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DEFENCE
Future Rapid Effect System (FRES)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): The Ministry of Defence has approved the launch of a two-year assessment phase for the future rapid effect system (FRES). FRES is the most significant armoured vehicle project for the next decade. It is central to the Army's future force structure, providing a family of network-capable armoured vehicles as part of a coherent and highly deployable medium-weight force. It will deliver a step-change in the capability of our forces to meet the challenges of future expeditionary operations. FRES is also intended to meet the need to replace a number of in-service vehicles, such as SAXON, with modern, battle-winning equipment.
The assessment phase will be led by a systems house, independent of product or manufacturing capability, selected for their programme management, risk management and systems engineering capabilities. The successful candidate will be selected via competition and a contract should be placed in late 2004. The systems house will provide an objective view of ideas and technologies, which may be applicable to FRES, and of the risks inherent in complex "system of systems" integration. It will exploit and build on previous work wherever possible. In addition, as part of an incremental acquisition approach, the assessment phase will include a range of risk reduction and technology demonstration work to examine the risks of relevant technologies and to determine if they are suitable for FRES, allowing the insertion of new technologies as they mature.
The FRES project also provides excellent opportunities for UK defence industry to engage in the programme in line with defence industrial policy. The assessment phase will reach as wide and deep as possible to harness the broadest range of industrial capability, creativity and innovation. The systems house will therefore need to work closely with companies in the armoured fighting vehicle and other related sectors to draw on their expertise. There will also be opportunities for such companies to participate in the technology demonstration work during the assessment phase.
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Options for future phases of the programme have deliberately been kept open, but the way forward for FRES announced today provides the right foundations for the project and for the successful delivery of this important capability.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Housing
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. John Prescott): I am today announcing my approval to 58 new schemes that could release up to £3 billion more investment to tackle another 170,000 homes and further reduce the number of non-decent social homes. This adds to the considerable achievement of there already being 1 million fewer social homes below the decency standard than seven years ago.
I am also announcing a new scheme which would enable proposed stock transfers with a funding gap to go ahead. This will ensure that the option of a stock transfer is available to those cases where the stock has a negative value.
The new schemes draw on funding using our three designated routes for councils that need extra resources to make their stock decent:
I have awarded 12 local authorities places on the fourth round of the Arm's-Length Management Programme. These are Bassetlaw, Brent, Ealing, Eastbourne, Hammersmith and Fulham, Newark and Sherwood, Nottingham, Rotherham, Sandwell, Sheffield (partial), Slough, and Wolverhampton. Together, the bids from these authorities are for over £1.8 billion and cover just under 114,000 non-decent homes.
I have agreed nine new schemes under the private finance initiative. These are in Cheshire, Derby, Kent, Kirklees, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Islington and Lambeth, Manchester and West Wiltshire. We are making PFI credits of around £370 million available to tackle 5,300 non-decent homes as well as providing new and refurbished affordable housing and building new sheltered and supported housing.
Thirty stock transfer schemes in 14 local authorities have been awarded places on the 2004 transfer programme: Broxbourne, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Halton, Hyndburn, Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets, Macclesfield, Mid-Devon, North Somerset, Sedgefield, Stafford, West Lancashire and Sheffield. Seven more in four local authorities have had places held open: Manchester, North Norfolk, Preston, Teesdale. Together they generate £1 billion of private sector investment to tackle 56,000 non-decent homes and keep the stock in good condition for 30 years.
These announcements are a tremendous achievement which show that we are making great strides toward our aim, which I confirmed in the sustainable communities plan in March 2003, of making all social housing decent by 2010.