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19 Sept 2002 : Column 315W—continued
Military Sites (Somerset)
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list active military sites in Somerset. [73261]
Dr. Moonie: The following sites belonging to the Ministry of Defence are active in Somerset:
ACIO and satellite—35 East Street, Taunton
Hydrographic Office, Taunton
Mount House, Taunton
Norton Manor Camp, Taunton
Bombing Range, Bridgwater Bay
RNAS Yeovilton
Maltravers House, Yeovil
Yoxter Range, Priddy
Langport Range
Merryfield Airfield, Ilchester
Land Ownership (Hampshire)
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what sites in his Department's ownership in Hampshire are under review with regard to their
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continuing use by his Department; when a decision is expected on each of these sites; and if he will make a statement. [70756]
Dr. Moonie: All Ministry of Defence sites in Great Britain are currently under review by the MOD Core Sites team to achieve the objective set out in the MOD Estate Strategy, of identifying Core Sites by the end of 2002. This list will be used to inform future decisions regarding the utilisation of the estate.
Housing
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much military service personnel housing is owned by his Department in (a) the UK and (b) overseas. [54643]
Dr. Moonie: Most of the Families Quarters estate in England and Wales was sold to Annington Homes Ltd (AHL) in November 1996. The Defence Housing Executive (DHE) leases back from AHL the properties it needs to house Service families (some 45,000).
However, a number of Service Family Quarters in England and Wales continue to be directly owned by the Ministry of Defence, as do all those in Scotland.
So far as overseas locations are concerned, many of the properties used are not owned by MOD but are hirings or form part of an MOU or agreement with the country concerned. In Germany, for example, Service Families Accommodation (some 8,456 units) is owned by the Federal Government, although the MOD has stewardship of it.
The most recent figures available are:
| Area | Number of Quarters |
|---|---|
| England Scotland and Wales | 52,600 in total (of which only some 7,000 are owned by MOD or leased under PFI arrangements) |
| England Scotland and Wales—identified for disposal | 2,500 (mainly AHL but figure cannot be split further) |
| England Scotland and Wales—managed empty | 6,300 (mainly AHL but will include some owned properties) |
| Northern Ireland | 3,200 |
| Overseas | 10,787 |
The figures for housing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are as at 2 April 2002. The figures for housing overseas are drawn from the Stewardship Report on the Defence Estate published in January 2002 and represents the latest available figures. All figures exclude Single Living Accommodation (SLA).
Annington Homes Ltd.
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of the (a) capital and (b) revenue loss to public funds of the sale of the Defence Service families accommodation to Annington Homes Ltd. in 1996; and if he will make a statement. [73685]
Dr. Moonie: The information requested is not available. The sale of the Married Quarters Estate to Annington Homes Ltd took place in November 1996, under the previous Administration and raised £1.662 billion for the Exchequer. Since then the Sale Agreement has been the subject of parliamentary and financial scrutiny and I would refer my hon. Friend to the House of Commons Defence Committee Report of the Sale of the Married Quarters Estate (HC94) dated 19 February 1997 and the Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on The Sale of the Married Quarters Estate dated 31 July 1997.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 11 July 2002, Official Report, column 1138W, how much has been received by the Exchequer under the Sale of Agreement profit share scheme with Annington Homes Limited in respect of former service families' accommodation in (a) Colchester and (b) England and Wales; and what the average share from sales of dwellings was in (i) Colchester and (ii) England and Wales; [73023]
- (2) pursuant to his answer of 11 July 2002, Official Report, column 1138W, how many service families' accommodation units in England and Wales were sold to Annington Homes Limited; and what the average price per dwelling was; [73025]
(3) pursuant to his answer of 11 July 2002, Official Report, column 1138W, how much has been paid to Annington Homes Limited for family quarters in (a) England and Wales, (b) Colchester, (c) Scotland and
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- (d) Northern Ireland since the sale of service families' accommodation and the commencement of the leaseback agreement. [73024]
Dr. Moonie: No receipts from the profit share arrangements have so far been received for properties released at Colchester. 46 properties passed to Annington at the time of the sale in 1996 did not trigger a profit share payment when sold. A further release of 36 properties is expected to result in a receipt. But this has yet to be finalised.
