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9 Dec 2004 : Column 687W—continued
Astute Class Submarines
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the original (a) estimated cost and (b) in-service delivery date was of the first three Astute class submarines; what the latest estimate is; and if he will make a statement. [199989]
Mr. Ingram: The National Audit Officer's Major Projects Report for 2004 has reported an expected total cost of £3,484 million against a re-costed approval of £2,578 million. The first of class, HMS Astute, had originally been expected to enter service in June 2005. HMS Astute is scheduled to be delivered to the Ministry of Defence by 2009. The second of class, HMS Ambush, will follow in mid 2010, and the third of class, HMS Artful, in 2012.
Cluster Munitions
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cluster munitions were imported in each year since 1992; what the total value of imports was in each year; and what the countries of origin were of these imports. [200300]
Mr. Ingram:
There have been no imports of air launched cluster munitions since 1992. Ground launched systems consist of:
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Shell 155mm HE L20A1 Extended Range Bomblet Shell (ERBS) of which the following quantities have been purchased since 1992 sourced from Israel, quantity 30,345 in 1996/97, quantity 26,010 in year 2003 and quantity 3,009 in year 2004. I am withholding information on costs on the grounds of commercial confidentiality (Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information).
Compensation
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his policy for ex-gratia compensation payments to former civilian internees in the far east region. [201889]
Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the response I made in the debate on the Ex-Gratia Payment Scheme on 7 September 2004, Official Report, columns 696–700.
CVF (Costs)
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) estimated cost and (b) forecast in-service date was at the time the CVF was commissioned; and what the current forecasts are;. [201642]
Mr. Ingram: Estimates for the cost and forecast in-service date of the Future Carrier programme continue to be refined during the Assessment Phase and will be confirmed when we take the main investment decision, scheduled for 2005. The target acquisition cost for the two carriers is around £3 billion with target in-service dates of 2012 and 2015.
Departmental Files
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is the policy of the Department to retain for the benefit of future (a) historians and (b) applicants under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the same (i) complete categories of files, (ii) numbers of files and (iii) representative examples of files from categories of files destroyed as had been preserved prior to the passage of that Act. [203337]
Mr. Caplin: No change is envisaged in the selection policy for the preservation of records on account of the passage of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes have been promulgated in each of the past five years to the guidelines or other criteria for the retention or destruction of departmental files. [203339]
Mr. Caplin:
No substantive changes have been made in the last five years to the guidance. This is updated as necessary to reflect changing requirements.
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Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many files held by the Department have been destroyed in each year since 1997. [200695]
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many departmental files have been destroyed in each of the past five years. [203338]
Mr. Caplin: The initial review of most files is delegated to the originating branch and there is no requirement for central reporting of statistics on destruction. Statistics are available for the volume of files centrally reviewed by the departmental records officer's staff and designated for destruction. Figures for each of the last five years are available and are given in linear metres of records:
| Reviewed | For destruction | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 2,080 | 1,769 |
| 2000–01 | 2,233 | 1,407 |
| 2001–02 | 1,787 | 1,090 |
| 2002–03 | 3,707 | 3,040 |
| 2003–04 | 3,649 | 3,211 |
Energy Purchasing
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much he estimates his Department will save in (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) 2007–08 by coordinating the purchase of energy with the NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency. [203652]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to co-ordinate the purchasing of energy with the NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency.
Manning Control Point Reviews
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions (a) the King's Own Scottish Borderers, (b) The Royal Scots, (c) The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, (d) The Black Watch, (e) the Parachute Regiment, (f) The Green Howards, (g) The Royal Irish Regiment, (h) The Royal Green Jackets, (i) The Queen's Own Hussars, (j) The Royal Signals and (k) The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers have received lists of names for manning control point reviews in the last 18 months. [201487]
Mr. Caplin: The information requested is as follows:
(14) The Queen's Own Hussars were amalgamated with the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars in 1993, therefore the information provided is for the amalgamated regiment, the Queen's Royal Hussars.
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Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when and how each soldier whose name is included on lists sent to units for the purpose of manning control point reviews is informed that they are under career review. [201488]
Mr. Caplin: Soldiers are not informed that their name has been included on the list, which would include the names of all soldiers who match the parameters for review. They would be informed if their Commanding Officer recommended them for discharge as a result of the review.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated administration cost was of producing manning control point reviews for (a) The Black Watch, (b) The Parachute Regiment and (c) The Royal Signals in the last 18 months. [201492]
Mr. Caplin: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Medals
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the unit cost is of striking a campaign medal in (a) cupronickel and (b) silver; [201735]
(2) what the benefits to (a) the recipient and (b) the Government are of striking campaign medals in (i) cupronickel and (ii) silver; [201736]
(3) what the estimated cost is of reverting from striking campaign medals in cupronickel to silver; [201737]
(4) if he will revert to the practice of striking campaign medals in silver; and if he will make a statement. [201738]
Mr. Caplin: Campaign medals, such as the General Service Medal, are made from silver. War medals, such as the Iraq Medal, have, since the Second World War, been made from cupronickel. There are no plans to revert to the practice of striking war medals in silver. The additional cost of striking a war medal in silver would depend on the market rate for silver bullion and the number of medals issued. The current difference in unit cost is approximately £10. The current unit cost of making a campaign medal in silver is £23.31 plus VAT plus bullion (which varies in price but at present is £5.92 per unit). The current unit cost of making a war medal in cupronickel is £19.93 plus VAT. While the silver medal is clearly a superior product, the quality of the cupronickel medal is considered acceptable and no justification is seen for a 17 per cent. cost increase, especially given the large number of war medals made.
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