House of Commons Hansard Written Ministerial Statements for 1 Apr 2003 (pt 3)

Regional Prime Contract (Scotland)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Lewis Moonie): The Ministry of Defence's Regional Prime Contract for Scotland was awarded yesterday, 31 March 2003 to AMEC Turner Ltd.

The contract will run initially for seven years with an option to extend to a total of 10 years. Worth £460 million, the contract covers the provision of estate management and construction services to the Ministry of Defence in Scotland. It provides for capital works (known as "core works") and facilities management and property maintenance services ("core services").

Regional Prime Contract Scotland is the first of a total of five such contracts covering the United Kingdom.

Defence Estates

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Lewis Moonie): Defence Estates (DE) is being re-launched today as an agency of the Ministry of Defence with new responsibilities. This follows consideration, within Project Alexander, of how the defence estate should best be managed as a corporate asset. In particular, the new arrangements will clarify customer supplier relationships.

The changes are in line with the overarching and comprehensive strategy for the defence estate, set out in "In Trust and On Trust" in June 2000 and also represent a further application of the principles of Smart Acquisition within the Department.

In future Defence Estates will be responsible and accountable, through its Chief Executive, for managing the delivery of estate maintenance and new works to meet internal customers' requirements. This will be achieved by:

managing the defence estate as a corporate asset,

developing, maintaining and implementing an Estate Strategy, consistent with policies and standards (including environmental sustainability criteria),

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devising and implementing an agreed programme with customers that provides a corporate and long-term view of requirements consistent with the Estate Strategy,

delivering the solutions and estate management services to meet the agreed estates programme to time, cost and quality,

developing and maintaining an agreed Core Sites Strategy focusing MOD's activities onto fewer, larger sites,

the management, maintenance and improvement of land, buildings and facilities to standards delivered where appropriate through robust and well-managed contracts with service providers.

In parallel, and working closely with DE, six Customer Estate Organisations (CEstOs) are being established to specify estate requirements in output terms for each of the main areas of the department (Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Defence Logistics Organisation, the Centre/Defence Procurement Agency, and the Permanent Joint Headquarters).

Copies of DE's Framework Document will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

TREASURY

Financial Services Authority

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gordon Brown): I am pleased to announce that Callum McCarthy has agreed to be the next chairman of the FSA Board. With experience of the public sector, as a senior practitioner in the financial services industry and as chairman of a highly successful regulator, he will prove invaluable to

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the FSA as it tackles the regulatory challenge of the future. Callum McCarthy will take up his new duties in September.

WALES

Public Audit (Wales) Bill

The Secretary of State for Wales (Peter Hain): I am pleased to announce that on Thursday 3 April I intend to publish in draft form the Public Audit (Wales) Bill, together with draft explanatory notes.

The UK Government is committed to producing more of its Bills in draft form before they are formally introduced into Parliament. This allows advanced scrutiny of the Bill, as well as public consultation on the terms of the proposed legislation, which in turn helps the planning of the legislative process.

The Public Audit (Wales) Bill sets out proposals to unify the audit scrutiny of Welsh public bodies (including the National Assembly) in a single audit body to be known as the "Wales Audit Office" in English and "Y Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru". The Auditor General for Wales will head the organisation.

The Bill proposes bringing together the existing functions of the Auditor General for Wales and most of the functions currently exercised by the Audit Commission in Wales under the Wales Audit Office. Further details about the content and the public consultation will be given when the Bill is published on Thursday.