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Defence Logistics

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in establishing a system of asset tracking for Defence logistics. [192369]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Defence Procurement Agency

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mechanisms are in place in the Defence Procurement Agency for the passing of information and expertise between support groups and the integrated projects teams responsible for equipment procurement. [198930]

Mr. Ingram: There are 20 Support Groups within the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) who are responsible for providing technical, financial and commercial policy advice to the Agency's Integrated Project Teams (IPTs). In addition to supporting the DPA IPTs, many Support Groups provide support to the wider Department and to industry.

Support Groups promulgate their advice and policy through the Department's Acquisition Management System (AMS) in the first instance. The AMS is a web-based system that provides a framework for more detailed guidance, often in the form of Joint Service
 
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Publications or Defence Standards. The AMS is available via the internet and is used extensively by industry.

The individual Support Groups employ a variety of means for providing information and support directly to IPTs; these include bulletin boards, helplines, seminars and guidebooks. Where appropriate, individual Support Group personnel may become 'associate members' of IPTs.

Support Group personnel are involved in the delivery of training to IPTs and participate in a number of courses. Support Groups and IPTs also contribute to a process called 'Learning From Experience' where lessons learned are captured in a database for others to draw from.

Finally, the best way of sharing expertise between Support Groups and IPTs is for staff to move between them during their career. This assists in the development of policy and guidance that is aligned to the needs of IPTs.

Defence Projects

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) category A, (b) category B and (c) category C projects of his Department that have received (i) initial gate and (ii) main gate approval since 31 March 1997; and when approval was achieved. [170561]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Defence Science and Technology Laboratories

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the European Commission's REACH chemical regulations on the work of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratories at Porton Down; and what representations he has made to the Commission. [153397]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Dentists

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-UK Commonwealth citizens practice as dentists in the (a) Army, (b) RAF and (c) Royal Navy. [198376]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Department Account Codes

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's account codes. [176383]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Advertising

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of (a) creative work, (b) media
 
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spend and (c) administration for his Department's advertising activity has been in each financial year since 1997–98, broken down by contractor. [197298]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Consultants

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Department spent on outside information technology and communication specialists, consultants and engineers in the 2003–04 financial year. [192760]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Events (Funding)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) publications, (c) initiatives, (d) projects and (e) receptions organised by his Department which have received funding from outside commercial bodies, since May 1997, broken down by (i) funding body and (ii) amount paid. [196595]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Expenditure Limit

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to paragraph 65 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2003–04, HC 1080, when his Department was first subject to a cash Departmental Expenditure Limit; and what that limit was; [196463]

(2) if he will list the cash demanding activities referred to in paragraph 65 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2003–04, HC 1080, that were constrained in financial year 2003–04. [196465]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Heating

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) total energy use and (b) total cost has been of heating his Department's headquarters in Whitehall in each year since 1990. [192244]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to cut heat loss in his Department's headquarters in Whitehall; and if he will make a statement. [192245]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he takes to ensure that the buildings comprising his Department's headquarters in Whitehall are heated according to occupancy and climatic conditions rather than a standard date and time. [192246]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
 
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Departmental IT

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Department's (a) implemented and (b) planned computer systems use open source software; and what plans are in place to raise this level. [195659]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Lighting

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost of providing lighting for his Department's headquarters in Whitehall has been for each year since 1990. [192247]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is his policy that lights within his Department's headquarters in Whitehall should remain on, irrespective of room occupancy. [192248]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

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