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22 Feb 2005 : Column 590W—continued
Official Residences
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the official residences for which his
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Department is responsible; who occupies each one; what the annual cost is of running each property; what contribution the current occupants make towards the running costs of each; what the total capital and refurbishment expenditure has been on those properties in each of the past five years; how much money was spent in each property on (a) flowers and plants, (b) wine and entertaining, (c) food, (d) telephone bills and (e) electricity and gas in 2003–04; how many (i) domestic and (ii) maintenance staff are employed at each property, broken down by post; and what the total cost of staff employment at each was in 2003–04. [213606]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office is not responsible for any official residencies.
Parking
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent on (a) provision of parking spaces for civil servants and (b) parking tickets and penalties incurred by civil servants in the Department in each year since it was established. [213744]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since that date, the Office has incurred no expenditure on parking ticket penalties for civil servants. The Office pays £5,250 per year for car parking spaces as part of the rental for its offices in Edinburgh.
Queen's Flight
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions departmental Ministers have used the Queen's Flight in each of the past five years. [213445]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since that date, no Scotland Office Minister has used the Queen's Flight.
Staff Training
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the costs of departmental (a) staff training days and (b) staff development days held away from the Department were in each year since 1997. [213785]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Most of its staff are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs who continue to provide access to training and development opportunities. The Scotland Office does not hold information in the form requested; however, the total direct expenditure on training was:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000(73) | 7,539 |
| 2000–01 | 14,695 |
| 2001–02 | 12,570 |
| 2002–03 | 25,202 |
| 2003–04 | 23,483 |
(73)Part year
22 Feb 2005 : Column 592W
Stationery
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much the Department and its predecessors spent on (a) stationery and (b) office supplies in each year since it was established. [213856]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. The Office provides a number of services, including stationery and office supplies, to the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland (OAG). Prior to 2003–04, expenditure by OAG was not held separately.
Since July 1999, the Scotland Office (SO) and OAG have spent the following on stationery and office supplies:
| SO and OAG | |
|---|---|
| 1999–00 (74) | 22,207 |
| 2000–01 | 25,270 |
| 2001–02 | 24,478 |
| 2002–03 | 25,294 |
| 2003–04 | |
| SO | 16,858 |
| OAG | 5,485 |
(74)Part year
DEFENCE
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what responsibilities have been accorded to each of the alliance members in the future aircraft carrier programme. [216073]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 21 February 2005]: Discussions continue on the responsibilities of the alliance participants, which are being developed progressively and will be detailed in the final alliance agreement. This will be completed prior to the main investment decision, which we currently anticipate taking place in the latter half of 2005.
Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are declared to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. [216496]
Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom contributes 226 members of staff to Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC), out of a total of 449. The UK's 1 Signal Brigade is also dedicated to HQ ARRC to provide support, and consists of seven and 16 signal regiments and the ARRC Support Battalion; a total of 1,650 personnel. For an operational deployment, the ARRC may draw on forces from the UK and other NATO nations as required by the mission.
Asian Tsunami
Mr. Hammond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost would have been of providing an
22 Feb 2005 : Column 593W
RAF flight to repatriate to the United Kingdom bodies of British citizens who lost their lives in the tsunami in Thailand. [216534]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has not provided a repatriation service for tsunami victims and given the large number of possible variables, cannot estimate what the cost would have been had it done so. Families wish their loved-ones to be returned to them as soon as possible. The quickest and most efficient way of meeting the families' wishes is through the use of commercial airline operators.
Atomic Weapons Establishment
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits there have been to the US by personnel from the Atomic Weapons Establishments during the last 12 months; and how many visits of US personnel to the AWE there have been during that time. [216675]
Mr. Ingram: There have been 180 visits to the United States by personnel from the Atomic Weapons Establishment during the 12 months ending January 2005. In the same period there were 128 visits by US personnel to the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which facilities in the US have been visited by personnel from the Atomic Weapons Establishments during the last 12 months. [216676]
Mr. Ingram: Atomic Weapons Establishments personnel visited 29 facilities in the United States during the 12 months ending January 2005. These were:
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Atomic Weapons Establishment personnel are assigned to the US as part of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement; and where they are located. [216677]
Mr. Ingram: Numbers of the United Kingdom personnel stationed in the United States under the auspices of the 1958 MDA vary in line with operational and other requirements. There are currently no such assignments of personnel from the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
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