House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 29 Jan 2007 (pt 0006)

29 Jan 2007 : Column 28W—continued

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; what the function is of each body; and what the annual budget of each body was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [116758]

Derek Twigg: Details of the remit, Government funding and gross expenditure of public bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Defence can be found in the Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies 2006, copies of which are available in the Library of the House and also on-line at:

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf

For those bodies in respect of which no information on expenditure was provided in Public Bodies 2006, their approximate expenditure in 2005-06 was as follows:

	Amount (£)
Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors	0
Animal Welfare Advisory Committee	8,000
Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions and War Pensions Committees	37,300.
Dartmoor Steering Group	60
Defence Nuclear Safety Committee	35,000
Defence Scientific Advisory Council	200,000
Depleted Uranium Oversight Board	554,700
Independent Board of Visitors for the Military Corrective Training Centre	1,200
National Employer Advisory Board	6,900
Nuclear Research Advisory Council	30,000

Nuclear Weapons

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the operating costs of a new nuclear deterrent is projected to be 5-6 per cent. of his Department’s budget throughout its life cycle. [109887]

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 December 2006, Official Report, column 1898W, to my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ms Clark).

Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions (a) he, (b) other departmental Ministers and (c) officials have had with
29 Jan 2007 : Column 29W
the Legal Services Commission on delayed applications for compensation from retired members of the armed forces who took part in British nuclear weapons tests between 1952 and 1967; how many British nuclear test veterans have received compensation arising from exposure to radiation in such tests; and if he will make a statement. [117274]

Derek Twigg: Neither the Secretary of State for Defence nor other departmental Ministers have had discussions with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) with regard to the delayed applications for compensation from participants in the British nuclear tests of the 1950s and 1960s. The Treasury Solicitor's Department made one telephone call to the LSC in April 2005, following a stay in the legal proceedings which had been agreed between the parties pending a public funding decision for the nuclear test veterans group action. This call was made with a view to ascertaining the likely timeframe for a public funding decision to assist in planning and progressing the proposed litigation. However, contact was not made with the LSC caseholder, no information was given about the funding position, and this initial contact was not followed up.

Compensation under the war pensions scheme is paid on a no-fault basis to former members of the armed forces for disablement causally related to service before 6 April 2005. Claims can be made at any time after service termination. At 30 September 2006, 179,000 war pensions were in payment. Centrally held statistics do not identify the number of nuclear test veterans who have received such compensation for disablement arising from exposure to ionising radiation in the course of these tests.

The UK also administers its own compensation scheme for radiation-linked diseases, but no nuclear test veteran has fulfilled the relevant criteria or therefore received an award.

Pensions

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement. [113819]

Derek Twigg: The total cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for the 12 highest paid staff in the Ministry of Defence totalled £15.64 million as at 31 March 2006. Four of these individuals are named in remuneration reports that form part of the Department's resource accounts and the cash equivalent transfer value of their public sector pensions is therefore reported annually. The remuneration reports are already in the public domain. I have reported the 12 highest paid members of staff because the 10th, 11th and 12th highest paid members of staff are on the same salary rate. The CETV figure given includes both armed forces and civilian personnel.

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [110476]

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Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Royal Navy: Morale

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on morale in the Royal Navy. [117227]

Derek Twigg: Morale in the Naval Service is high, particularly among personnel who are engaged in live operations around the world including Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Safe Houses

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what time and on what day in July 2003 (a) Dr. David Kelly and (b) Richard Hatfield (i) arrived at and (ii) left the safe-house in Hockley provided by his Department. [117018]

Des Browne [holding answer 19 January 2007]: The Hutton Report (HC247 of 28 January 2004) and transcripts of evidence to Lord Hutton's inquiry give details of Dr. Kelly's movements during July 2003, and meetings between Dr. Kelly and Mr. Hatfield. Both meetings between Dr. Kelly and Mr. Hatfield on 4 and 7 July 2003, took place in Mr. Hatfield’s office in London. Neither Dr. Kelly nor Mr. Hatfield stayed at any accommodation at Hockley.

Service Personnel: Medical Conditions

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals in band (a) A, (b) B, (c) C and (d) D were assessed as eligible for compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme in its first year of operation. [117293]

Derek Twigg: For all claims registered between 6 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, there were less than 10 individuals assessed as being eligible for a Guaranteed Income Payment. There are individuals in each of the bands, but to preserve confidentiality the exact numbers cannot be disclosed. An evaluation report of the first year of operation of the scheme will be published shortly.

