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Defence Procurement

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the expected (a) cost and (b) commissioning date is of the Meteor BVRAAM missile; and what estimates were made when the contract was let; [110347]

(2) what the expected (a) cost and (b) commissioning date are of the Swiftsure, Astute and Trafalgar submarines; and what estimates were made when the contracts were let; [110351]

(3) what the current expected (a) cost and (b) commissioning date is of the Bowman Communication System; and what estimates were made when the contract was let; [110345]

(4) what the (a) cost and (b) expected commissioning date are of Watchkeeper; and what estimates were made when the contract was let; [110352]

(5) what the expected (a) cost and (b) commissioning date is of the Eurofighter; and what estimates were made when the contract was let; [110346]

(6) if he will make a statement in relation to the (a) cost and (b) expected commissioning date of the (i) light forces anti-tank guided weapon system, (ii) Nimrod MR A4 aircraft, (iii) A 400M aircraft and (iv) the ASRAAM missile; and what estimates of both were made when the contracts were let. [112060]

Mr. Ingram: The information requested is shown in the following table:

Hansardreference	Project	Date contract let	Current forecast ISD	Current forecast cost (£ billion)	Estimated ISD at time contract let	Estimated cost at time contract let (£ billion)
112060	LFATGWS	2003	2006	0.340	2006	0.340
112060	MRA4	1996	2009	(10)3.4	2003	2.9
112060	A400M	2003	2011	2.4	2011	2.4
112060	Asraam	1992amended 1999	2002	0.860	(11)1998
2001	0.870
110347	Meteor Bvraam	2002	2012	1.4	2012	1.4
110351	Swiftsure and Trafalgar Update	Eight contracts noviated to onein 1997–98	2004	0.730	2002	0.620
110351	Astute	1997 (3 boats)	2008	3.6	2005	2.7
110345	Bowman(12)	2001,extended 2002	2004	2.0	2004
2004	1.9
2.1
110352	Watchkeeper(13)	Contract not yet let	2006	0.860	n/a	n/a
110346	Typhoon(14)	1998	2003	19.7	2002	19.1

⁽¹⁰⁾ This cost is subject to contract negotiations which are scheduled to be completed in the summer.

⁽¹¹⁾ The Asraam ISD was re-approved in 1999, to 2001.

⁽¹²⁾ The Bowman costs refer to the design and manufacture phase only.

⁽¹³⁾ Cost and ISD are indicative only at this pre Main Gate point.

⁽¹⁴⁾ 'Date contract let' relates to award of the Overarching Production Investment and Production Contract and the order for Tranche 1 aircraft in 1998.

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Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the proposed ESDP operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be flagged under the EU flag; whether armed forces personnel will wear EU insignia on their uniforms; and if he will make a statement. [119856]

Mr. Ingram: The forces participating in the operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be under the political control and strategic direction of the EU Council of Ministers. This is exercised through the Political and Security Committee which is comprised of representatives of member states. We expect that personnel and equipment participating in the operation will carry some form of identifying EU insignia, as is the case for the EU-led operation in Macedonia. This follows the example of NATO operations where participating forces are expected to wear NATO insignia.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the (a) military criteria and (b) benchmarks for success for the ESDP operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [119857]

Mr. Ingram: In response to a request from the UN Secretary General, the EU decided on 5 June to lead a multinational force to Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo under ESDP. UNSCR 1484 gives a limited and specific mandate which expires on 1 September 2003. The mandate authorises an Interim Multinational Force to:

Contribute to stabilising the town of Bunia and improving the humanitarian situation there;


Secure the airport, thereby facilitating the arrival of additional forces by the UN.

The military are tailoring an interim force to meet this short-term, focussed mandate. The success of the operation will be measured against the mandate.

Desert Combat Clothing

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether orders of desert combat clothing have been found to be sub-standard. [119198]

Mr. Ingram: To date, we have had no reports through the official defect reporting system of any sub-standard items of desert combat clothing.

However, a small number of desert boots supplied by a contractor were found to be sub-standard and were rejected on inspection at the depot. They were not issued to troops.

