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16 Dec 2004 : Column 1226W—continued
Departmental Websites
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department's .gov.uk websites comply with the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines adopted by the Government in 2001; and if he will make a statement. [199689]
Mr. Touhig: The Wales Office websites-www.walesoffice.gov.uk and its parallel Welsh site www.swvddfacvmru.gov.uk-are compliant to the Accessibility Guidelines.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997. [203457]
Mr. Hain: Special advisers hold meetings with a wide range of external representatives in their official capacity. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the "Code of Conduct for Special Advisers".
DEFENCE
Departmental Mobile Phones
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many departmental mobile telephones were used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1997; at what cost; how many such telephones were lost or stolen in each year since 1997; and what the replacement costs were in each case. [202759]
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Mr. Caplin [holding answer 6 December 2004]: Information relating to the number and cost of mobile telephones is only available from 1999.
| Number | Spend (5) (£ million) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 6,656 | 2.637 |
| 2000 | 8,964 | 2.656 |
| 2001 | 10,958 | 2.368 |
| 2002 | 13,808 | 3.395 |
| 2003 | 17,084 | 3.965 |
| 2004(6) | 21,260 | 2.85 |
(5) Ex VAT.
(6) To end September.
This information is not broken down into numbers for Ministers, special advisers and officials. There are a small number of local agreements in place for which information is not available. Information relating to individual areas, the number and cost of replacement of lost or stolen mobile telephones is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the gender pay gap among staff in his Department. [200809]
Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence conducted in 2003 an equal pay audit of its civilian staff following the publication of the report by the Equal Opportunities Commission Equal Pay Task Force, "Just Pay", in March 2001. 1 am pleased to report that no major problems were identified.
Fraud
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officers and (b) other armed forces personnel have been disciplined for the misuse of official cars since 1997. [202183]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 6 December 2004]: The information requested is as follows:
Three officers and four other ranks have been tried and convicted for offences relating to the misuse of official cars. Details of naval personnel dealt with at summary level are not available.
One officer and 23 soldiers were tried by court martial and found guilty for offences relating to the misuse of all types of military vehicles. Details of those dealt with at summary level have been recorded centrally only since 2001. Between then and 2003, 113 soldiers have been tried at summary level for similar offences.
27 cases involving airmen were dealt with at summary level and two at courts martial, one of whom was found not guilty. There were no cases involving officers.
Gibraltar
Andrew Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Gibraltar Service Police Association (a) were not consulted on the changes to
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and (b) were not included in the distribution list for the Gibraltar Personnel Manual dated 17 November; and if he will make a statement. [203578]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 9 December 2004]: Trade Union consultation for the development of the Gibraltar Personnel Manual is being undertaken through a sub committee of the Command Whitley, which is chaired jointly by a representative of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) and local MOD management. The TGWU, which represents the majority of Locally Employed Civilians working in Gibraltar, has collective bargaining authority to negotiate the Gibraltar Personnel Manual, in consultation with other unions as the TGWU deems necessary. The omission of the GSPSA from the distribution of 17 November was a regrettable oversight that has now been corrected.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) time off and (b) other facilities are available to the officials of the Gibraltar Service Police Association to enable them to fulfil their representative responsibilities and attend official meetings in Gibraltar and London; and if he will make a statement. [203579]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 9 December 2004]: Members of the Gibraltar Services Police Association are entitled to time off and use of telephones, postal and other MOD resources in pursuance of Gibraltar Services Police Staff Association (GSPSA) business to a level agreed with the Chief Police Officer (CPO). The GSPSA has very recently written to the CPO articulating for the first time their requirements in respect of facility time, and resources needed. If the GSPSA attend an official meeting in London called by MOD then they will receive full support as do other unions. The subject of facility time was discussed further at a formal meeting with the GSPSA that was held in Gibraltar on 10 December.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects of Command Secretariat Temporary Memorandum No. 46/04, The Gibraltar Personnel Manual, dated 17 November on (a) each category of personnel and (b) existing manuals and practices. [203580]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 9 December 2004]: The Command Secretariat Temporary Memorandum No 46/04, the Gibraltar Personnel Manual, dated 17 November, notified staff of the publication of a chapter covering recruitment and will apply to all Gibraltar Locally Employed Civilians, unless there is a need for separate provisions for particular groups or classes. In the case of the Gibraltar Services Police (GSP), local management is in discussion with their representatives in a formal working group to develop particular regulations where needed. The Gibraltar Personnel Manual, when fully developed, will replace the UK MOD Civilian Personnel Manual and in part reflect Gibraltar employment law and customs.
Military Bands
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel are members of military bands in (a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Army, (c) the Royal Air Force and (d) the Royal Marines. [204943]
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Mr. Caplin: The number of trained personnel in each Service's military bands are as follows:
| Service | Strength(7) |
|---|---|
| Naval Service(8) | 315 |
| Army | 1,000 |
| Royal Air Force(9) | 155 |
(7) Naval Service and Royal Air Force data are as at 1 November 2004, Army strength data are as at 14 December 2004.
(8) Naval Service comprises Royal Navy and Royal Marines, Naval Service bands are provided by the Royal Marines' band service.
(9) Royal Air Force figures exclude a combined total of 10 personnel based at HQ Music Services in Uxbridge and Plymouth Armed Forces Career Office.
All figures include Officers and Other Ranks and have been rounded to the nearest five.
Service Medals
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service medals, broken down by type, are awaiting award to eligible service personnel; what the average waiting time is for personnel after completion of eligibility requirements for each award; and if he will make a statement. [204222]
Mr. Caplin: As at 3 December 2004 there were 2,037 medals awaiting award to eligible service personnel and veterans. This figure is comprised of 46 Iraq Medals, 130 for service in the Suez Canal Zone and 1,861 other awards. Once eligibility has been established, medals are normally engraved and despatched within two weeks.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Suez Canal Zone Medal will be made available to Mr. Rowland A Jones, Service Number 22662619; and if he will make a statement. [204771]
Mr. Caplin: Insufficient evidence is currently available to assess Mr. Jones' application for the Canal Zone medal. If Mr. Jones would like to telephone the Army Medal Office on 01905 772323 extension 8740 it should be possible to resolve his case.
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