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13 May 2008 : Column 1521W—continued
Mr. Bob Ainsworth:
The collocation of the Commodities Cluster will be in two phases; the first being the merger of medical and general stores at Foxhill in Bath with the collocation of food and clothing at Ensleigh, also in Bath. The second phase will see the Commodities Cluster as a whole (including any appropriate elements from West Moors) forming up at Abbey Wood in 2011. These plans have been assessed as part of the Business Case for relocating DC IPT to Ensleigh, which included a full economic assessment to compare the relocation with
retaining posts in their existing locations. This showed a saving of over £50 million compared to retaining the Commodities Cluster in their existing locations.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of relocating the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency from Ensleigh to Abbey Wood by 2012. [203183]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The personnel costs of moving the Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team (DC IPT) from Ensleigh to Abbey Wood will be minimal as the Travel to Work areas of the two sites significantly overlap. There will be some costs associated with moving technical equipment, estimated at about £600,000. The move of DC IPT is part of the wider D E and S Collocation Project which seeks to focus acquisition related activity at Abbey Wood by 2012 and is expected to save at least £200 million over 25 years. The Collocation Project has already successfully moved 1,000 posts directly supporting the Front Line from Andover to Abbey Wood.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what human resources assessment he has made of the (a) risk and (b) impact upon staff of the proposed sequence of relocation of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency from (i) Caversfield to Ensleigh and (ii) Ensleigh to Abbey Wood. [203184]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The strategic intent of D E and S to focus acquisition related activities at Abbey Wood by 2012, of which the relocation from Caversfield of Defence Clothing IPT (DC IPT) forms a part, will require the relocation of significant numbers of posts to Bristol. The Project has already successfully moved over 1,000 posts from Andover to Abbey Wood. The risks and potential impacts on staff are therefore well understood and mitigation strategies, which have been proven to be effective, will be put in place for the DC IPT relocation. This includes the provision of direct support to staff and their families, comprehensive and flexible allowance packages and the redeployment and re-training of existing staff in the new location. The impact upon staff of the onward move from Ensleigh to Abbey Wood is expected to be minimal as the Travel to Work areas of the two sites significantly overlap. Staff are therefore expected to move home only once to cover both office moves.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the improvements in service anticipated as a result of the move of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency to a co-located organisation at Ensleigh. [203185]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: For the Commodities Cluster, of which DC IPT forms part, the collocation to Abbey Wood by 2012 means that it will be possible to adopt a new business model with leaner, more effective processes and supply chain which will be supported by an improved, centralised pool of expertise across the Cluster. The ability to flex resources to meet peak workloads will be enhanced as will access to a wider range of support functions, all available within a single location. This would not be possible if DC IPT were to remain at Caversfield.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the analysis carried out into (a) deficiencies and (b) changing demands from front line commands relating to the proposed relocation of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency. [203187]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The strategic intent of DE and S to focus acquisition-related activities at Abbey Wood by 2012, of which the relocation from Caversfield of Defence Clothing IPT (integrated project team) forms a part, will require the relocation of significant number of posts to Bristol The project has already successfully moved over 1,000 posts from Andover to Abbey Wood. Support to operations now and in the future remains paramount. Understanding the requirements of the armed forces and how these could vary is ongoing normal business and conducted using a range of means by any IPT directly supporting the front line and, as such, separate documentation is not available.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the proposed date for the transfer of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency from Caversfield to Ensleigh has been moved from 2010 to 2009. [203188]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The move of Defence Clothing IPT (DC IPT) from Caversfield is part of a wider DE and S Collocation Project, which aims to focus acquisition-related activities at Abbey Wood by 2012. The project has already successfully moved over 1,000 posts which directly support the front line from Andover to Abbey Wood. The change to the DC IPT move timetable is intended to mitigate the risks to business continuity associated with the original time scale; namely that key skills from the team would potentially have been lost in the run up to the relocation date in 2010. Moving posts sooner will assist in retention of staff and will also facilitate earlier recruitment of staff in the south west.
Defence Estates: Sales
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what property in (a) Wales, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) England was sold by Defence Estates in each of the last five years; what the division of receipts in respect of each sale was to (i) the Welsh Assembly Government, (ii) the Northern Ireland Executive, (iii) the Scottish Executive and (iv) other budgets other than Defence Estates; and if he will make a statement. [204739]
Derek Twigg: Records of individual property sales broken down by country in each of the last five years are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
In line with HM Treasury guidance, receipts retained by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) from the sale of property are reinvested by the Department in key priorities. They form part of the defence budget and are not directly allocated to either devolved administrations or other parts of the MOD.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year. [204099]
Derek Twigg: Since 2006, the MOD has offset non-operational official and ministerial flights, booked through the Head Office Travel Service, through the Government’s Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) managed by EEA Fund Management. For the year 2006-07, the MOD paid the total offsetting cost of £180,599.38 to the GCOF.
Departmental Translation Services
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on translation and interpretation services in 2007-08, broken down by language. [205185]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The staff costs of the central MOD team that provides translation and interpreting services was £598,397 for financial year 2007-08. A breakdown of its work by language could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
In addition to this amount, the following was spent on centrally contracted-out translation services during FY 2007-08 (by language):
| £ | |
And the following was spent on centrally contracted-out interpreting services during FY 2007-08 (by language)
| £ | |
Details of services procured outside of these central arrangements, including most translation/interpreting work in theatres of deployed operations, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft: Procurement
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what lessons have been learned from the procurement process for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA); and what steps will be taken to retain the expertise and experience gained by the FSTA acquisition team for use in future major procurement programmes. [203902]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Following the successful placement of the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) PFI contract, we are conducting a Learning From Experience exercise to identify relevant lessons arising from this innovative project. The Department aims to employ the skills honed in this acquisition on other projects.
Kosovo: Peacekeeping Operations
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what type of helicopters will support British forces operating in Kosovo. [204571]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: UK forces in Kosovo may draw from helicopter capability provided by other nations as part of the coalition effort should it be required. This is normal practice. The number and type of helicopters used would depend upon the requirements of the particular situation arising during this principally land- based deployment.
Lynx Helicopters
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average age of the Lynx helicopter fleet will be in 2014. [204562]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Of the current Lynx helicopter fleet that are expected to be in service in 2014 the average age will be 31 years nine months (as at January 2014).
Married Quarters: Sales
Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence houses were sold in each of the last 10 years. [160053]
Derek Twigg: Details of the number of service family accommodation (SFA) properties sold in Northern Ireland are not held centrally so will take a little more time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Records of other SFA sold in financial year 1997-98 to 1999-2000 no longer exist. However, SFA properties sold in each financial year since FY 2000-01 are set out as follows:
| Financial year | SFA sold |
Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to David Marshall:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 19 October 2007, (Official Report, column 974W) about the number of Ministry of Defence houses sold in each of the last 10 years in Northern Ireland. I apologise that it has taken so long to reply to you.
I can confirm that the number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) sold in Northern Ireland during the given period is:
| Financial year | Number of SFA sold |
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