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17 May 2006 : Column 953W—continued

Arms Trade Treaty

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British defence attachés have raised the international arms trade treaty with their relevant counterparts. [71131]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 15 May 2006]: The Government have undertaken extensive lobbying through a wide-ranging network of overseas posts, which includes British defence attachés where appropriate.

Astute Submarine

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of each fully-equipped Astute submarine. [70776]

Mr. Ingram: The contract with BAE Systems is for the design and manufacture of three Astute class submarines, the estimated cost of which is £3,492 million.

Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the companies which were paid consultancy fees by his Department in 2005-06; how much each was paid; and what each of the companies was used to accomplish. [69694]

Mr. Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, I can advise my hon. Friend that summaries of the Ministry of Defence expenditure on external assistance, of which consultancy is a part, are available in the Library of the House for the years 1995-96 to 2004-05.

The figures for 2005-06 will be placed in the Library of the House before the summer recess.

The Defence Analytical Services Agency also publishes annually details of companies that are paid £5 million or more per year by the MOD.

17 May 2006 : Column 954W

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what opportunities exist for people to work beyond retirement age in his Department. [69116]

Mr. Watson: The services do not have standard minimum and maximum retirement ages. Personnel may leave their service at various points dependent on the terms of service for the individual’s branch or trade, their length of commission or engagement and the operational requirements facing the services at the particular time.

Where it is thought to be in the interest of the service, officers may be retained beyond their normal retirement date or offered an optional retirement date. Other ranks may be offered continuance to serve beyond their normal retirement date where there is a service requirement.

The Ministry of Defence’s normal retirement age for all civilian grades below the senior civil service (SCS) is 65. Individuals both in and below the SCS wishing to work beyond their normal retirement age can ask to remain in service. Such requests are considered on the grounds of business need; this means that provided the individual’s post is not scheduled to be disestablished and there are no surpluses at that grade and location (or within daily travel distance) and subject to the individual’s continuing health and efficiency they may remain in service for a given period.

Drones

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of drones in combat zones. [69886]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence assesses the effectiveness of uninhabited air vehicles on military operations on a regular basis. Operational analysis and studies are routinely conducted to assess military force structures and equipment capabilities (including uninhabited air vehicles). The Department also captures the lessons from the use of uninhabited air vehicles on operations.

Collectively, these assessments inform the Department’s balance of investment and wider decision-making processes.

Eurofighter

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what air-to-ground missile system the Eurofighter employs; and if he will make a statement. [70270]

Mr. Ingram: Integration of air-to-ground missile systems onto RAF Typhoon, including the Storm Shadow cruise missile and the Brimstone air-launched anti-armour weapon, is being considered as part of the Typhoon Future Capability Programme.

17 May 2006 : Column 955W

Financial Data

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will break down the main estimate Request for Resources 1 non-budget expenditure provision by sub-head in (a) near cash and (b) non-cash terms for financial year 2006-07; [71569]

(2) if he will break down the main estimate Request for Resources (a) 1, (b) 2 and (c) 3 (i) departmental expenditure limit and (ii) annually managed expenditure provision by sub-head in (A) near cash and (B) non-cash terms for financial year 2006-07. [71568]

Mr. Ingram: A full breakdown of the main estimates into near cash and non cash are shown in the following tables.

17 May 2006 : Column 956W

Ministry of Defence—Breakdown of main estimates 2006-07
TLB/ Estimate type	Main estimates £000
Commander-in-Chief Single RN TLB
DEL near cash	2,101,5
DEL non cash	2,096,8681
Total DEL	4,198,374
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	-5,718
Total AME	-5,718
Non Budget near cash	0
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	0
Total Commander-in-Chief Single RN TLB	4,192,656
General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland
DEL near cash	476,759
DEL non cash	94,615
Total DEL	571,374
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	0
Total AME	0
Non Budget near cash	0
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	0
Total General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland	571,374
Commander in Chief Land
DEL near cash	4,358,352
DEL non cash	1,360,226
Total DEL	5,718,578
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	0
Total AME	0
Non Budget near cash	0
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	0
Total Commander in Chief Land	5,718,578
Air Officer Commanding In Chief RAF Strike Command
DEL near cash	1,865,712
DEL non cash	1,864,028
Total DEL	3,729,740
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	0
Total AME	0
Non Budget near cash	0
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	0
Total Air Officer Commanding In Chief RAF Strike Command	3,729,740

Ministry of Defence—Breakdown of Main Estimates 2006-07
TLB/Estimate type	Main estimates £000
Chief of Joint Operations
DEL near cash	383,180
DEL non cash	139,307
Total DEL	522,487
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	-4,000
Total AME	-4,000
Non Budget near cash	0
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	0
Total Chief of Joint Operations	518,487
Chief of Defence Logistics
DEL near cash	4,453,296
DEL non cash	2,853,825
Total DEL	7,307,121
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	9,910
Total AME	9,910
Non Budget near cash	0
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	0
Total Chief of Defence Logistics	7,317,031
Adjutant General
DEL near cash	1,622,465
DEL non cash	160,459
Total DEL	1,782,924
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	0
Total AME	0
Non Budget near cash	9,152
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	9,152
Total Adjutant General	1,792,076
Chief RAF Personnel and Training Command
DEL near cash	765,507
DEL non cash	160,959
Total DEL	926,466
AME near cash	0
AME non cash	0
Total AME	0
Non Budget near cash	0
Non Budget non cash	0
Total Non Budget	0
Total Chief RAF Personnel and Training Command	926,466

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