Statistics

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to the Department; and who is involved in that process. [113090]

Derek Twigg: The National Statistics Code of Practice (2002)—which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work—established the principle that “final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of national statistics” rests with the Head of Profession for Statistics in each Department. In reaching their decisions, Heads of Profession take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the “National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices”.

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Copies of the code and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following address:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp

Vessel Sales

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been sold to other countries since 1997; and what revenue was received by the Ministry of Defence in each case. [116906]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 24 January 2007]: The following list contains all surplus HMS-named capital vessels sold on a Government-to-Government basis:

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Date of the contract of sale	Sold to	Price (£)^{( 1)}
Financial year 1997-98
HMS Plover	⁽²⁾Philippines	⁽³⁾7.5 million for all three (receipts to MOD alone)
HMS Peacock	⁽²⁾—	⁽³⁾—
HMS Starling	⁽²⁾—	⁽³⁾—

Financial year 1998-99
HMS Unseen	Canada	⁽⁴⁾—

Financial year 1999-2000	—	—

Financial year 2000-01
HMS Bicester	Greece	⁽⁵⁾Sold with HMS Berkeley for a combined price of 10 million
HMS Orkney	Trinidad and Tobago	1.5 million

Financial year 2001-02
HMS Berkeley	Greece	⁽⁵⁾Sold with HMS Bicester for a combined price of 10 million
HMS Orwell	Guyana	1.5 million

Financial year 2002-03
HMS London	⁽⁶⁾Romania	⁽⁷⁾116 million for both
HMS Coventry	⁽⁶⁾—	⁽⁷⁾—
HMS Shetland	⁽⁸⁾Bangladesh	⁽⁹⁾8.0 million for all five
HMS Alderney	⁽⁸⁾—	⁽⁹⁾—
HMS Anglesey	⁽⁸⁾—	⁽⁹⁾—
HMS Lindisfarne	⁽⁸⁾—	⁽⁹⁾—
HMS Guernsey	⁽⁸⁾—	⁽⁹⁾—
HMS Sheffield	Chile	27 million

Financial year 2003-04	—	—

Financial year 2004-05	—	—
Financial year 2005-06
HMS Marlborough	⁽¹⁰⁾Chile	⁽¹¹⁾134 million for all three (project ongoing)
HMS Norfolk	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹¹⁾—
HMS Grafton	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹¹⁾—

Financial year 2006-07
HMS Sandown	⁽¹²⁾Estonia	⁽¹³⁾32 million for all three (project ongoing)
HMS Bridport	⁽¹²⁾—	⁽¹³⁾—
HMS Inverness	⁽¹²⁾—	⁽¹³⁾—
⁽¹⁾ Where appropriate, the above figures represent the total revenue for the MOD and industry together. For those vessels sold on a Government-to-Government (G-2-G) basis in later years by the Ministry of Defence’s Disposal Services Agency (DSA), there is usually an agreement with industry for regeneration and modernisation work. Much of the information on revenue received by the MOD from the sale of each individual vessel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Some deferred/time-related payments will still be outstanding. ⁽⁴⁾ HMS Unseen was leased to Canada with an option to purchase, which has subsequently been exercised. The lease covers four submarines, the remaining three, HMS Unicorn, HMS Ursula and HMS Upholder are still under lease until 2008. The total value of this lease is Canadian $360 million for all four submarines—future exchange rate fluctuations make it impossible to estimate a final return in sterling at this time. ⁽⁵⁾ HMS Bicester and HMS Berkeley were transferred to the Hellenic Navy. This transfer involved the vessels being sold to Vosper Thorneycroft (VT) for £5 million each. VT prepared the vessels for transfer resulting in the MOD incurring minimum transfer costs. Although not transferred directly on a G-2-G basis, they are highlighted because of the significance of the sale. The Acquisition Agreement for HMS London and HMS Coventry for Romania covered the acquisition of these ships with UK MOD procuring their regeneration and modernisation through a “back-to-back” contract. The ships were already decommissioned, no longer in operational condition and were in need of major regeneration. The value to the UK of the project is £116 million including a return for the MOD of between £1.5 million and £2 million for the hulls (£200,000) and the provision of services.

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