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19 Jun 2007 : Column 1765W—continued
Official Residences: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what costs were incurred for maintenance at the official residence of the Chief of the General Staff in each year since 1997; [136609]
(2) what costs were incurred for maintenance at the official residence of the Adjutant General in each year since 1997; [136610]
(3) what costs were incurred for maintenance at the official residence of the Commander in Chief Land in each year since 1997. [136612]
Derek Twigg: Financial information relating to official service residences is retained for a period of seven years. The following table provides maintenance costs for the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Commander-in-Chief Land (CinC) and the Adjutant-General’s (AG) Official Service Residences from the financial year 1999-2000 to 2005-06:
| £ | |||
| CGS | CinC | AG | |
RAF Aldergrove
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of RAF Aldergrove in County Antrim. [143293]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement on 10 May 2006, Official Report, columns 19-20WS, which outlined the future requirement for the defence estate in Northern Ireland once security normalisation is complete. This requirement includes RAF Aldergrove which currently houses the Joint Helicopter Force (Northern Ireland).
RAF News
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the publication RAF News. [142619]
Derek Twigg: There are no planned changes to the publication RAF News. However, the team is planned to relocate from RAF Innsworth to RAF High Wycombe later this year as part of the formation of Air Command. As with all publications, RAF News is routinely reviewed for relevance, style and content.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions (a) he and (b) other Ministers have had with the employees of the publication RAF News; and what the outcomes were. [142620]
Derek Twigg: There have been no discussions between Ministers and the employees of the publication RAF News.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were employed by the publication RAF News in each of the last five years; and what the job title was of each. [142621]
Derek Twigg: Over the last five years the publication RAF News has had an establishment of six posts. The job titles are Editor, Deputy Editor/Chief Sub Editor, Sub Editor, Reporter, Business Manager, and Office Manager.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has allocated to spend on the publication RAF News in (a) 2007-08 and (b) each of the last five years. [142622]
Derek Twigg: The publication RAF News was allocated £153,000 for financial year 2007-08. In previous years, the allocation was £149,000 in FY 2006-07, and £144,000 in FY 2005-06. These allocations are net of target income from sales of the publication.
I will write to the hon. Member with any available information prior to 2005-06 and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Reserve Forces
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the decision to cancel one exercise executive stretch in financial year 2007-08 and one in financial year 2008-09 on employer support for the Territorial Army. [143820]
Mr. Ingram: The decision to postpone a number of executive stretch exercises is not judged likely to have a significant effect on employer support for the Army, although we recognise that this has caused some inconvenience and adverse reaction in those regions affected. Those affected by these postponements may be able to participate in other executive stretch exercises being run in adjoining regions, should there be spare capacity.
Mr. Lancaster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of (a) the decision to delay until 1 April 2009 the establishment of the Territorial Army units (i) 2nd Sqn, 6 AAC (V), (ii) 24 Sqn, 71 Regt RE (V), (iii) 129 Sqn, 73 Regt RE (V) and (iv) 280 Sqn, 162 MC Regt RLC
(V) and (b) the delay in the development of further capability before 1 April 2009 of (A) 155 Tpt Regt RLC (V) and (B) 381 Med Sp Sqn, 166 Sup Regt RLC (V). [143821]
Mr. Ingram: The decision to delay the establishment and development of further capability of those TA units listed is not expected to have an effect on the TA's ability to reach Full Operational Capability under Future Army Structures in line with my statement on TA rebalancing on 23 March 2006, Official Report, columns 427-28.
Reserve Forces: Recruitment
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the decision to stop recruiting in Territorial Army units that are not making a significant contribution to operations in financial year 2007-08 on (a) unit manning levels and (b) unit effectiveness. [143819]
Mr. Ingram: It is fully recognised that ceasing recruitment in selected TA units for one year will have an effect on the TA's ability to develop operational capability in the short term; both in term of manning levels and unit effectiveness. Work is continuing to ensure that mitigating strategies can be put in place if required.
Reserve Forces: Training
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact on training of Territorial Army personnel of (a) the cancellation of the Nijmegan marches and (b) the removal of any Territorial Army participation in the Cambrian Patrol in financial year 2008-09. [143822]
Mr. Ingram: We recognise that participation in both these events is important to members of the TA. Competitions that make a more direct contribution to the development of operational capability will continue to run.
Submarines: Manpower
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Royal Navy are currently serving on board a submarine, broken down by rank. [143609]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 18 June 2007]: At 1 October 2006, the total number of naval personnel assigned to submarines was 2,450. The following table shows the split by rank.
| Paid rank | Total |
| (1) Denotes rounded to zero. | |
Due to the introduction of a new Personnel Administration System (JPA) in October 2006, Navy location data from October 2006 are not yet available for publication. However initial investigations into JPA data suggest the total figure for April 2007 to be similar to the total figure provided.
Submarines: Pay
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the rate of submarine pay is for each rank. [143608]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 18 June 2007]: Daily rates of submarine pay effective from 1 April 2007 are:
| £ | ||
|
Payable to officers qualifying advanced warfare course or in charge qualified positions | ||
| Note: Levels 1 to 4 are paid to officers and other ranks and level 5 to officers only. | ||
Further details are contained in the 2007 Armed Forces' Pay Review Body report, a copy of which is held in the Library of the House.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Royal Navy are in receipt of submarine pay, broken down by rank. [143610]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 18 June 2007]: As at 15 June 2007 the number of Royal Navy personnel in receipt of submarine pay by rank is:
| Number | |
Territorial Army
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what (a) recruiting, (b) training, (c) capability and (d) other activities are expected to be reduced to deliver the planned reduction in funding for the Territorial Army in financial years (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09; [142676]
(2) what representations he has received regarding the planned reduction in funding of the Territorial Army in years 2007-08 and 2008-09. [142677]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer s 15 June 2007]: A number of measures will be implemented in order to deliver the reduction in funding for the Territorial Army (TA) over the next two financial years. Recruiting for those TA units that are not contributing to, or have not contributed significantly to current overseas operations will cease for one year. Work is still ongoing to determine which units will be affected by this measure. The creation of a small number of the new units that have been planned under future army structures (Territorial Army) and the recruitment of a small number of non-regular permanent staff for new support roles within TA units will be delayed. There will also be a number of reductions in TA activities not directly related to the delivery of operational capability, including a reduction in the number and frequency of TA competitions, a reduction in TA support to employers' events and the cancellation of annual TA conferences.
Ministers have received no representations regarding the planned reduction in funding of the Territorial Army in years 2007-08 and 2008-09.
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