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21 Jan 2008 : Column 1577W—continued
Derek Twigg:
We recently announced that we have reassessed our likely spend on accommodation for the next 10 years to take account of those elements previously excluded. The total amount will in fact be £8.4 billion. Of that, £3.1 billion will be spent on new-build and upgraded accommodation projects, with approximately two thirds allocated to current approved projects and
the balance against a programme for the improvement of both single living and family accommodation.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the planned £5 billion to be spent on his Department's accommodation includes expenditure on (a) barrack rebuilds, (b) refurbishments and (c) military base upgrades. [170998]
Derek Twigg: We recently announced that we have reassessed our likely spend on accommodation for the next 10 years to take account of those elements previously excluded. The total amount will in fact be £8.4 billion. Of that, £3.1 billion will be spent on new-build and upgraded accommodation, £2.3 billion on refurbishment and maintenance and £3 billion on routine costs, including rent, other leasing costs and the equivalent of council tax.
That expenditure does not, therefore, include expenditure on the rebuild or refurbishment of non living accommodation at either military barracks or military bases.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on (a) refurbishment and (b) emergency repairs and upkeep of his Department's accommodation in 2006-07. [171000]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence spent some £12.5 million on upgrading service families accommodation (SFA) in Great Britain to the top standard for condition in 2006-07. In the same period, some £122.5 million was spent on repairs and general upkeep of properties.
Details of SFA expenditure in Northern Ireland and overseas is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Expenditure on single living accommodation (SLA) is spread throughout the Department. The required details of total spend on SLA are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, Defence Estates spent some £120 million on providing new SLA in 2006-07.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) recent discussions he has had on and (b) steps he is taking to make his Department's (i) housing procurement strategy, (ii) refurbishment programme and (iii) emergency repairs functions more efficient. [171001]
Derek Twigg: Defence Ministers are taking an active lead in the work being done on accommodation—this involves frequent meetings, briefings and site visits with stakeholders, service personnel and other interested parties. We want to ensure a step-change and to drive forward further work on upgrading and improving accommodation, including repair and maintenance.
In recent years a single Housing Prime Contract (HPC) has been set up covering the maintenance of some 45,000 service families accommodation (SFA) in England and Wales, which replaced hundreds of previous contracts. The HPC helpline ensures that emergency calls are responded to quickly with nearly all emergency repairs now being effected within the
required timescales. Since 2003 SFA in Scotland has been maintained as part of the Regional Prime Contract.
In a similar timeframe, Project Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) was launched to deliver new en-suite SLA across the UK together with several parallel PFI projects. These initiatives have resulted in 12,000 SFA and 20,000 SLA being upgraded since 2002 and have increased the efficiency of delivery.
We are also developing an Estate Development Plan which will help us ensure we have an estate of the right size and quality.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his definition is of his Department's accommodation on which £5 billion over 10 years is to be spent. [171004]
Derek Twigg: We recently announced that we have reassessed our likely spend on accommodation for the next 10 years to take account of those elements previously excluded. The total amount will in fact be £8.4 billion. Of that, £3.1 billion will be spent on new-build and upgraded accommodation, £2.3 billion on refurbishment and maintenance and £3 billion on routine costs, including rent, other leasing costs and the equivalent of council tax.
Accordingly, the £8.4 billion entirely relates to living accommodation.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's housing budget is taken up by administrative costs in 2007-08; and how much of the announced £5 billion expenditure on his Department's accommodation over the next 10 years will be spent on administrative and overhead costs. [171106]
Derek Twigg: The management of housing in Great Britain is carried out by a directorate within Defence Estates, the organisation responsible for the defence estate. The budget of the housing directorate includes £26 million for administrative and other overheads.
As the Secretary of State for Defence recently announced, we have reassessed our likely spend on accommodation for the next 10 years to take account of those elements previously excluded. The total amount will in fact be £8.4 billion. The £8.4 billion does not include any administrative or other overheads of the Department.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's expenditure on married quarters is in 2007-08; and how much of the announced £5 billion expenditure on his Department's accommodation over the next 10 years is planned to be spent on married quarters. [171107]
Derek Twigg:
Current forecasts for 2007-08 include some £400 million of expenditure on married quarters in the United Kingdom. This includes the maintenance of the housing stock of some 50,000 houses and upgrading of at least 600 houses to the highest standard. Because of the way in which the management of housing is carried out overseas, it is not possible to
provide an accurate forecast for overseas housing without disproportionate effort and cost.
