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18 Dec 2006 : Column 1473W—continued
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed by the Defence Housing Executive; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are expected to be in 2006-07; and what they were in 2005-06. [107928]
Derek Twigg: The Defence Housing Executive (DHE) formally ceased to be a Defence agency on1 April 2004 and was merged with Defence Estates from that date. There are therefore no details of employees/personnel costs relating to DHE for 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for 2005-06 the Defence Bills Agency spent in Scotland in (a) monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget; how much was spent for each category in 2004-05; and if he will make a statement. [107930]
Derek Twigg: The Defence Bills Agency did not spend any of its personnel budget in Scotland in either 2004-05 or 2005-06. The Agency did not employ any staff in Scotland in either of these financial years.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed by (a) the RAF Personnel Manning Agency and (b) the RAF Training Group Defence Agency; how many are employed by each agency in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agencies are expected to be in 2006-07; and what they were in 2005-06. [107931]
Derek Twigg: The RAF Personnel Manning Agency (PMA) formally ceased to be a Defence agency on1 April 2005. There are therefore no details of employees/personnel costs relating to PMA for 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The RAF Training Group Defence Agency (TGDA) formally ceased to be a Defence Agency on 1 April 2006. There are therefore no details of employees/personnel costs relating to TGDA for 2006-07, but the personnel costs for 2005-06 were £321.7million.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for 2005-06 the Disposal Services Agency spent in Scotland in (a) monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget; how much was spent for each category in 2004-05; and if he will make a statement. [107939]
Derek Twigg: The figures requested are as follows:
| Personnel costs for DSA staff based in Scotland | ||
| Amount (£000) | Percentage | |
These figures do not include travel and subsistence costs.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for 2005-06 the Warship Support Agency spent in Scotland in (a) monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget; how much was spent for each category in 2004-05; and if he will make a statement. [107941]
Derek Twigg:
The Warship Support Agency was disestablished in 2005 and its activities have since been subsumed into the Defence Logistics Organisation.
Personnel costs for 2004-05 are available in the Agency’s annual report and accounts for that financial year; copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Aircraft
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the (a) performance and (b) operational reliability of Tristar aircraft in service with the Royal Air Force. [108709]
Mr. Ingram: The Tristar aircraft plays a vital part in the worldwide transport of troops and equipment as well as undertaking air to air refuelling tasks. It has helped to contribute to 80 per cent. of all flights to and from Afghanistan and Iraq being achieved on time and a 42 per cent. increase between April to December on the number of passengers flown by the RAF in the same period last year.
Operational reliability is assessed by the numbers of aircraft that are deemed as fit for purpose (FFP) against the planned average FFP figure. Aircraft are deemed fit for purpose if they are capable of undertaking the required task on a given day. Aircraft are not available for tasking if they are undergoing scheduled maintenance, modification programmes or any unforeseen rectification work that can arise on a day to day basis. The figures do not reflect the fact that an aircraft assessed as not fit for purpose may be returned to the front line at very short notice to meet the operational need. The planned average FFP for the Tristar aircraft for 2006-07 is 4.8 aircraft per day. We have so far achieved a FFP figure of 4.75 aircraft per day for the same period.
Armed Forces' Leave
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2006, Official Report, columns 354-5W, on armed forces’ leave, if he will ask the Defence Analytical Services Agency to distinguish in its survey estimates between leave which personnel were not able to take and that which they chose not to take. [107958]
Derek Twigg: The Survey of Leave 2005-06 does not distinguish between leave lost for service reasons and leave lost because it is carried forward to the following year. The local administrative systems do not record this difference, and the information is therefore not held.
Army Strength
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what definition is used by his Department of trained strength in the context of army personnel. [107892]
Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2006, Official Report, column 370W.
Consultancy
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which 10 consultancy fees charged to his Department since May 1997 were the most expensive. [107179]
Derek Twigg: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Council Tax
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from members of the (a) armed forces and (b) general public on the exemption of members of the armed forces serving overseas from paying council tax; and what discussions he has had with the armed forces on that exemption. [104727]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence has received a number of representations from both members of the armed forces and the general public about service personnel who continue to pay council tax while serving abroad. I am aware of the concerns expressed by service personnel and I refer my hon. Friend to my answer given on 7 November 2006, Official Report, column 1446W.
