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10 Dec 2007 : Column 55W—continued
Armed Forces: Pay
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the service level agreement on the resolution of problems encountered by personnel in relation to the operation of the Joint Pay and Allowance System. [169207]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 29 November 2007]: I will arrange for a copy of the generic service level agreement covering the provision of services in support of service personnel, pay and pensions administration to be placed in the Library of the House. The service level agreement was between the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency, now the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency, and the Single Services.
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether consideration has been given to the purchase of the Cheetah vehicle by his Department. [170119]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Cheetah has been considered for a protected patrol vehicle programme. It did not, however, meet a number of key user requirements, and was therefore not taken forward.
Astute Class Submarines
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what he estimates the lifetime cost of the Astute programme will be. [170639]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The current whole-life cost estimate for the Astute programme, based on a Seven Boat Class, is £42 billion (outturn, VAT inclusive where applicable), comprising £9 billion for concept, design and manufacture; £32 billion for in-service (includes crew costs, support, maintenance and spares) and £l billion for disposal.
Ballistic Missile Defence
Nick Harvey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures are in place on notification and consultation between the US Administration and
the Government before RAF Fylingdales and RAF Menwith Hill could be used to engage hostile missile attacks on the US. [168869]
Des Browne: The early warning information that is provided by RAF Fylingdales, and is routed through RAF Menwith Hill, is shared by the US and UK. Appropriate procedures are in place for notification and consultation between the US Administration and the Government.
Charities: Fees and Charges
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department charged the charity organisers for the RAF Brize Norton 2005 Children in Need concert. [163146]
Derek Twigg: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Nick Harvey:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question of 19 November 2007, ( Official Report, Column 475W) asking how much the Ministry of Defence charged the charity organisers during the Children in Need concert held at RAF Brize Norton in November 2005.
I can confirm that the charity organisers of the Children in Need event held at RAF Brize Norton in November 2005 were not charged by the MOD, because the BBC met many of the costs and donations from sponsors covered others.
I am placing a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Defence Estates: Charities
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which insurance firms his Department uses when insuring charity events on departmental property. [168900]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence does not purchase insurance policies to cover the risks incurred when charity events are held on departmental property. Such events are not part of the Ministry’s core publicly funded defence business and therefore the charity is required to indemnify the Ministry of Defence against any resulting claims or costs.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who is responsible for obtaining public liability insurance when charity events are held on his Department’s property. [170838]
Derek Twigg: Charity events are not part of the Ministry of Defence’s core publicly funded defence business. The charity is therefore required to indemnify the Ministry against any resulting claims and is responsible for obtaining public liability insurance.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much Defence Estates Operation South has charged charity events for (a) a defence estates licences, (b) defence estates licence preparation costs and (c) defence estates licences VAT costs in the last two years. [170839]
Derek Twigg: It is not possible to separately identify charges for charity events from other events without incurring disproportionate cost.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which official in Defence Estates Operation South has the authority to waive defence estates licence fees; and what the limits in size of fee are that can be waived. [170840]
Derek Twigg: Within Defence Estates Operations South, no officials have authority to waive licence fees.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much Defence Estates (Warminster) has billed in liability charges for events held on his Department's property since April 2005. [170847]
Derek Twigg: It is not possible to separately identify liability charges billed by Defence Estates (Warminster) from other charges for events without incurring disproportionate cost.
Defence Estates: Official Hospitality
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many decisions to waive the liability charge on Defence Estate (Aldershot) have been made for events since 2006; and what events were involved; [168874]
(2) how much Defence Estate (Andover) has billed in liability charges for events held on his Department's property since April 2005; [168875]
(3) how much Defence Estate (Sutton Coldfield) has billed in liability charges for events held on his Department's property since April 2005; [168876]
(4) how much Defence Estate (Salisbury) has billed in liability charges for events held on his Department's property since April 2005; [168877]
(5) how much Defence Estate (Osbaldwick, York) has billed in liability charges for events held on his Department's property since April 2005; [168878]
(6) how much Defence Estate (High Wycombe) has billed in liability charges for events held on his Department's property since April 2005; [168879]
(7) how much (a) Defence Estate (Warminster), (b) Defence Estate (Telford) and (c) Defence Estate (Rosyth) has billed in liability charges for events held on his Department's property since April 2005; [168901]
(8) how many times Defence Estates (Aldershot) has waived the liability charge for events held on its property since 2006; and for which events the charge was waived. [170846]
Derek Twigg: It is not possible to separately identify liability charges billed by each Defence Estates (DE) office from other charges for events without incurring disproportionate cost in each case.
DE Aldershot has made no decisions to waive liability charges for events since 2006.
Defence Estates: Official Hospitality
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 24 October 2007, Official Report, column 332W, on Defence Estates: Official Hospitality, in reviewing the background of the Sergeant Biddiss Charity event held at RAF Brize Norton what criteria were assessed by officials considering the nature of the event. [170845]
Derek Twigg: Officials of Defence Estates took into account the charitable nature of the event and specifically the participants i.e. serving military personnel, and the very low marginal cost where the cost of collecting would be greater than the amount charged.
Departmental Computers
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department’s (a) computers and (b) laptops have been stolen in 2007; and what the value of those items was. [168587]
Derek Twigg: The following table shows the quantities of computers and laptops reported as stolen in 2007. The estimated replacement cost has been used, as it is not possible to provide the recorded value without incurring disproportionate cost.
| 2007 | Number/cost |
Departmental Consultants
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid in consultancy fees by his Department in each year since 1997. [171995]
Derek Twigg: Summaries for the years 1995-96 to 2006-07 of MOD expenditure on external assistance, which includes various categories of consultancy, are available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department's information technology and data management systems are BS7799 compliant. [168750]
Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Departmental Helicopters
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many journeys by helicopter Ministers in his Department have made since 27 June. [164534]
Derek Twigg: All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code. Since 27 June, Defence Ministers have travelled by helicopter once, on 12 October, when the then Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support returned to London from the Armed Forces Memorial dedication ceremony at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire.
In addition, all visitors, including Ministers, use helicopters when visiting operational theatres and military exercises. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Public Participation
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what opinion polls his Department has conducted of (a) the public and (b) staff since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) name of the firm employed to conduct the poll, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost to the public purse was in each case. [164951]
Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, records are available of the polling that relates to recruitment activity by the armed forces, and of the polling carried out by our central communications organisation to establish the attitudes of the public and our personnel to various aspects of defence activity. The following polling in these categories has been completed since 27 June:
| Purpose | Firm employed | Cost (all VAT inclusive) £ |
|
Website visitor survey assessing views on the Royal Marine website | ||
| (1 )Procured through Central Office of Information. | ||
Ex-servicemen: Disabled
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans in Scotland have been found to have suffered disability as a result of their service in the armed forces but are not eligible for assistance through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pension Scheme. [172608]
Derek Twigg: The number of claims made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme by claimants living in Scotland with injuries or conditions that have been assessed as being due to service, but not having met the minimum level for compensation are shown in table 1 as follows:
The number of first claims made by claimants living in Scotland which resulted in a nil award under the War Pension Scheme since the financial year 2003-04 are shown in table 2 as follows. A nil award is made when the injury or condition claimed for is found to be attributable or aggravated by service, but disability is assessed at 0 per cent. and so no monetary award is made.
| Table 2: Number of Veterans in Scotland given a nil percentage assessment, by financial year( 1) | |
| Nil percentage assessment | |
| (1) Data have been rounded to the nearest five. | |
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