We recently announced that we have reassessed our likely spend on accommodation for the next 10 years to take account of those elements previously excluded. The total amount will in fact be £8.4 billion. Around £4.5 billion of this amount is planned to be spent on married quarters in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what areas of expenditure will be included within the proposed £5 billion to be spent on his Department's accommodation over the next 10 years. [171108]
Derek Twigg: We recently announced that we have reassessed our likely spend on accommodation for the next 10 years to take account of those elements previously excluded. The total amount will in fact be £8.4 billion. Of that £3.1 billion will be spent on new-build and upgraded accommodation, £2.3 billion on refurbishment and maintenance and £3 billion on routine costs, including rent, other leasing costs and the equivalent of council tax.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Government expect all service accommodation to be at an acceptable standard at the planned rate of improvement. [180111]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to providing decent accommodation for service personnel and their families. Addressing accommodation issues globally is one of our top priorities, but will take time as there is no quick fix to dealing with a legacy of decades of under funding.
Defence Estates is currently working with the armed forces on a long-term Estate Development Plan. This will allow us to identify future requirements and timescales for implementation.
The accommodation of more than 12,000 service families has been upgraded in the last six years. The current funded programme is expected to deliver 600 upgrades this financial year, 600 next year and some 800 for each year thereafter.
In addition, since 2001, some 20,000 new or improved single living accommodation bed-spaces have been delivered with a further 30,000 planned by 2013.
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on project SLAM on increasing and enhancing service accommodation. [180294]
Derek Twigg: In the five years since the contract award in December 2002, Project Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) has delivered 9,540 new bed-spaces, with a further 3,716 in construction and 2,592 in the design and development stage. Much of this accommodation is single en-suite rooms, with communal kitchen, laundry and drying room facilities and living areas.
In total, under Project SLAM and similar initiatives, some 20,000 new or improved bed-spaces have been delivered since 2001 with a further 30,000 to be delivered by 2013.
Armed Forces: Mental Health Services
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has commissioned on the causes and prevention of combat stress. [172895]
Derek Twigg: MOD has funded the King’s College London Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) to undertake major research into the health of those who have served on recent operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of its findings have already been published in the peer-reviewed medical literature, including major pieces of work published in 2006. This research showed that there was no increase in psychiatric disorders seen in regular personnel deployed on the first phase of Op. Telic compared to the rest of the UK armed forces, and that the later Op. Telic deployments examined were not associated with any worsening of mental health consequence compared to the initial Op. Telic group.
Within KCMHR, the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health has been established as an in-house mental health research resource which is looking into a variety of smaller scale aspects of dealing with the mental health of service personnel.
A Tri-Service Overarching Review of Operational Stress Management was carried out in 2004-05 which recognised the issues surrounding operational and combat stress. The armed forces were tasked with
adopting its recommendations as appropriate within their single-service provisions.
Armed Forces: Pay
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1449W, on armed forces pay, what the change was of the lowest increase in armed forces salaries against the retail price index; and which rank this was in relation to. [177635]
Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr. Ainsworth) gave him on 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1449W. The average salary, on armed forces pay, is not available by rank and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Illustrative rates for military salaries (excluding allowances) are, however, published by DASA in table 2.26 of United Kingdom Defence Statistics. These show the rates for each rank for that pay level with the largest number of people at 1 May 2005. As such, they do not reflect all the possible changes to the various pay levels within a rank, nor the movements between increments which individual servicemen receive.
The following table shows the year-on-year percentage changes derived from these figures rounded to one decimal place. The ranks are shown in terms of Army ranks.
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | Compounded over period | ||
| Note: Service personnel on these pay levels have at times received larger increases than colleagues on different spine points within the same pay range for their rank. This is the result of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body having targeted some groups with recommendations for higher pay increases than those aimed at the majority of their service colleagues. Note that the compounded increase over that period for each of the other pay levels within these ranks would be at least the 16.7 per cent. quoted for other ranks. | |||||||
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