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29 Jan 2007 : Column 23W—continued
Conventional Weapons: Conference
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors prevented the Government from achieving their priority for the 3rd Review Conference on the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons of finalising a Protocol on Mines other than Anti-Personnel Mines. [110972]
Mr. Ingram: The UK and other nations made concerted efforts to achieve consensus on a draft set of recommendations on Mines Other than Anti-Personnel Mines (MOTAPM) at the 3rd Review Conference on the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons. However, a few nations could not accept them and therefore a protocol could not be adopted. As an interim measure, 20 nations including the UK, made a declaratory statement agreeing to be politically bound by the principal commitments within the draft set of recommendations with a view to adopting a negotiating mandate for a legally binding protocol in the future.
Defence Medical Services
Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2006, Official Report, columns 357-58, on Defence Medical Services, what the revived manning requirement figures are for different categories of doctors. [110900]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 23 January 2007]: The revised Defence Medical Services (DMS) manning requirement figures were submitted for endorsement last year as part of a larger body of work, and work on the details of other parts of this submission caused a delay in the endorsement of the new figures. The revised manning requirement figures for the DMS have now been endorsed and a formal announcement will be made in the near future.
Defence Training Review
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral statement of 17 January 2007, Official Report, columns 787-9, on the Defence Training Review, what the principal factors were which persuaded him to select Metrix as the preferred bidder for his Defence Training Rationalisation Review. [110951]
Derek Twigg: Following a robust and detailed evaluation of the bidders' proposals in response to the Defence Training Review (DTR) package one and two Invitation to Negotiate, Metrix was selected as the preferred bidder for DTR package 1 and provisional preferred bidder for DTR package 2. Their solution, examined against 65 individual requirements of response, represented the most economically advantageous outcome, providing the best combination of technical score relating to the quality, deliverability and timeliness of their proposals, their suitability as a partner and price.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of expenditure by his Department in each of the Government office regions in the most recent year for which figures are available. [116715]
Derek Twigg: The latest available estimates for aggregate MOD expenditure in the Government offices for the English regions, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole, are detailed in the following table:
| Estimated total (£ million at current prices) | |
| Note: All figures are for financial year 2004-05, have been rounded to the nearest £10 million, are exclusive of VAT and expressed at current prices. | |
It should be noted that MOD places work where it obtains best value for money and capability for our forces. Work is placed “in” a region but not necessarily “for” that region. The location of these is not a primary concern.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much programme expenditure sponsored by his Department was spent via each of the Government offices for the regions in the most recent year for which figures are available. [116754]
Departmental Fixed Assets
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which fixed assets his Department sold for more than £10,000 in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset. [110797]
Mr. Ingram: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Hospitality
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's expenditure was on hospitality and entertainment in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2005-06. [114045]
Derek Twigg: For 1996-97, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 885, to the hon. Members for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) and for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray).
For 2005-06, the information is contained in Note 10 of our annual reports and accounts (HC 1394 of 14 July 2006), copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
The figures include expenditure by MOD Ministers.
Departmental Vetting
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional guidance has been given to the personnel of the Defence Vetting Agency to reflect the change of threat resulting from the events of (a) September 2001 and (b) July 2005. [116683]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 23 January 2007]: Defence Vetting Agency personnel, along with all Ministry of Defence civilian and service personnel, are made aware of the terrorist and other threats through regular security briefings.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to explain to his departmental staff the necessity for changes in the (a) depth and (b) detail of vetting to which they are subjected. [116684]
Derek Twigg
[holding answer Tuesday 23 January 2007]: Ministry of Defence staff, in common with all applicants for security vetting carried out by the Defence Vetting Agency, are given full information about the vetting process and the enquiries that will be made. The security questionnaire includes a statement on HM Government vetting policy explaining the purpose and scope of national security vetting. This is supplemented with comprehensive notes in the security questionnaire and explanatory leaflets sent to vetting subjects. In
addition, MOD staff have access to the Defence Manual of Security, which explains departmental vetting requirements and practice and includes the changes made to the developed vetting standard. It will also include advice on the new baseline personnel security standard, once this is implemented.
Executive Agencies
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which executive agencies are the responsibility of his Department; what the function is of each agency; and what the budget was of each agency in the most recent year for which figures are available. [116744]
Derek Twigg: As at 1 January 2007, the following agencies are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence:
ABRO
Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency
British Forces Post Office
Defence Analytical Service Agency
Defence Aviation Repair Agency
Defence Bills Agency
Defence Communication Services Agency
Defence Estates
Defence Medical Education and Training Agency
Defence Procurement Agency
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
Defence Transport and Movements Agency
Defence Vetting Agency
Disposal Services Agency
Duke of York’s Royal Military School
Met Office
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
People Pay and Pensions Agency
Service Children’s Education
UK Hydrographic Office
Veterans Agency
Information on their functions and budgets can be found in the individual agencies annual report and accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Government Auctions
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where his Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in (a) Blackpool, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West; and when the next such auction will take place in each area. [117430]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA) has responsibility for the disposal of all surplus MOD equipment. The majority of surplus items are sold through DSA's contractors, with whom it has various marketing agreements. In the UK, only memorabilia are disposed of by public auction, through the London site of Bonhams' auction house. Details of DSA's marketing activities, including those for Bonhams and other contractors, can be found at its website:
www.edisposals.com
Helicopters
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether UK force commanders have requested additional helicopters for operations in Afghanistan since 1 September 2006; and if he will make a statement. [111137]
Des Browne: UK force commanders have not requested additional helicopters for operations in Afghanistan since 1 September 2006.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the adequacy of helicopter numbers available to UK forces in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [111138]
Des Browne: Helicopter assets in both Afghanistan and Iraq are currently assessed by the military commanders in theatre to be sufficient to support operations successfully. We keep this under constant review.
Joint Narcotics Analysis Centre
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who the most senior (a) UK and (b) US person is within the Joint Narcotics Analysis Centre; and what rank each holds. [103384]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 November 2006, Official Report, columns 624-25W.
Land Rovers and Armoured Vehicles
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured vehicles replaced Land Rovers in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq in each of the last 12 months; when he expects all Land Rovers in operation in each country to be replaced with armoured vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [110984]
Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 24 July 2006, Official Report, columns 74-76WS. The new armoured vehicles, some of which have already been delivered to our forces, will complement, not replace, vehicles within the existing operational fleet.
The new armoured vehicles, alongside Land Rovers, which will remain appropriate for some tasks, will give commanders on the ground a wider range of options to deal with the situations and threats they face.
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency received from the US visiting forces as a stakeholder customer in each year from 2000 to 2006. [115132]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency received the following amounts from US visiting forces for the period 2000-06:
| £ million | |||
| MOD Police | MOD Guard Service | Total | |
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