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22 Apr 2008 : Column 1922W—continued
| Financial year 2001-02 | ||
| Site | Town | Financial year |
|
Benbecula 1-18 Meallard, 35-46 Winfield Way 1-20 and 23-60 Tindall Rd | ||
|
2-8 (even), 9-15 (odd), 19, 27, 31, 35 and 39 Scotstown Rd Phase 2 | ||
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is his policy to allow unmarried members of HM armed forces to live with a permanent partner in service family accommodation. [198806]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 3 April 2008]: The Ministry of Defence provides benefits, such as an entitlement to live in Service Family Accommodation, to those who are in legally recognised relationships, that is, married or in a civil partnership, but not to other forms of partnership.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what average price was paid for his Department's dwellings by Annington Estates. [199225]
Derek Twigg: Under the 1996 Sale Agreement, a total of 57,428 Service Family Accommodation properties were transferred to Annington Homes Ltd of which 55,055 were immediately leased back. The average price per property has been calculated at some £30,000.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many it owned at the time Annington Estates acquired them. [199235]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a total worldwide stock of some 71,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties. In 1996, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) sold some 57,428 Service Family Accommodation properties in England and Wales to Annington Homes Ltd (AHL) of which some 55,055 were leased back by the Department.
Today, the majority of SFA properties are still leased from AHL or provided by the host nation as is the case overseas. At 3 April, some 7,523 properties in the UK and some 2,704 properties overseas are owned by the MOD.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's most recent estimate is of (a) the number of empty domestic dwellings owned by his Department and the armed forces and (b) the number of empty domestic dwellings owned by external bodies which are for use by members of the armed forces and their families. [200183]
Derek Twigg:
Details of empty Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties, broken down by those which are owned and not owned by this Department, are not centrally held. However, details of SFA that is void (not in use for its intended purpose) are available. Void stock includes that being held for planned moves
of Service Units, or awaiting planned upgrades, sale or release, modernisation or demolition.
Out of a total worldwide stock of some 71,000 properties, some 12,000 are currently void. The Department is actively working to reduce the figure. Since March 2007, the total number of void SFA properties has reduced from 13,336 to some 12,000 properties.
Army: Uniforms
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the cut and sew contract for army uniforms runs out; and when the tender process for the future cut and sew contract begins. [200161]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The cut and sew contract runs out in September 2009. The tender process for the new requirement is due to commence shortly.
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what items of his Department’s (a) revenue and (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer prices index, (ii) the retail prices index and (iii) other measures of inflation. [179948]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member.
Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Mark Hoban:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 28 January 2008, (Official Report, column 33W) about items of the Department’s revenue and expenditure that are uprated using the consumer prices index, the retail prices index and other measures of inflation.
I am afraid that it is not possible to list, for individual items across the £33.4Bn Defence programme, the ways in which they have been uprated. In principle, however, where we need to uprate any revenue or expenditure due to inflation, we do so on the basis on one or more of the following measures:
a. HM Treasury’s GDP deflator (which is also sometimes rounded for ease of internal planning);
b. The Consumer Price Index;
c. Agreed individual measures of inflation for specific contracts;
d. Advice from experts for individual items that may be subject to unique inflationary factors (e.g. fuel); and
e. Recommendations from independent bodies (e.g. The Armed Forces Pay Review Body).
Departmental Internet
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008, Official Report, column 814W, on the departmental internet, whether Wikipedia entries have been created or amended by officials in his Department who are not special advisers or communications officials. [199954]
Derek Twigg: We are aware that before January 2008 a number of Wikipedia entries were created or amended by staff from MOD networks. Records of these updates are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since January 2008, the MOD has blocked write access to Wikipedia from its major networks, although still allowing users to read the site.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on publicity and advertising in 2007-08. [198991]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence and the single services forecast a spend of £54.12 million on publicity and advertising, including armed forces and civilian recruitment, in the financial year 2007-08. This figure includes all above and below the line activity.
The breakdown of expenditure is as follows:
| Service | Projected expenditure (£ million) |
These figures cover forecasted expenditure by the single service commands (including recruitment campaigns), advertising for civilian recruitment, and directorate general media and communication activity.
Accurate information on other advertising and publicity spend by the Ministry of Defence, Defence agencies, top level budget areas, trading funds, joint headquarters and military units is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pensions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions in each of the last two years. [193567]
Derek Twigg: 2,825 members of civilian staff in the Ministry of Defence (3.67 per cent.) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2007. 2,619 members of staff (3.60 per cent.) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2008.
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