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25 Jun 2007 : Column 108W—continued
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the University Officer Training Corps have on leaving university signed up as (a) regulars and (b) territorials and have then served on a tour of operation in each of the last four years for which figures are available. [145107]
Mr. Ingram: The information requested is not held centrally. Officials are investigating whether it is possible to provide the number of individuals from the University Officer Training Corps who sign up for the Regular and Territorial Army on leaving university and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House. I will write to the hon. Member when investigations have concluded.
Army Base Repair Organisation: Bovington
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much it will cost to demolish the main building at the Armour Centre at Bovington; [143814]
(2) what the cost is of the proposed new building at the Armour Centre, Bovington to replace the one to be demolished; and what method of financing the work will be used. [143815]
Derek Twigg: The MOD’s Project Single Living Accommodation Modernisation Prime Contractor will shortly seek competitive quotes for the demolition of the 1930’s “Sandhurst” block (B44) at Bovington. However, we anticipate that the cost of this work will be in the region of £1 million.
The estimated construction cost of the proposed new Single Living Accommodation at Bovington, which will deliver 312 bedspaces, to replace the demolished building, is between £13.6 million and £14.7 million. This work is due to be completed by March 2009 and will be financed as part of the Core Works of Project SLAM.
Army Board
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been in the last 12 months of answering questions tabled by the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) on the running costs of the offices and official residences of members of the Army Board and other senior Army officers; and if he will estimate the number of man hours which have been spent on this task. [143049]
Derek Twigg:
We do not maintain precise records of the cost or the number of man hours involved in responding to specific questions. However, the main effort in answering the relevant questions involved a team of one senior and six junior officials who have devoted roughly 50 per cent. of their time to this task
since 31 January. This equates to approximately £40,000, which falls within the disproportionate cost limit.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many internal flights were taken by the Ministerial members of the Army Board in 2006; how many of these flights were with (a) military and (b) commercial carriers; and what the cost was of each flight. [143321]
Derek Twigg: Ministerial members of the Army Board undertook 25 internal flights with military carriers and 27 internal flights with commercial carriers in 2006. The cost of each internal flight is shown in the following table.
| Defence Minister | Military flight (£) | Commercial flights (£) |
|
Minster for Defence Equipment and Support (former Defence Procurement) | ||
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution the offices of non-ministerial members of the Army Board are making to the savings outlined for his Department in the Gershon Review. [135613]
Derek Twigg: None. The Department's efficiency programme in response to the Gershon Review is made up of a small number of high value initiatives.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the costs of running the households of non-ministerial members of the Army Board were included in considerations of possible cost savings under the Gershon Review. [135614]
Derek Twigg: No. The Department’s efficiency programme in response to the Gershon Review is made up of a small number of high value initiatives.
Army Board: Flowers
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total expenditure was on flowers for the residential accommodation provided for (a) members of the Army Board, (b) the Chief of the General Staff, (c) the Assistant Chief of the General Staff and (d) the Adjutant-General in 2006. [128818]
Derek Twigg: Of the 12 members of the Army Board, four have Official Service Residences (OSR): the Chief of the General Staff, Commander in Chief Land, the Adjutant-General, and the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland. Flowers can be provided only for OSRs as part of the cost of official entertainment.
There is no requirement to hold information regarding official entertainment costs to the level of detail that would allow the cost of flowers to be identified, and the information requested is not therefore available for the Chief of the General Staff and the Commander in Chief Land. For the Adjutant General expenditure on flowers was £72.12 and for the General Officer Commanding (Northern Ireland) it was £190 during 2006.
Army Board: Pollution Control
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are being taken to reduce the carbon footprint of the (a) Army Board, (b) Chief of the General Staff, (c) Assistant Chief of the General Staff and (d) Adjutant-General. [128817]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence has environmental policies, procedures and targets in place to quantify and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. Examples include travel avoidance, reducing energy use in buildings and improved building standards. These arrangements apply to all non-operational defence activity, including that of the Army Board.
Army: Administration
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Army General Administrative Instruction 48. [144559]
Derek Twigg: Yes. I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.
Ballistic Missile Defence
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in developing a Space Based Infra-Red System (a) for the United Kingdom and (b) in collaboration with the United States. [145391]
Des Browne: The Space Based Infra Red System is a US programme with no involvement by the UK.
Combat Stress: Finance
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding Combat Stress received from his Department in each of the last five years; and what funding is expected to be provided in each of the next three years. [145207]
Derek Twigg: For MOD expenditure from 2001 to 2006 in respect of individual remedial treatment of qualifying war pensioners at Combat Stress Homes in England, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 12 December 2006, Official Report, column 933W, to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Willie Rennie). MOD expenditure to Combat Stress for 2006-07 was £2.5 million.
Separate funding is provided from NHS Scotland for war pensioners’ treatment at Hollybush House.
With regard to future funding I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 February 2007, Official Report, column 621W, to my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ms Clark).
Corsham Railway Station
Mr. Gray:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to the construction of
a railway station at Corsham to service the military base there. [143334]
Mr. Ingram: The MOD supports the reopening of the Corsham railway station. The Inteq consortium, which is the preferred bidder for the Corsham Development Project, has reflected this in its planning application to the North Wiltshire district council.
However, both the MOD and Inteq recognise that this is primarily a matter for the railway authorities to determine.
Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what he expects the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency site at Colchester to be used for after its closure; and if he will make a statement. [142014]
Mr. Ingram: No decision has yet been made on the use of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency site at Colchester, ownership of which is expected to transfer across to Colchester Garrison at the end of March 2008.
Defence: Corruption
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) he and (b) his Department has been informed of any breaches of UK anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations in relation to UK defence sales since May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [143090]
Des Browne: There have been no convictions for breaches of UK anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations in relation to UK defence sales since May 1997.
Defence: Procurement
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on procurement of each of the systems purchased by each Service in each of the last five years. [125146]
Mr. Ingram: After clarification that the question referred to large new equipment projects undertaken by the Defence Procurement Agency, the following table is provided based on capital expenditure incurred after the main investment decision has been taken including conflict prevention. While we do not collect costs on a Service basis, we have indicated in the table the relevant Service for the major projects listed. It has not been possible to show costs prior to Financial Year 2003-04 as this data is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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