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Secondments
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of staff were employed by his Department on secondment from non-governmental organisations in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001. [45225]
Dr. Moonie: The numbers of individuals on secondment from outside the public sector to the Ministry of Defence in each of the years specified are set out in the table:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 22 |
| 2000 | 27 |
| 2001 | 24 |
In total this represents 44 individuals, as a number of the secondments spanned more than one year.
Staff (Local Elected Representatives)
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of staff at his Department are locally elected democratic representatives; and if he has a strategy for his Department to encourage members of staff to become locally elected democratic representatives. [44545]
Dr. Moonie: Records of members of staff who are locally elected democratic representatives are not maintained centrally and so it is not possible to provide an estimate without disproportionate cost. It is the Ministry of Defence's policy to allow civilian staff, at all levels, to take full advantage of the special paid leave
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provisions which allow officers who are elected members of a local authority to take up to 18 days' leave each year to attend to their duties which require absence during working hours.
Israel
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions in the last five years when British forces have been involved in training exercises with Israeli forces; and what the purpose was of each of these exercises. [45184]
Mr. Ingram: There have been no bilateral training exercises between the British and Israeli armed forces in the last five years. The RAF has participated in exercises in the United States at which the Israeli Air Force among other nations have at times been involved. The purpose of such exercises is to maintain operational effectiveness.
A400M
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress on the A400M; and in particular what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart. [41121]
Dr. Moonie: The A400M partner nations continue to work closely with a view to bringing the contract into effect in the very near future. Senior officials met on 22 March at which they identified mechanisms for achieving this; these are currently under consideration.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the in-service date is for the A400M; and what its original In Service Date was. [48174]
Dr. Moonie: The current In Service Date (ISD) is 2010 against an original date of 2009. To minimise the impact of cost increases caused by a number of changes by other nations both to offtake and the timing of deliveries, the UK negotiated a restructured delivery schedule; this resulted in the one-year delay. The change was made in agreement with the other partner nations in November and was made without affecting the contract negotiations. The ISD for the A400M has always been around the end of the decade and we are making good progress towards the contract entering force.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what impact the A400M project will have on the Teesside region, with particular regard to new contracts and job creation. [48587]
Dr. Moonie: To ensure best value for money, the A400M contract does not prescribe any national workshare arrangements. The prime contractor, Airbus Military, and its sub-contractor, Airbus UK, are free to select their suppliers on grounds of performance and cost. Airbus UK has estimated that the A400M programme will directly create up to 2,500 high quality jobs in the UK—notably in design and advanced manufacturing. They have calculated that indirect employment could bring that figure to over 8,000. It is not possible to say where these jobs will be located, but companies in the Teesside region will of course be free to compete for work on this important project.
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OCCAR
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the type of programmes the UK will be involved in as a member of OCCAR; and if he will make a statement. [44738]
Dr. Moonie: The Organisation for Joint Armaments Co-operation (OCCAR) was created to manage a wide range of European collaborative defence equipment programmes. Decisions to integrate equipment programmes into OCCAR are taken jointly by the member nations (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) taking into account a variety of factors. To date, the UK is involved in two OCCAR managed projects: the Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle and Counter Battery Radar programmes. The A400M military transport aircraft programme is intended to be passed to OCCAR management once the contract has been activated.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how membership of OCCAR will affect decisions made about defence procurement; and if he will make a statement. [44739]
Dr. Moonie: Defence equipment procurement decisions will continue to be made with the overall aim of ensuring that our armed forces are provided with equipment which meets their needs, and which is delivered to time and is cost effective. The founding principles of Organisation for Joint Armaments Co-operation, and the processes that it uses for procurement management, are entirely consistent with this aim.
Ministerial Private Offices
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the running costs were of (a) his Ministers' private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff and (b) his Department in each year from May 1997 to the nearest date for which the information is available. [40987]
Dr. Moonie: The information requested is not readily available; however, I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Royal Ordnance, Bishopton
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for his position on the Royal Ordnance factory at Bishopton to be changed. [46426]
Dr. Moonie: The Royal Ordnance factories passed into private ownership in April 1987. The Bishopton facility is now operated by Royal Ordnance Defence (ROD), which is owned by BAE Systems. Decisions on the future of ROD sites, including Bishopton, are a matter for the company.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the overseas sources which will meet his Department's requirements for propellants following the closure of Royal Ordnance, Bishopton. [46427]
Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence places contracts with a prime contractor for the supply of whole munitions and the sourcing of components for those munitions, such as propellant, is a matter for the prime contractor. The MOD considers achieving value for the taxpayers' money,
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as well as security of supply, to be key criteria in the procurement of safe and reliable munitions for the armed forces. The MOD understands that Royal Ordnance Defence has entered into a long-term supply agreement for propellant with Nitrochemie AG of Germany.
Cluster Munitions
Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what exports of cluster munitions there have been by the Disposal Sales Agency and licensed sub-contractors since October 1994; and how many cluster munitions were exported and to which countries; [46161]
- (2) what exports of surplus BL755 cluster munitions there were via the surplus sales programme in the three years up to 1995; which countries received the munitions; how many cluster munitions were involved; and what was the value of the sales; [46248]
(3) what transfers of cluster munitions there were to foreign Governments between 1972 and 1994 under the surplus sales programme; and if he will provide the (a) number of cluster munitions transferred and (b) countries of destination; [46155]
(4) what transfers of cluster munitions to foreign Governments have taken place since 2 May 1997 under the surplus sales programme; how many cluster munitions were transferred; and what the countries of destination were. [46160]
Dr. Moonie: There are no records of any Government-to-Government sales of surplus BL755 cluster munitions (or other surplus cluster munitions) by the Disposal Services Agency (DSA) (formerly known as the Disposal Sales Agency), nor any through its appointed contractors, since 1994. Records of any sales pre-dating 1994 are not available.
Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what exports of cluster munitions there were by International Military Services between 1972 and 1994; and how many cluster munitions were exported and what the countries of destination were. [46157]
Dr. Moonie: International Military Services ceased trading in 1991 and their records for contracts before 1991 have been destroyed. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the loose minute Interdepartmental Committee Iran and Iraq D/DESS/12/20 dated 19 October 1988, to which countries the MOD/DESO promoted the BL755 cluster munitions; and which countries purchased the BL755 cluster munition system subsequent to promotional activity by his Department. [46162]
Dr. Moonie: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
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