Desert Terrains

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the performance of (a) tanks and (b) engineering works project-related vehicles working within desert terrains. [118411]

Mr. Ingram: An assessment is made during the acquisition process of the performance of all new equipment (including main battle tanks and armoured engineer vehicles) in those environments in which they are expected to operate. This is supplemented by

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experience from major exercises and operations. Post-operational reporting will provide analysis and assessment of the performance of equipment deployed on operations in Iraq. Further assessment would be undertaken if changes to defence planning assumptions subsequently affected the environments in which it was planned to operate this equipment.

Early Leavers

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 303W, on early leavers, what research his Department has commissioned on changes in the number of naval personnel leaving the Service by premature voluntary retirement between 2000–01 and 2001–02; and if he will make a statement. [120321]

Mr. Caplin: The increase in the number of premature voluntary retirements in 2001–02 is primarily due to a reduction in the notice period for ratings from 18 to 12 months in that year, and is not the subject of any further specific investigation. However, reducing the outflow of personnel from the Naval Service is a key strategic objective of the Navy Board which is being implemented through a Retention Campaign, including initiatives on terms and conditions of service, rebalancing lives, remuneration and career management.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been allocated by his Department for the Eurofighter Typhoon; how much he expects this programme to cost; and when he will make a full financial commitment. [119185]

Mr. Ingram: Funding is allocated for in-year expenditure only. Provision for future years' expenditure is made in the annually revised Equipment Plan. In the case of Typhoon, the allocation for equipment acquisition for 2003–2004 is £1,158 million. We currently estimate that the total procurement cost of Typhoon will be £19.7 billion. Typhoon is planned to be procured in three tranches. The first tranche is already on order and in production. We plan to place orders for the second and third tranches of aircraft in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Secondary Care Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002. [119286]

Mr. Caplin: The Defence Secondary Care Agency was disbanded on 31 March 2003 and its functions were subsumed by the Defence Medical Education and Training Agency and the Defence Medical Services Department. The Agency employed an average of 2,282 military and civilian people between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003 of which 11 were employed in Scotland. This compares with 2,317 in the preceding financial year of which 10 were employed in Scotland. The personnel costs of the Agency for the financial year ending 31 March 2003 are subject to the outcome of routine

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audit by the National Audit Office and will form part of the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts which is expected to be published in July and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House. The Agency's personnel costs in the financial year ending 31 March 2002 were £87.73 million.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the National Codification Bureau; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002. [119288]

Mr. Caplin: As at 1 January 2003 there were 95 people in post working for the United Kingdom National Codification Bureau (UKNCB), all of which are employed in Glasgow. The total annual personnel costs of UKNCB as at 1 January 2003 were approximately £2.6 million. For the comparable 12 month period as at 1 January 2002 there were 99 people in post employed by UKNCB, all in Scotland. The comparable annual personnel costs of the Agency as at 1 January 2002 were £2.3 million.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Directorate General Commercial Organisation; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002. [119289]

Mr. Caplin: The Director General Commercial is the Professional Head of the Ministry of Defence's Commercial Function. He is professionally responsible for all commercial posts throughout the MOD, some 1,900 staff in total. Approximately 150 of these are based in Scotland. These staff figures are unchanged from 2002. The Director General Commercial Organisation is a term used to describe collectively the commercial staff within the MOD. It is neither an agency, nor a budgetary element within the Department. The costs of commercial staff are borne by their parent Top Level Budget organisations.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Disposal Services Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002. [119292]

Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to page 36 of the Disposal Services Agency (DSA)'s Annual Report and Accounts 2001–02, which was laid before the House on 19 July 2002. For Financial Year 2002–03 the personnel costs are approximately £3 million, subject to audit. Of the 87 personnel employed in 2003, three personnel are employed in Scotland, the same number as last year.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Bills Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002. [119293]

Mr. Caplin: The Defence Bills Agency do not employ any staff in Scotland. The forecast costs and the average number of whole-time equivalent people employed (including Agency senior managers) was as follows:

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Forecast	Full-time equivalents	Personnel costs (£000)
2003–04	572	11,991
2002–03	591	11,572

The Agency's Annual Report and Accounts for 2002–03 is expected to be published before the summer recess. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

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