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Defence Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what percentage of the UK procurement budget was spent in non-NATO countries in each year since 1997; what these figures represent as a percentage of the total defence budget in each year; and if he will make a statement. [216255]

 
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Mr. Hoon: Estimates of equipment expenditure in non-NATO countries since 1997 are provided in the following table.

	£ million
1997–98	35
1998–99	45
1999–2000	30
2000–01	30
2001–02	25
2002–03	50
2003–04	80

These include sums spent with the United Kingdom owned companies and their subsidiaries attributed to these locations. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Because of lack of consistency over time, and limited coverage in the defence procurement Vote ¹ , we have employed the Procurement Expenditure series that was published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency ² in deriving the following percentages:

¹ Class 1, Vote 3, Systems Procurement and Research, was discontinued after 1998–99.

² The figures used were taken from Table 1.7, UK Defence Statistics 2002.

	Percentage of procurement expenditure
1997–98	0.37
1998–99	0.44
1999–2000	0.30
2000–01	0.29
2001–02	(16)n/a
2002–03	(16)n/a
2003–04	(16)n/a

⁽¹⁶⁾With the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting, the Procurement Expenditure series was discontinued.

As a percentage of defence expenditure these figures constitute:

	Percentage of Defence expenditure
1997–98	0.17
1998–99	0.20
1999–2000	0.13
2000–01	0.13
2001–02	(17)0.10
2002–03	(17)0.19
2003–04	(17)0.27

⁽¹⁷⁾With the introduction of RAB there is a break in series in 2001–02. The cash" defence expenditure figure is no longer prepared: MOD's net cash requirement has been employed in subsequent calculations to provide a figure that is roughly comparable.

Departmental Documents

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list extant Defence Council Instructions. [217845]

Mr. Caplin: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Finance

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by how much his Department's end of year
 
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flexibility was changed following the introduction of the Treasury's cash management scheme in financial years (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [217840]

Mr. Ingram: Following the introduction of the Treasury's cash management scheme, the Department's end year adjustment (net charge) was £10K in 2002–03 and £25K in 2003–04. These adjustments were reflected in the carry forwards for 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively.

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the monthly forecasts of payments and receipts provided to the Treasury under its cash management scheme for financial years 2002–03 to 2004–05. [217841]

Mr. Ingram: Copies of the monthly forecasts of payments and receipts provided to the Treasury under its cash management scheme for financial years 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 (April 2004 to January 2005) will be placed in the Library of the House in the next few days.

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to publish his Department's SR 2004 Departmental Investment Strategy. [217842]

Mr. Ingram: The SR2004 Defence Departmental Investment Strategy will be published on the Ministry of Defence's website before Easter 2005.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07, and (c) 2007–08; and if he will make a statement. [213263]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 2 February 2005, Official Report, column 910W.

Diversity and Equality

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officially designated diversity and equality officers have been appointed in each of the three armed forces to date; whether he plans to appoint further such officers in financial year 2004–05; and what estimate he has made of the total (a) pay, (b) allowances and (c) supporting staff for these officers in 2005–06. [218019]

Mr. Caplin: The number of officially designated diversity and equality officers appointed in each of the armed forces to date is as follows:
Diversity and equality officers

Service	Number	Officer
RN/RM	1	Commander
	2	Lieutenant Commander
Army	1	Colonel
	1	Lieutenant Colonel
	2	Major
RAF	1	Warrant Officer

There are no plans to appoint any further diversity and equality officers in financial year 2004–05. The estimated cost of the total pay and allowances for
 
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designated diversity and equality officers in 2005–06, based on general capitation rates for the relevant rank or grade, is £901,894.

In the case of the Army the E1 civil servant provides dedicated support to the Equal Opportunities team. It is not possible to provide the exact cost for the RN and RAF of supporting staff as they provide services as part of a wider range of duties.

In addition, every unit of the armed forces has an Equal Opportunities Adviser (EOA) who provides support to personnel by giving advice and guidance on equality and diversity issues. EOAs are not dedicated diversity and equality officers, the duties involved are performed as part of the individual's normal role.

The total number of EOAs in the armed forces is not held centrally. EOAs do not receive any special allowances for carrying out their duties.

EU Defence Procurement

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his policy towards COM (2004) 608, the Communities Green Paper on Defence Procurement. [215200]

Mr. Ingram: The European Commission's Green Paper on Defence Procurement sets out to open the debate on creating a more transparent and open European defence equipment market, and on promoting further the global competitiveness of European defence industry. The Government supports any initiative that aims to create a more open, effective and competitive European Defence Equipment Market and provided a detailed response on the Green Paper to the European Commission on 15 February 2005.

Financial Submissions

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of his Department's monthly financial submissions to the Treasury's general expenditure monitoring system for (a) financial years (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04 and (b) the first nine months of 2004–05. [213584]

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

Gibraltar

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers in his Department have visited Gibraltar in the last six months; how long each visit was; what the reason for the visit was; whom each Minister met; how many visits by Trident nuclear submarines there were to (a) Spain and (b) Gibraltar in the last three years; and what the purpose of each visit was. [217555]

Mr. Ingram: Two Defence Ministers have visited Gibraltar over the last six months. The Under Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Mr. Caplin), visited on 13–14 September 2004. He met Jewish Community Leaders, Royal Naval Hospital staff, Welfare Staff, Chief Minister, Regiment of Gibraltar members and veterans, and His Excellency the Governor. The primary purpose of the visit was
 
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discussions relating to the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar. I visited Gibraltar on 10 February 2005. I met the Chief Minister, HQ British Forces Gibraltar staff, the Deputy Governor, Regiment of Gibraltar and Gibraltar Squadron personnel. The primary purpose of my visit was to inform the Chief Minister of the MOD's decision to outsource facilities management services in Gibraltar. There have been no visits to Spain or Gibraltar by Trident nuclear submarines in the last three years. .

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of jobs in his Department in Gibraltar; and what plans he has to change the number. [217597]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence currently employs 519 military personnel, 61 UK based civil servants and 1,038 locally employed civilians in Gibraltar. It was announced last week that, in line with Government policy to obtain best value for defence from the tax payer's money, we are implementing in Gibraltar the current UK and overseas best practice model for delivering facilities management. This involves outsourcing all the activities of the Gibraltar Defence Estates and the Joint Logistic Unit (except laundry and Motor Transport Engineering which are subject to separate efficiency proposals). Some two military, five UK based civilian and 296 locally employed civilian posts fall within the scope of the contract and are likely to transfer to the successful contractor. In addition to this initiative, a review of the supply of support services (eg janitorial, catering and motor transport) is also underway. The review team has yet to report, but a reduction of about 70–90 posts is likely if an in-house option is secured. If not, up to 300 posts could be contractorised.

In addition, the Defence Communications and Services Agency (DCSA) in Gibraltar is also undertaking a review of its structure to improve effectiveness. It is planned that the DCSA will reduce the total number of staff and change the balance of employee types in favour of locally employed civilians. This is separate from the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) initiative, which is due to impact on Gibraltar in 2007–08 and could lead to further outsourcing proposals. The DII initiative will replace our current administrative IT system. It is too early to assess what the impact will be, but up to 10 posts may beaffected. As with all organisations, the MOD in Gibraltar will change and adapt to reflect an evolving defence need and the most effective way of delivering it.

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