| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Sep 2007 : Column 1608W—continued
Armed Forces: Housing
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service family accommodation properties in (a) Cyprus, (b) Gibraltar and (c) Germany are at standard (i) 1, (ii) 2, (iii) 3 and (iv) 4. [148238]
Derek Twigg: Service Families Accommodation (SFA) in Cyprus, Gibraltar and Germany is assessed by Grade for Charge rather than Standard for Condition.
Grade for charge is broken down by amenities and location with Grade 1 close to all amenities. Standard for Condition relates to the physical condition of the property.
The total number of SFA by Grade is as follows:
| Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Total | |
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many single living accommodation properties for service personnel in (a) Cyprus, (b) Gibraltar and (c) Germany are of standard (i) 1, (ii) 2, (iii) 3 and (iv) 4. [148239]
Derek Twigg: Single Living Accommodation (SLA) in Cyprus and Gibraltar and Germany is assessed by Grade for Charge rather than Standard for Condition.
Grade for charge is broken down by amenities and location with Grade 1 close to all amenities. Standard for Condition relates to the physical condition of the property.
As at April 2007, the total number of SLA in each location at each grade is as follows:
| Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Total | |
For SLA in Cyprus proposed improvements programme will provide 650 bed spaces after 2008. The remaining SLA in Cyprus is transit accommodation for operational deployments.
111 bed spaces are to be upgraded in Gibraltar.
Germany SLA, 374 bed spaces are to be upgraded.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many eviction orders were served on occupants of service married quarters in each year since 1997. [150127]
Derek Twigg: Records for eviction orders are only available from November 2000.
Applications for eviction orders in England and Wales, are shown as follows.
| Number of eviction orders | |
Service personnel who lose their entitlement to Service Families Accommodation (SFA) can be served eviction orders and are included in these figures. Personnel can lose entitlement due to leaving the services or following a breakdown of the marriage. Few eviction orders actually lead to the occupant having to be forcibly evicted from their SFA.
Records of evictions from Scotland, Northern Ireland and overseas SFA are not held centrally and will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reports were made of faulty cookers in service families accommodation in each year since 2005; and what the (a) average and (b) longest time taken to make repairs to such cookers was in each year. [151759]
Derek Twigg: This information is not held centrally and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the (a) average and (b) longest time taken between ordering and installing made to order parts for boilers in Service Families and Single Living Accommodation was in each year since 2005; [151761]
(2) how much was spent on (a) the purchase of made to order parts for boilers in Service Families and Single Living Accommodation and (b) the installation of made to order parts for such boilers in each year since 2005. [151762]
Derek Twigg: This information is not held centrally and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of providing housing for members of the Army in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by rank. [152702]
Derek Twigg: Service Families Accommodation in Great Britain is provided on a Tri-Service basis and it is not possible to identify costs relating solely to the Army or to provide a breakdown by rank. Of the £81 million spent on service housing in 2006-07, it is estimated that about 50 per cent. would relate to Army personnel.
Armed Forces: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of negotiations with the Metrix Consortium on Package 2 for the Defence Training Review. [153317]
Derek Twigg: In January this year the Metrix Consortium were declared the Preferred Bidder for Package 1 of the DTR Programme, but in view of significant remaining affordability challenges, only provisional Preferred Bidder for Package 2. Since then we have been exploring with the Bidder possible synergies and economies of scale across the whole programme.
Significant work has been completed, but has not yet been concluded. Once it is, I expect to make a statement later this year.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training British military personnel receive in the handling of detainees taken on operations. [153327]
Des Browne: All members of Her Majesty’s armed forces must comply with the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), including in the handling and treatment of detainees. The United Kingdom is required by international law to ensure that instruction on LOAC is included in training programmes for the armed forces.
Instruction on LOAC takes place during Phase 1 and Phase 2 training for all Service personnel. Thereafter, Service personnel receive further training at a level and frequency appropriate for their rank, responsibility and force readiness status.
Mandatory LOAC training is included in pre-deployment training for all Service personnel. In addition, Service personnel who deploy receive a presentation on theatre-specific guidance and instruction as part on their initial orientation package and a subsequent practical test.
For those units who have been detailed to provide a guard service at the Divisional Internment Facility in Iraq, additional specialist training is provided by staff from the Military Corrective Training Centre and HQ Provost Marshall (Army).
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the Future Rapid Effects System project. [148550]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 10 July 2007] : The Assessment Phase of the Future Rapid Effect System programme was approved in April 2004. Expenditure on this phase up to 31 March 2007 was £101 million (including value added tax).
This covers the Technology Demonstrator Programmes, which examined candidate technologies (see following table). Additionally it covers the cost of the supporting programme of analysis and technical expertise provided by the Atkins Defence in the Systems House role and Defence Science and Technology Laboratories. It also covers the cost of specialist support to the MOD.
A total of nine TDP contracts have been placed. They are:
| Title | Contractor | |
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the out-of-service dates are for each armoured vehicle type in the army. [153320]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The out-of-service (OSD) dates for armoured vehicles are detailed as follows:
| Vehicle | Out-of-service date | Remarks |
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured vehicles of each type were in service in the Army in 1997. [153325]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The number of armoured vehicles of each type that were in service (total fleet) in the Army in 1997 is shown in the following table:
| Vehicle type | Number in service in 1997 |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |