| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Mar 2009 : Column 1437W—continued
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2009 to the hon. Member for Chesterfield, (Paul Holmes) Official Report, column 872, on departmental data protection, in what format his Department records information on staff dismissal for loss of departmental property. [259599]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Central records have been held since 2002 of all civilian staff dismissals and the disciplinary cases which lead up to them. Cases are recorded electronically under general classification headings, but those are not sufficiently detailed to enable identification of cases specifically related to loss of property. More detail about each case is recorded as free text of varying length which can be individually examined and which would include more detail about the precise nature of the offence.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department’s departmental expenditure limit for 2008-09 was increased in the Winter Supplementary Estimates. [260122]
Mr. Hutton: The principal reason for the increased MOD departmental expenditure limit (DEL) was the net increase in the RfR2 of £2.302 billion direct resource DEL, £1.063 billion capital DEL, and indirect resource DEL of £0.350 billion to reflect the forecast costs of peacekeeping operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans.
Details of the 2008-09 Winter Supplementary Estimate increased DEL request are set out in my written ministerial statement on 25 November 2008, Official Report, columns 59-60WS. Further explanation can be found in the Winter Supplementary Estimates Memorandum, published in the House of Commons Defence Select Committee Report in the 2008-09 Winter Supplementary Estimate Evidence Section (HC52).
Departmental Training
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which external organisations his Department has engaged to provide training for fast stream civil service staff in the last three years; and how many civil servants in his Department have participated in provision of training for external organisations in that period. [252226]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Over the past three years, the MOD Fast Stream has sourced training from the following external providers: Eclipse Management, Common Purpose, University of Central London, Westminster Explained, Alistair Grant and Co., BPP Professional Education Ltd., University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London (Birkbeck), Institut Francais, Cactus language, Alliance Francais, Goethe Institute, King’s College London.
In the last three years, 83 civil servants were involved in the 87 training courses that the Defence Academy ran for external organisations.
Detainees
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his statement of 26 February 2009, whether officials in his Department had been informed in 2004 of the transfer of detainees to which he referred. [260501]
Mr. Hutton: There is evidence that a piece of related correspondence from another Government Department was copied to an MOD official on 7 October 2004, some months after the transfer had taken place, although detailed searches have not found this document within MOD records and the individual in question has no recollection of it. I am satisfied that those officials within my Department who advised Ministers on these issues were unaware of the case and that they acted in good faith at all times.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when officials in his Department first became aware that the answer given to the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr of 7 February 2006, Official Report, column 1083W, on extraordinary rendition, was inaccurate. [260518]
Mr. Hutton: The case of the two detainees transferred from Iraq to Afghanistan by the US outlined in my statement of 26 February, was brought to my attention on 1 December 2008, during the final stages of an MOD review of records of detentions. I directed that MOD officials conduct follow-up work to establish the facts and in doing so it became clear to them that inaccurate answers had been given to earlier questions in the House. This led to my statement on 26 February 2009.
Future Large Aircraft
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the contract specification for delivery dates for the A400M aircraft is; and what penalty clauses there are for late delivery in the contract. [259667]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The A400M contract specifies delivery of the 25 A400M UK aircraft at agreed dates starting in March 2010 and ending in April 2015. The contract does not include penalty clauses but does include provisions for liquidated damages for late delivery against the contractually specified delivery dates.
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of (a) the total helicopter fleet in service and (b) the helicopter forward air fleet were fit for purpose in each year since 2001, broken down by service and type. [259156]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The percentages of the total helicopter fleet and the forward helicopter fleet which are fit for purpose are not recorded as a matter of course, and are not therefore available from 2001 in all cases.
“In Service” has been taken to mean the Effective Fleet, which covers all aircraft barring those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal.
“Forward Fleet” aircraft are those that are available to the Front Line Commands for operational and training purposes, including those that are classed as “short term unserviceable”; aircraft undergoing scheduled depth maintenance, or planned routine fleet maintenance are excluded.
“Fit for Purpose” aircraft are those in the Forward Fleet considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date.
| Percentage | ||||||||
| Service and Helicopter | 2001- 02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |