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10 Jan 2006 : Column 498W—continued
Defence Contracts (Wales)
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defence contracts have been awarded to facilities or organisations operating in Wales since 1997; what the value of these contracts was; and how many jobs have been created. [39131]
Mr. Ingram: Information relating to facilities or organisations operating in Wales is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defence contracts have been awarded to facilities and organisations in Wales since 1997; what the value of those contracts was; and how many jobs have been created as a result of the contracts. [40489]
Mr. Ingram:
Information relating to facilities or organisations operating in Wales is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Defence Training Review
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact on manufacturing and engineering companies in the West Midlands if Cosford is chosen as (a) a Super site and (b) a preferred location for aeronautical training as part of the Defence Training Review. [40386]
Mr. Touhig: The Defence Training Review (DTR) Programme is currently evaluating the bidding consortia's proposals. The impact on manufacturing and engineering companies and the extent to which they are drawn into training design, delivery and support and the exploitation of third party opportunities and revenue depends on Bidders' training and estates solutions. Until the evaluation phase is complete and a decision has been taken to select a preferred training partner, currently expected in summer 2006, I am not in a position to make any detailed comment on the wider impact of the DTR solution.
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact on the retention and recruitment of training staff if defence training activities are moved to areas outside reasonable daily travel times as part of the Defence Training Review. [40427]
Mr. Touhig: The ability of the bidding consortia to retain and recruit suitably qualified staff throughout the duration of the contract is being evaluated under clearly defined criteria to determine the overall deliverability of proposed solutions. This assessment will contribute to the selection of the preferred training partner, which will not take place until summer 2006, once the evaluation and Ministry of Defence approval process has concluded.
Departmental Estate
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the former (a) buildings and (b) land of (i) his Department and (ii) (A) non-departmental public bodies, (B) agencies and (C) independent statutory bodies for which his Department is responsible which have been sold since 7 May 1997; what the sale price of each (1) was at the time of sale and (2) is at current prices; and whether the money accrued was (x) retained by his Department and (y) claimed by the Treasury. [40133]
Mr. Touhig: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual expenditure on (a) fixtures and fittings, (b) general office expenses and (c) office equipment was of his (i) Department and (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) executive agency and (C) other public body for which his Department is responsible in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, (3) each English region and (4) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case. [40087]
Mr. Touhig:
This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on bottled water in 2004–05. [40339]
Mr. Touhig: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Staff
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value is of (a) pay supplements, (b) bonuses and (c) other incentive packages that are payable in his Department on the basis of geographic location; how many people are in receipt of each payment; and what the total cost to his Department of each payment was in 2004–05. [35889]
Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has national pay scales for the 70,000 staff below the senior civil service who are covered by the MOD main pay deal. Staff appointed/recruited to London since 1999 receive a four per cent or 7 per cent. pay supplement (dependent on pay level) while they work in London—the higher rate applies to junior administrative staff and equivalents. Staff serving in overseas locations also receive the London pay supplement. Overall, 3,075 staff are in receipt of the London pay supplement at an annual cost of £3,149,909.40.
As MOD establishments are generally in remote locations, local recruitment and retention allowances (RRA) are payable in a number of areas. There are 137 locational RRA's in operation currently payable to 15,022 staff in total at an annual cost of £28,421,339.32.
Bonuses and other incentive packages are not payable on a geographic basis.
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants in his Department worked from home for at least one day a week in the last year for which figures are available. [40294]
Mr. Touhig: It is Ministry of Defence policy that alternative working patterns, including home working, are open to all staff if the business needs can be met. The agreements are made locally between the individuals and their line managers and funding to provide equipment to work at home is also authorised locally. The Ministry of Defence only records full-time non-industrial home workers and as at 1 April 2005, there were 120 such non-industrial staff recorded. Information on those staff who work at least one day a week could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what initiatives are being taken in his Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain. [34975]
Mr. Touhig:
The Ministry of Defence is sympathetic to all staff with back problems. All staff using display screen equipment are required to undertake an on-line workplace assessment which includes ergonomics and posture. In cases of severe ongoing discomfort workplace assessments can be carried out by the Department's occupational health (OH) adviser or another expert specialising in back problems. For staff with chronic back problems specialist seating and other aids (footrests etc.) are provided on an individual basis on the advice of the individual's GP or the Department's OH adviser. The MOD also provides training on
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manual handling and lifting where appropriate. These policies are supplemented by procedures appropriate to the individual circumstances. These procedures are:
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of relocation opportunities within the next five years in relation to the Bristol-Bath-Shrivenham Defence Cluster. [36999]
Mr. Touhig: As we have already announced, it is our intention that the Defence Logistics Organisation co-locate within the area. No further relocations into the area are currently planned, but we keep the size and location of the estate under continuous review.
Disability
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the initial activity undertaken by his Department in response to those recommendations in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit Report, Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People, where lead responsibility was assigned to all Government Departments. [37060]
Mr. Touhig: The initial activity undertaken by the Ministry of Defence in response to the recommendations in this report relates mainly to its duties as an employer. These duties correspond closely to the obligations placed on public authorities by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. The Ministry of Defence is currently developing an overall equality scheme which will fully take into account those obligations. Any other recommendations in the report for employers will be progressed once we have advice from the ministerial group.
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