my answer on 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 655W, however, the report contained partial opinion. A

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balanced view, setting out the rationale for the decision, was set out in the Consultation Document "Land Command Restructuring of Divisions/Districts" which was issued to trade union representatives on 30 October 1998. A copy of this report will be placed in the Library of the House.

Ministry of Defence policy on the release of information follows the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The decision to withhold Colonel Snagge's report was taken in accordance with Exemption 2 of the Code, which relates to internal discussion and advice, when I answered the hon. Member's question on 28 February 2002, Official Report, column 146W.

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