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29 Jun 2004 : Column 179W—continued

MOD Sites

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the licence ends for civilian use of Thorney Down waste site at DSTL Porton Down; and if he will make a statement about plans for its future use. [179481]

Mr. Caplin: The lease between MOD and Wiltshire county council for the use of the Thorny Down site is for a term of 50 years, from 25 December 1995 until 25 December 2045. Due to length of the lease, there are no immediate MOD plans for the future use of this site.

Overseas Hospitals

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's hospitals operate abroad; and in which countries they are located. [180695]

Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence currently operates two permanent hospitals overseas. These are the Princess Mary's Hospital in Cyprus, and the Royal Naval Hospital in Gibraltar.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) forces and (b) civilian staff work in his Department's hospitals abroad. [180696]

Mr. Caplin: The following numbers of personnel are currently employed at our two permanent hospitals overseas:
The Princess Mary's Hospital, Cyprus

Personnel	Number
Service	102
Civilian	83

The Royal Naval Hospital, Gibraltar

Personnel	Number
Service	46
Civilian	37

In addition, some support services in Cyprus are contracted out.

Service Vehicles

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many (a) Bedford, (b) AWD and (c) Leyland-Daf trucks are operated by (i) the Army, (ii) the Royal Air Force and (iii) the Royal Navy; [180408]
 
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(2) how many ambulances are operated in (a) the Army, (b) the Royal Air Force and (c) the Royal Navy, broken down by make; [180409]

(3) how many Land Rovers are operated by (a) the Army, (b) the Royal Air Force and (c) the Royal Navy. [180410]

Mr. Ingram: The numbers of Bedford, Leyland-Daf trucks, ambulances and Land Rovers operated by the Department are shown in the following table. There are no all wheeled drive (AWD) tankers in service.

Vehicle type	RN	Army	RAF
Bedford 4 Tonne	41	5,002	344
Bedford 8 Tonne	0	1,460	11
Bedford 14 Tonne	0	900	0
Leyland-Daf Trucks	9	3,796	238
Ambulances operational	0	780	70
Ambulances non-operational	13	11	1
Land Rover operational	26	12,191	765
Land Rover non-operational(7)	179	148	393

⁽⁷⁾ It should be noted that a small number of Land Rovers have also been purchased under local ad hoc arrangements and are subsequently not managed by the DLO. It would require disproportionate effort to determine exactly the numbers involved.

Tornado

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the programme for the development of Modular Defensive Aids Systems for the Tornado for the current and next two years. [179534]

Mr. Ingram: The results of the recent Assessment Phase for the Modular Defensive Aids System project are being evaluated. A decision on the next phase of the project is under consideration as part of the Department's normal planning process.

War Pensions (Tamworth)

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pensioners within Tamworth constituency receive war pensions (a) through an order book, (b) through a Post Office card account and (c) paid directly into a bank or building society account. [176906]

Mr. Caplin: According to the Veterans Agency Computer System, as at 31 December 2003, there were 185 ongoing war disablement pensioners and 40 war widow(er)s with a recorded address in the parliamentary constituency of Tamworth.
 
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The table shows the method of payment for these pensioners.

	Payment method
		Automated credit transfer to:
	Order book	Post Office Card Account	Bank or Building Society	Total
War Disablement Pensioners	20	10	155	185
War widow(er)s	10	(8)—	30	40

⁽⁸⁾ Values above 0 but less than 5
Note:
Please note that all figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Devolution

23. Chris Bryant: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Department has to provide a new system of arbitration of disputes between the Westminster Parliament and the devolved assemblies. [180758]

Mr. Lammy: There are no plans to provide a system for arbitration of disputes between the Westminster Parliament and the devolved legislatures. It is not for the Government to dictate how Parliament interacts with its devolved counterparts.

The mechanism to consider disputes between UK Government and the devolved administrations is the Joint Ministerial Committee as established in the Memorandum of Understanding.

Court House (Colchester)

24. Bob Russell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when he expects that planning permission will be given for the new court house in Colchester. [180760]

Mr. Leslie: Outline planning permission is currently being sought for a new court in Colchester. We anticipate a decision by the planning authority in October 2004.

House of Lords

25. Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Department has to implement the Government's pledge to make the House of Lords more democratic. [180761]

Mr. Leslie: The Government are determined to proceed with further reform of the House of Lords. Proposals will be developed in the context of the Labour Party manifesto.

Mr. Allen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions the Department has had with Mr. Billy Bragg on using a secondary mandate as a way of electing part of the Second Chamber. [180765]

 
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Mr. Leslie: Mr. Bragg approached the Department to draw his proposals to the Department's attention. He has had a number of meetings, including a meeting with Ministers to discuss them.

Camera Safety Partnerships

27. Mr. Luff: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the role of magistrates courts committees in camera safety partnerships. [180763]

Mr. Leslie: Magistrates courts committees have three roles. First, to collect and account for money due for fixed penalty notices issued under the safety camera scheme. Second, endorsing driving licenses with penalty points where this is appropriate. Third, enforcing unpaid fixed penalties where they are registered as a fine.

Civil Service Relocation

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many civil servants and what percentage of the total civil service workforce in his Department will be relocated over the next five years (a) outside the M25, (b) to the West Midlands and (c) to Staffordshire. [180179]

Mr. Lammy: 13,000 DCA staff (90 per cent. out of a current total of 15,200) are already based in regional locations and/or are working in front-line customer facing roles in London and the south east. We plan to locate the regional assessment centre of the new Judicial Appointments Commission and the HQ of the new tribunals agency outside London and the south east. No decisions have yet been made regarding the potential location of these offices.

The Lyons report gives details of Departments' relocation plans, which are being taken forward and refined as part of the Spending Review. The Government will announce proposals for implementing and monitoring the dispersal plans in the review.

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