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30 Oct 2006 : Column 111W—continued
Naval Dockyards
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the HM dockyards Portsmouth and Devonport. [97432]
Mr. Ingram: A review of infrastructure at each of the three naval bases is currently being undertaken. The review will recommend ways in which we might optimise the use of the naval bases individually and collectively provide support to the front line. The review will consider a broad range of options so it is too early to determine its impact on the future of the individual bases.
Nimrod MR2
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional checks have been made of the Nimrod MR2 fleet since the loss in Afghanistan. [92703]
Mr. Ingram:
Following the loss of Nimrod MR2 XV230 in September this year, additional maintenance and safety checks have been undertaken on all of the RAF’s Nimrod MR2 aircraft. The board of inquiry is under way and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of the crash. Given that the crew had, however, received indications of a fire it was deemed prudent to conduct a fleet-wide examination of areas
where flammable materials (such as fuel or hydraulic fluid) may be placed in relative proximity to potential sources of ignition should a leak occur. These examinations included visual inspections of the inboard wing and bomb bay areas, and pressurised functional and leak checks of the aircraft’s fuel system.
PFI Projects
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent by his Department on Private Finance Initiative projects postponed pending further consideration or stopped in the last 12 months. [96805]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has not postponed pending further consideration or stopped any PFI projects (as defined by the HM Treasury document ‘Meeting the Investment Challenge’ of July 2003) in the past 12 months.
Sponsored Students
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many students were subsidised to attend university with the aim of recruitment to the armed forces in each of the last five years, broken down by service; what the cost was; and how these data are recorded. [91298]
Derek Twigg: The number of university bursaries awarded, and their associated costs, in each of the last five years are as follows:
| Financial year | Sponsorship | Number awarded | Total cost (£000) |
| (1 )Not yet known. (2 )Figures for financial year 2006-07 show the position as at 30 September 2006. | |||
The officer entry section of the Admiralty Interview Board maintains records of all recipients of RN Bursaries who are also supported while at university either by the university training officer or by the Defence technical undergraduate scheme.
The Army's direct entry bursary is worth £1,000 per year at university plus a £3,000 lump sum at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
All RAF data on bursaries is captured on a database at RAF Cranwell.
Theatre-wide Missile Defence
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the need for theatre-wide missile defence in out-of-NATO area land and sea operations. [92782]
Des Browne: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 7 June 2006, Official Report, column 627W.
Trident Replacement
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish the white paper on options for the replacement of Trident. [97403]
Des Browne: It remains our intention that decisions on the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent will be taken later this year, following which we will publish a White Paper.
Typhoon
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to install a gun on the Typhoon; and if he will make a statement. [92695]
Mr. Ingram: The Eurofighter Typhoon is already fitted with a cannon. There is at present no requirement for it to be operational but the Department has the option that, should operational circumstances change, it can be brought into service.
Vessels
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department raised from the sale of former naval vessels (a) Sandown, (b) Inverness and (c) Bridport to the Government of Estonia. [94978]
Mr. Ingram: The sale price for the three Sandown class ships to Estonia was £32 million (the gross return to MOD). The net return to MOD will, however, be adjusted by costs for regeneration of the vessels and training of crew prior to delivery. Regeneration is being carried out under incentivised arrangements and thus the final costs will not be known until completion of the work.
Warships
Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the options under consideration for basing policy for HM ships. [97430]
Mr. Ingram: Work is in progress to review the infrastructure required at each the three HM naval bases to support the Royal Navy as part of the Naval Base Review. Until this work has been completed, options for basing policy for HM ships cannot be determined.
Weaponry (Collateral Damage Predictions)
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department makes collateral damage predictions in deployment of weaponry. [94453]
Mr. Ingram: A collateral damage estimation (CDE) is conducted for all pre-planned targets by qualified targeteers who are trained to carry out this process. For targets where there is an obvious risk of collateral damage, a computer-based collateral damage model (CDM) is used, as a guide to military judgment, to determine the estimated effects of a range of weapons against differing structures in a variety of locations (rural, semi-rural, urban, etc). When it is not operationally feasible to conduct a full and formal CDE, Commanders must still apply the basic principles of the Laws of Armed Conflict (Distinction, Discrimination, Proportionality and Necessity).
Duchy of Lancaster
Civil Service Pensions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the annual savings would be from increasing civil service employee contribution rate to the civil service pension scheme by 1 per cent.; and if she will make a statement; [93542]
(2) what recent estimate she has made of the annual saving from increasing the employee contribution rates to the civil service pension scheme by 1 per cent.; and if she will make a statement. [96534]
Mr. McFadden: Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme made normal contributions of £280 million in the year to 31 March 2006 plus additional contributions of £32 million for the purchase of added years.
If contribution rates had been one percentage point higher than they are, the contributions received by the Civil Superannuation Vote would have been some £141 million higher than was the case. However, the overall impact on public finances would have been less than this as members do not pay income tax on pension contributions.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the (a) present and (b) future retirement age arrangements are for each public sector pension scheme for which her Department has responsibility; and if she will make a statement; [96025]
(2) what the current (a) accrual rate and (b) normal retirement age is for each public sector pension scheme for which her Department is responsible; and if she will make a statement. [96038]
Mr. McFadden: The Principal Civil Service Pension scheme is in two sections. Section 1—the “2002 section”—is referred to as the premium scheme and has a pension accrual rate of 1/60th. Section 2—the “1972 section” is referred to as the classic scheme. Classic has a pension accrual rate of 1/80th plus a lump sum accrual rate of 3/80th.
The current normal pension age for members of both schemes is 60. However, some prison officers who are members of classic have a normal pension age of 55.
In line with the principles agreed with the trade unions at the Public Services Forum in 2005, a new pension scheme will be introduced for new entrants tothe civil service which will have a pension age of 65.
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