Departmental Energy Policy
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to make his Department carbon neutral. [105750]
Derek Twigg: In line with the new sustainable operations targets for the Government estate announced on 12 June by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (David Miliband), the MOD is committed to the target of a carbon neutral central Government office estate by 2012.
Departmental Finance
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid to DHL in each financial year between 1997-98 and 2005-06. [104170]
Mr. Ingram: The table provides information extracted from the Defence Bills Agency (DBA) database(1) covering payments made to DHL from1 April 1997 to 31 March 2006.
(1) The central database details payments to MOD contractors but excludes locally-held accounts in the Department (which handle less than 5 per cent. of payments); contracts placed on behalfof other Government Departments; joint venture/alliance contracts; contracts placed through collaborative projects such as the Typhoon/Eurofighter and those awarded by MOD’s trading fund agencies.
| Financial year | Payments (£) |
Departmental IT
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of his Department's (a) computer data and (b) computer backup data is stored with online data storage providers. [108337]
Mr. Ingram: No. The MOD does not use online data storage providers to store computer data or backup computer data.
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of his Department's (a) computer data and (b) computer backup data is stored outside the United Kingdom. [108392]
Mr. Ingram: Yes, however, all data, within the UK and overseas, is held on the MOD'S own systems.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which information technology projects are being undertaken by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies; what the (i) start date, (ii) original planned completion date, (iii) expected completion date, (iv) originally planned costs and (v) estimated costs are of each; and if he will make a statement. [100636]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 7 November 2006, Official Report, column 1462W.
Departmental Staff: Scotland
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what manning changes there were in his Department’s staff in Scotland in each quarter since 2004; and if he will make a statement. [108465]
Derek Twigg: Service figures for the Department and Scotland are published in Tri Service Publication 10 (TSP10). TSP10 is a quarterly publication. Editions from July 2004 to July 2006 are available in the Library of the House and at www.dasa.mod.uk
Faslane
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list the functions carried out by the Faslane naval base; [105549]
(2) if he will list the functions carried out by RNAD Coulport. [105550]
Derek Twigg: HM Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde is mainly comprised of the sites at Faslane and RNAD Coulport, but also includes some small satellite sites. It is home to the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent and the headquarters of the Royal Navy in Scotland.
The functions carried out by Faslane are as follows:
operational support and maintenance to the ships and submarines of the Faslane Flotilla and their crews;
operational support and maintenance to visiting Royal Navy (RN) and foreign vessels and their crews;
support to the Strategic Weapon programme;
provision of training and training facilities for submarine and Minewarfare and Patrol Vessel personnel;
provision of support to units within the Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland area, including RN Reserves and University RN Unit;
provision of support to Trident Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (submarines) at Cape Canaveral and King's Bay in the USA and other Strategic Weapon System operations;
provision of personnel, engineering, waterfront and administrative support to Operational Commanders; and
provision of support to Flag Officer Sea Training (Faslane), Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines, Northern Diving Group and other lodger units within the Base.
The functions carried out by RNAD Coulport are as follows:
storage of components of the UK's nuclear weapon system;
processing of nuclear warheads as required prior to delivery to and on return from the Fleet;
fitting and removal of nuclear warheads to Vanguard Class submarines;
onload and offload of Trident II D5 missiles as required, including deployment of teams to the US when missiles first embarked or returned to US;
maintenance of all associated Strategic Weapon System equipment;
delivery and receipt of conventional weapons to and from Vanguard, Swiftsure and Trafalgar class submarines;
provision of security for the above; and
provision of on and off site Emergency Response Teams.
Further information on the functions of HMNB Clyde is available on the internet at www.royal-navy.mod.uk.
Flying Hours
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average flying hours have been of pilots for each helicopter type in the Army Air Corps in each month in 2006. [105967]
Derek Twigg: The average number of flying hours of Army Air Corps crews in military helicopters operated by the Joint Helicopter Command for each complete month of 2006 is as follows:
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