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13 Dec 2004 : Column 908W—continued
Departmental Contracts
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in each year since 2001–02 by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which his Department is responsible; and what the total value of the contracts was in each case. [201284]
Mr. Ingram: The information requested has only been collected by my Department since the beginning of financial year 2002–03 and then only in total terms. For the two most recent financial years I am able to provide the following data:
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of contracts awarded to small and medium enterprises | 5,742 | 7,201 |
| Total value of contracts (£ million) | 275 | 530 |
Engagements
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his official engagements over the last six months; who was present at each meeting; what the (a) date and (b) location was of each meeting; what issues were discussed; and what plans he has to establish a public register of such information. [202402]
Mr. Caplin: Ministers meet many individuals and organisations and attend many functions relating to Government business, and as part of the process of policy development. To provide the detailed information requested would incur disproportionate cost. The daily on the record briefing by the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman regularly provides details of Minister's public engagements.
Environmental Tectonics
Mr. Gerald Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department made a payment to Environmental Tectonics Corporation in respect of
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their legal costs, in addition to the stage payments and the termination payment made to Environmental Tectonics Corporation, in connection with the cancelled RAF Centrifuge project. [202984]
Mr. Ingram: In addition to a terminal payment of £6 million made to Environmental Tectonics Corporation in connection with the cancelled RAF Centrifuge project a payment against the costs of a preliminary arbitration hearing was made of £0.4 million.
Eurofighter Typhoon
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether negotiations between his Department and BAE Systems on the price and other details of Eurofighter Typhoon have concluded. [203793]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 9 December 2004]: National price negotiations between the Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems on the second tranche of Eurofighter Typhoons have been completed. When the terms and conditions of the draft contract are finalised, to the satisfaction of the four partner nations and the industrial consortium, it can be signed by NETMA on the nations' behalf. This is expected to be achieved before the end of the year. Parliament will then be informed in the usual way.
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether EADS have agreed the terms for Tranche II for Eurofighter-Typhoon. [201521]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 2 December 2004]: The terms for the order for Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoon are negotiated by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, on behalf of all four partner nations, with a consortium of four national partner companies including EADS. The order will then be subject to approval by the respective governments. That process is still under way and Parliament will be notified in the usual way when the contract is awarded.
Fraud
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have been (a) disciplined, (b) court-martialled and (c) dismissed for improper financial claims relating to fraud since 1997. [202064]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 6 December 2004]: The information is as follows:
42 Naval Service personnel have been tried by court-martial for fraud related offences. Of those, 33 were found guilty of which 18 were dismissed from the Service. Figures for trial at summary level are only available from 2001. Between then and 2003, 93 Naval Service personnel were dealt with at summary level for similar offences, three of whom were dismissed.
109 officers and soldiers were tried by court-martial for fraud related offences, of which three officers and 26 soldiers were dismissed from the Service. Figures for trial at summary level are only available from 2001. Between then and 2003, 30 Army personnel were tried at summary level for similar offences.
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106 Royal Air Force personnel have been disciplined at summary level for offences involving fraud. A further 112 were tried by court-martial. Of these 13 cases involved officers of whom 10 were found guilty and five dismissed from the Service. Of the remaining 99 cases involving airmen, 85 were found guilty and 14 were subsequently dismissed.
Future Joint Combat Aircraft
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what modifications will be required to the future joint combat aircraft to enable it to carry the Department's preferred mix of missiles. [201634]
Mr. Ingram: The joint strike fighter has been chosen to meet the UK's future joint combat aircraft requirement. It will enter UK service with medium and short range air to air and precision air to ground capability provided as part of the JSF baseline capability and no modifications are therefore required. Decisions on future weapon requirements for JSF have not yet been taken.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what missile systems the future joint combat aircraft will carry; whether such missiles will be carried internally; how many missiles the aircraft will be capable of carrying; and if he will make a statement. [201635]
Mr. Ingram: No final decisions have been taken on the weapons fit for the joint combat aircraft, beyond the requirement that it will have a precision bombing capability and an air to air capability when it enters service.
Weapons systems that we are considering integrating on joint combat aircraft as the requirement evolves include:
Our considerations will cover which weapons should be carried internally and which should be carried externally on JCA. Until such decisions have been taken we cannot say how many weapons will be carried in total.
Future Rapid Effects System
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by how long the assessment phase for the Future Rapid Effects System programme has been extended; and why the funding for the assessment and development phase of this programme has been increased over that provided for in the original plans. [199838]
Mr. Ingram:
The initial Assessment Phase for the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) programme was formally approved in May 2004 and the cost and time envelopes of this approval have not changed. Outputs from the work undertaken during this phase of the programme will be used to inform decisions that will influence the cost and duration of future phases.
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A contract, scheduled to last two years, was placed with Atkins on 12 November 2004 for the Systems House role. Atkins will undertake a number of activities as part of the initial Assessment Phase, under the strategic direction of the Ministry of Defence, to inform future investment decisions.
Global Corvette Programme
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the development of the Global Corvette programme; and what he estimates the budget for this programme to be. [202981]
Mr. Ingram: I assume this question refers to the Future Surface Combatant (FSC) programme, which is still in its concept phase. The type and size of the FSC will be driven by the future capability requirement. No decisions have yet been taken about the timescale for delivering the FSC capability, and studies continue to develop ideas for the platform solution. As such, decisions have not yet been taken on funding for either its assessment phase or the main investment phase.
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