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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 12 October 2004
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Public Swimming Pools
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what action she has taken to ensure that access to public swimming pools in London increases; [186923]
(2) what action she (a) can and (b) will take to increase the number of swimming pools in London. [186924]
Mr. Caborn [pursuant to his reply, 7 September 2004, Official Report, c. 1226W]: The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) is one of the 12 National Governing Bodies (NGB) able to bid for Community Club Development Programme funding from a budget of £20 million. £1.66 million has been earmarked for each NGB's ability to propose and deliver projects that meet the criteria of the programme.
I regret that in my previous answer I intimated that the ASA would receive £1.6 million from the Community Club Development Programme without first having to meet the set criteria for the Programme.
Television Licences
Anne Picking: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many care homes in the UK are (a) eligible for and (b) in receipt of block television reception licences for sheltered housing. [190149]
Estelle Morris: The Accommodation for Residential Care concessionary scheme is open to nursing and residential homes and sheltered housing schemes which meet the qualifying criteria set out in the television licence fee regulations. 28,028 such establishments held concessionary licences at the end of August 2004, as recorded by TV Licensing. Entitlement to the concession can be determined only on receipt of an application; no information is therefore available on the eligibility of establishments which have not applied.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people are in receipt of a free television licence in the United Kingdom over the age of 75 years. [190259]
Estelle Morris:
At the end of August 2004, approximately 3.5 million people aged 75 or over were in receipt of a free television licence. In addition, just under 400,000 over-75s living in housing covered by Accommodation for Residential Care group licences had their £5 fee waived under the free licence scheme.
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DEFENCE
Departmental Spending
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) his Department and (b) agencies of the Department have spent on electricity use in each year since 1997. [181373]
Mr. Caplin: The amounts spent by the Ministry of Defence in the UK on the purchase of electricity are:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 112.0 |
| 1998–99 | 110.0 |
| 1999–2000 | 101.7 |
| 2000–01 | 96.1 |
These figures are VAT exclusive at current prices. Comparable figures are not available after 2000–01 as the Ministry of Defence moved to reporting of aggregated utilities (gas, electricity and water supply) expenditure in the Departmental Resources and Accounts. However details of expenditure on utilities is published in the National Statistics Publication: UK Defence Statistics 2003: Table 1.8 Defence Expenditure Outturn in the UK by Industry Group. A copy is available in the Library of the House.
Freedom of Information Act
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department is implementing the full terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [189788]
Mr. Caplin: With the exception of the Special Forces and any military unit assisting GCHQ, the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. As such, we will comply with the duties which the Act places on all public authorities. In accordance with the timetable announced in November 2001, the first phase of implementation was achieved in November 2002 when MOD's Publication Scheme was made available. The general right of access to information will be implemented from 1 January 2005.
Military Aircraft
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average annual operating cost is per (a) Tornado GR, (b) Jaguar GR1/A/3/3A, (c) Jaguar T2A/T4 and (d) Tornado F3; and what the estimated average operating cost is per Eurofighter. [190056]
Mr. Ingram: The average annual operating cost per aircraft is as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Tornado GR4 | 10.4 |
| Jaguar GR1/3 | 5.6 |
| Jaguar T2/4 | 5.5 |
| Tornado F3 | 9.1 |
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The estimated cost for the Eurofighter Typhoon is £4.7 million for 2004–05. This annual average will increase over time as the number of hours flown by each aircraft increases.
The figures in the table are based on the Actual Operating Fleet (average annual number of aircraft available to the RAF).
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average annual support cost is per (a) Tornado GR, (b) Jaguar GR1/A/3/3A, (c) Jaguar T2A/T4 and (d) Tornado F3; and what the estimated average support cost is per Eurofighter. [190057]
Mr. Ingram: The average annual cost incurred by the Defence Logistics Organisation (at 2004–05 prices) to support a Tornado aircraft is £1.6 million and £1.5 million for the Jaguar. As many of the spares and much of the equipment used to support an aircraft fleet is common across all variants, it is not possible to accurately attribute costs to individual marks of aircraft.
Based on through-life support estimates it is expected that the total, Defence-wide, annual average support cost (at 2004–05 prices) for a Eurofighter aircraft will be £2.2 million.
As part of our drive to transform logistics we are working with industry to reduce the costs of supporting in-service aircraft, including the future fast-jet fleet.
Provigil
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantities of Provigil and similar drugs have been purchased by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost. [187495]
Mr. Caplin: The quantity and cost of Provigil purchased by the MOD in the last five years is as follows:
| Financial Year (1 April to 31 March) | Volume of purchase (30100mg pack) | Average price per pack excluding VAT (£) | Total (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 141 | 52.21 | 7,361.61 |
| 2000 | 52 | 53.85 | 2,800.20 |
| 2001 | 175 | 53.85 | 9,423.75 |
| 2002 | 146 | 53.85 | 7,862.10 |
| 2003 | 89 | 53.85 | 4,792.65 |
| 2004 (to date) | 117 | 53.85 | 6,300.45 |
| Total | (1)720 | — | 38,540.76 |
(1) 720 packs x 30 tablets = 21,600 tablets.
Renewable Energy (Departmental Use)
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of electricity used by buildings in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies has come from renewable sources in each year since 1997. [181291]
Mr. Caplin:
The Ministry of Defence and its agencies did not purchase any electricity from climate change levy exempt sources until 2002–03 when 2.8 per cent. was acquired from such sources. The estimate for 2003–04 is 5 per cent. based on the minimum percentage specified in electricity supply contracts. Actual figures for 2003–04 are not yet available.
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Territorial Army
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) the total strength of the Territorial Army, (b) the number of mobilised reservists and (c) the current Territorial Army deployment figures are. [189804]
Mr. Caplin: The information is as follows:
(a) the total strength of Territorial Army was 35,480;
(b) the number of Army mobilised Regular Reservists was 100;
(c) the number of mobilised TA personnel was 2,200.
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