More than 12,000 properties have been released to Annington to date. 8,716 properties have subsequently been sold by Annington. A proportion of these have triggered profit share payments totalling £44.92 million. The average profit share payment is thus £5,154.
The sale to Anningtons of 57,428 properties in England and Wales raised £1.662 billion for the Exchequer. The average price per dwelling was approximately £29,000.
Service families' accommodation in Scotland and Northern Ireland was not included in the sale to Annington. Since the sale in November 1996, Annington has received £665 million in rent for properties in England and Wales, including £16.5 million for family quarters in Colchester. The rent paid to Annington is discounted by 58 per cent. from the market value inter alia, to reflect the Ministry of Defence's continuing maintenance responsibility.
Mr. Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the (a) Defence Housing Executive and (b) Addington Housing Association are permitted to raise funds on the private market based on the rental income of his Department's properties. [73028]
Dr. Moonie: In 1996 most Service families' accommodation in England and Wales was sold to Annington Homes Limited (AHL). Under the Sale Agreement, the Ministry of Defence underleases properties from Annington Homes to meet Service requirements. The Defence Housing Executive (DHE), an Agency of the MOD, manages and maintains the underleased properties but does not receive any private sector funding so to do. Annington Homes Ltd is a commercial organisation, and I would suggest that my hon Friend contacts them directly for information about their financial arrangements. DHE also acquires a proportion of its new housing stock through Public Private Partnership arrangements for which its partners do raise funds on the commercial market.
Army Deaths
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many soldiers from Scotland are included in the injury-related deaths in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Germany between 1990 and 2002 involving serving members of the Army at army bases; [72707]
- (2) how many of the injury-related deaths involving serving members of the Army at army bases in Great Britain between 1990 and 2002 occurred at army bases in Scotland; [72703]
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(3) how many of the injury-related deaths involving serving members of the Army at army bases in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Germany between 1990 and 2002 were linked to an army-issued weapon. [72704]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 24 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 July 2002 Official Report, column 848W) to my hon. Friend the Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara). The specific information requested concerning the origin of soldiers suffering injury-related deaths and the precise location of these deaths is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, between 1 January 1990 and 23 July 2002 there have been 188 reported deaths of Army personnel due to the discharge of firearms. Again, information on the weapon involved in each case is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Retired Disabled Officers
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many retired disabled officers in receipt of a pension granted on account of medical unfitness attributable to military service have been assessed by the War Pensions Agency as having a 0 per cent. level of disability. [72852]
Dr. Moonie: Attributable disablement pensions may be awarded to officers and other ranks under either the War Pension Scheme (WPS) or the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). Under the WPS, War Disablement Pensions or Gratuities would not be awarded in cases where the level of disability is assessed at 0 per cent. Under the AFPS, a Service Attributable Pension would similarly not be paid for conditions where the level of disability is assessed at 0 per cent. Service Invaliding Pensions may be in payment for attributable conditions at 0 per cent. but we could only establish the numbers involved by a review of individual files. The costs of such an exercise would be disproportionate.
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many retired disabled officers in receipt of a pension granted on account of medical unfitness attributable to military service who have been identified as potentially entitled to a refund of wrongly deducted income tax (a) have received a full refund, (b) have been declined a refund and (c) have their cases subject to review. [72851]
Dr. Moonie: Of the 1,028 pensioners who have received a full refund of income tax from the Inland Revenue, 46 are retired officers.
Details of the number of retired officers found not to be eligible to receive a refund of tax, or whose cases remain subject to review, are not held, although the total numbers, comprising both retired officers and other ranks, are available. These indicate that to date, the records of 53,503 personnel have been examined and a refund of tax found not to be due, and that 1,466 cases remain subject to review.
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