| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
31 Mar 2008 : Column 514W—continued
Derek Twigg: Under the terms of the 1996 Sale Agreement with Annington Homes Limited (AHL), the Exchequer receives a percentage of any profit the company makes on the subsequent disposal of houses and land returned to it.
The amounts received in each financial year since then are:
| Financial year | £ million |
| (1) 1 April to 31 December 2007 | |
Information is not held in a way that allows the elements relating to individual areas to be separately identified.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much his Department paid Annington Estates in each year for improvements and modernisation of residential dwellings in Colchester constituency in each year since the company acquired the properties; [195984]
(2) how much his Department has paid Annington Estates in (a) rent and (b) costs of maintenance for residential dwellings in Colchester constituency in each year since the company acquired the properties. [195983]
Derek Twigg: The rental figures paid to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) for properties in the Colchester area are as follows:
| £ | |
After the sale of the houses to AHL in 1996, the Department retained responsibility for their maintenance and upgrade. Consequently no moneys are paid to AHL for such costs in regard to properties leased for Service use.
Defence Equipment and Support: Manpower
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the effects of the merger of the Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics Organisation have been on overall staff numbers. [196357]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The decision to merge the Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics Organisation was not numbers driven and as such has had no direct impact on staff numbers. Since merger however, DE and S has been looking for ways to become more effective and as a result, this is likely to reduce the size of the organisation.
Defence Equipment and Support: Standards
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what targets have been set for Defence Equipment and Support; and how its performance against those targets will be reported. [196351]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: With the exception of the Departmental Public Service Agreement Target for Equipment Procurement to which Defence Equipment and Support (DE and S) contributes, no formal externally reported targets have been established for the first year of operation of DE and S. The first year of operation has been used to develop and test a performance management regime with associated shadow targets which will be used to inform formal targets as they are established for 2008-09. Performance against the individual measures and targets, once they are agreed, will be reported within the Department’s performance reporting framework.
Departmental Empty Property
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many unoccupied properties are (a) rented and (b) owned by his Department in each constituency in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) England; when this figure was last updated; and if he will make a statement. [196970]
Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps Ministry of Defence police are taking to monitor his Department’s empty properties and protect them against theft or vandalism. [197100]
Derek Twigg: Empty or void service family accommodation (SFA) in England and Wales is managed by Defence Estates through Modern Housing Solutions (MHS). MHS are required to monitor and carry out periodical inspections of void properties.
The Ministry of Defence police (MDP) will carry out random routine patrols and investigations where tasked to do so. This can take place in various ways, for example through unit beat officers patrolling SFA estates, by an establishment requesting particular policing services, or by MDP acting on specific local intelligence.
Departmental ICT
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 95W, on departmental ICT, when he expects the investigation into the details of all lost or stolen computers since 2003 to be completed; and when he expects to be able to write to hon. Members following collation of the information. [196718]
Des Browne: The investigation into details of computers and other electronic media lost/stolen since 2003 is continuing. When complete, the collated data will be provided to Sir Edmund Burton as part of his review and will form part of the evidence base for his report which is due to be submitted by the end of April 2008.
I will keep the House informed on the outcome of Sir Edmund's review once his findings have been consolidated.
Departmental Property
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedure is followed by his Department with regard to the sale of departmental accommodation; what role local consultation plays in this procedure; and if he will make a statement. [196973]
Derek Twigg: When the Ministry of Defence (MOD) no longer has a need for land and property it is first offered to other Government Departments and public bodies for alternate use. Otherwise, providing there are no former owner considerations under the “Crichel Down” rules, it is usual MOD policy to sell surplus land and property on the open market, in accordance with Treasury guidelines, using competition to achieve the best price. In order to maximise value, we will consult with the local planning authority and other stakeholders to achieve the optimum planning position for the site particularly where there is redevelopment potential, such as for housing or commercial use.
The majority of service family accommodation (SFA) properties in England and Wales were sold to a Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) in 1996 and then leased to the MOD until they are surplus to defence requirements and are handed back to AHL for disposal. Other surplus SFA in the UK is disposed of in accordance with Treasury guidelines at market value. Where the opportunity exists for a bulk sale of SFA at market value, the MOD will discuss the way forward with the appropriate local authorities, registered social landlords and, in Scotland, the Scottish Executive.
Departmental Sustainable Development
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement. [195884]
Derek Twigg: The overarching policy statement on Safety, Health, Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in the Ministry of Defence was approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 18 March 2008. I will place a copy in the Library of the House.
Falkland Islands: Military Bases
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much it cost to maintain the Falkland Islands garrison in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by category of expenditure. [196868]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: In financial year 2006-07, the cost of maintaining the garrison on the Falkland Islands to the Chief of Joint Operations (CJO), who is responsible for maintaining UK forces there, was £65 million, broken down by category as follows:
| £ million | |
This is a much lower figure than that reported in previous years because, as a consequence of a change in MOD accounting policy, CJO is no longer responsible for reporting fixed asset depreciation costs and the cost of capital on fixed assets.
Gurkhas: Nepal
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Nepalese nationals have served in the Brigade of Gurkhas since 1997; [197023]
(2) how many Nepalese nationals have served in the Brigade of Gurkhas since 1978. [197024]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Including those who are still serving, approximately 17,840 Nepalese nationals have served in the Brigade of Gurkhas since 1978, of which 6,277 have served since 1997.
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the oral answer of 22 January 2007, Official Report, column 1138, on the al-Jameat police station, what reports he has received of the steps taken by the Iraqi Government against the members of the serious crime unit. [194544]
Des Browne: The Basra police continue to work to enforce and execute the arrest warrants issued for members of the former Serious Crimes Unit of the Basra police.
Prisoners of War: Compensation
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to reimburse protected personnel for deductions made from their pay while held as prisoners of war in Germany; and what criteria he uses to determine the entitlement of protected personnel to compensation for periods spent as prisoners of war during the Second World War. [197075]
Derek Twigg: The deductions made from the home pay accounts of Protected Personnel held in Europe during the Second World War were considered during a detailed review undertaken by MOD during the 1990s. The outcome of the review was announced by the then Under-Secretary of State on 24 July 1997, Official Report, column 720W, and a copy of the report of the review was placed in the Library of the House. Ministers ruled that there were no grounds to re-open the issue and no new aspects have since been raised to justify any change to this policy.
Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2008, Official Report, column 2712W, on Sudan: peacekeeping operations, which United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur troop contributing countries have (a) requested and (b) received assistance with (i) the provision of equipment and (ii) training packages; and if he will make a statement. [196969]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Some countries that have agreed to contribute troops to the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) require assistance to enable them to deploy. The UK will play its part in providing that assistance. In announcing the National Security Strategy, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK will support with £4 million an international programme to train and equip African troops for UNAMID. The training and equipment needs have yet to be finalised, and we continue to work closely with the UN and partners to agree the full package needed.
Territorial Army: Manpower
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) the ceiling on personnel numbers and (b) the actual strength of the Territorial Army was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [196870]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The ceiling on personnel numbers has been determined to be the maximum number of personnel to be maintained as agreed by Parliament through the Votes A mechanism. The maximum numbers for each of the last 10 years and the actual strength of the Territorial Army for those years in which records are held, as at the 1 April of each year, are set out the following table.
| Maximum number of TA personnel | Actual strength of TA personnel | |
| Note: Figures for actual strength of TA personnel prior to 2004 are not held centrally. | ||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |