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5 Mar 2009 : Column 1729W—continued
Transport Infrastructure
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement of 15 January 2009, Official Report, columns 355-60W, on transport infrastructure, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of using the green slot principle on levels of carbon dioxide emissions. [261274]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
As set out in the statement of 15 January, the Department for Transport will be consulting on the green slots principle for use in allocating slots
created by additional capacity at Heathrow. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the intention is that the use of green slots will mean that airlines will need to allocate their cleanest and least noisy aircraft to secure priority for slots from the additional capacity at Heathrow.
Box 3.2 of our latest ‘UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts' (published in January 2009) shows the extent to which the fuel efficiency of the newest aircraft—and thereby CO2 emissions—has improved in recent years and is forecast by various independent sources to continue improving in years to come.
‘UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts' is available at:
Aircraft using ‘green slots' are likely to be younger than the average and, like for like, there would therefore also be consequential CO2 benefits.
Defence
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2009, Official Report, column 1062W, on future strategic tanker aircraft, what initial payment is specified in the private finance initiative contract relating to the Future Strategic Aircraft Carrier; when he expects that payment to be made; what estimate he has made of his Department’s monthly expenditure on invoices to be presented under the contract; and if he will make a statement. [261288]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Information on the estimated unitary charges over the lifetime of the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) project is recorded centrally on the Treasury’s website at:
The first invoice for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme should be presented in December 2011 with the first payment being made in January 2012.
Armed Forces: Animals
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what re-homing schemes his Department uses for animals which have been utilised in defence-related activity. [260702]
Mr. Kevan Jones: When considering a military animal for re-homing, the key issues are the care and welfare of the animal and the duty of care to the public.
In the case of dogs, service units will often identify an appropriate home with the dog’s last or former handler. Otherwise, the dog is returned to the Defence Animal Centre who seek to retire it as a pet with a member of the armed forces or the public.
With regard to horses, those that have served for long periods will, wherever possible, be sent to a home that has been found suitable following inspection.
Armed Forces: Deployment
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British armed forces personnel are deployed in East Africa; and in which countries such personnel are based. [259921]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: While exact numbers fluctuate on a regular basis, there are currently some 1,200 armed forces personnel deployed in Kenya, the majority of whom are on exercise, and two in the defence section in Uganda. There are no armed forces personnel deployed in Tanzania.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy for his Department to sign the Information Commissioner’s Personal Information Promise. [258944]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Government welcomed the promise as a commendable initiative to raise awareness of the importance of effective data protection safeguards, particularly for those organisations with no similar commitments already in place.
The Government take data protection very seriously. Following the Cabinet Office Review of data handling procedures in Government, Departments have implemented a raft of measures to improve data security.
The Ministry of Justice is considering actively with the ICO how the promise might add additional value to those measures we have already signed up to. These include the Information Charters, the recommendations
of the Data Handling Review and the Thomas/Walport Review and, of course, our legal obligations under the Data Protection Act and other legislation and regulations.
Departmental Private Finance Initiative
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what private finance initiatives have been entered into by his Department since 1997, indicating in each case (a) the total value of each contract, (b) the name of the contractor and (c) whether each contract has been subject to refinancing arrangements; what the monetary value of the refinancing arrangement was in each such case; and what the extent of the claw back has been. [259549]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Information on the capital value and estimated revenue payments for the lifetime of each private finance contract as well as the primary contractors (equity stakeholders in the project companies) are recorded centrally on the Treasury’s website at:
Since November 2000, it has been the MOD’s policy, in common with other government departments, that all Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and those Public Private Partnership contracts involving the use of private finance must contain legally binding conditions whereby any gains from refinancing are shared with the MOD on a 50:50 basis. For contracts signed before November 2000, the right to share a refinancing gain is governed by a code of conduct agreed with industry.
PFI projects that have been the subject of a refinancing agreement together with details of the value and the extent of the claw back to the MOD in each case are shown in the following table:
| Project Name | Date r efinanced | Refinancing s hare (Percentage) | MOD share of refinancing g ain (£ m illion) |
| (1) The calculation of the refinancing gain was based on HMT policy but it also includes a package of contract changes guaranteeing the Department a total of £1.35 million. | |||
Future Large Aircraft
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what formula has been used to calculate the cost of the contract for the A400M aircraft. [259669]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Development and production costs are based on a negotiated agreement between Airbus Military and the customer Nations. Development costs are shared on a pro-rata basis with other Nations according to numbers of aircraft being purchased; UK therefore pays 25/180 of the total development cost. There is a variation of price formula to cover variation of economic conditions, in prescribed circumstances.
RAF Menwith Hill
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) US and (b) UK contractors are currently working at RAF Menwith Hill. [260260]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The contractors presently working at RAF Menwith Hill are:
Lockheed Martin
Northrop Grumman
Haden Young
Clark Construction
Britcon
SGW (Middlesbrough)
Shaylor Construction
IUS
Paragon
HC Engineering
Balfour Beatty
Wrekin
Carillion AMBS
T Clarke
Landscape Centre
Olympics
Government Olympic Executive: Pay
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much was spent on the salaries of civil servants working in the Government Olympic Executive in each of the last three years. [260983]
Tessa Jowell: In each of the last three years, the amount spent on the salaries of civil servants working in the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) was:
| £ | |
The amount spent on salaries reflects the increase in the number of civil servants (full-time equivalents (FTEs)) working in the GOE, from 34.8 FTEs in February 2007 to 69.4 FTEs in February 2009.
This planned increase in staffing (a) reflects the wider role the GOE has taken on during this period—GOE is now the only organisation overseeing the entire Olympic project, integrating the work of multiple delivery bodies, and ensuring the games is delivered within the £9.3 billion public sector funding provision; (b) is a planned response to the expected growth in work to deliver the Government’s commitments and guarantees, as 2012 approaches; and (c) is consistent with GOE’s staffing and resource plan for 2008-09 to 2010-11, which was agreed early in 2008.
Olympic Delivery Authority: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many businesses from the London Borough of Bexley have won contracts from the Olympic Delivery Authority. [261426]
Tessa Jowell: To the end of January 2009, five businesses registered in the London borough of Bexley had won contracts directly supplying the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Businesses interested in getting involved in the games should be encouraged to sign up to CompeteFor, the electronic brokerage service that is designed to give business across the country access to contracts in the London 2012 supply chains and any support they need to get ready to compete for them. To date, over 2,000 opportunities have been posted on CompeteFor.
Olympic Games 2012: Expenditure
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much had been spent on the velopark at the latest date for which figures are available; and what its estimated final cost is. [256584]
Tessa Jowell: At the end of December 2008 £5.6 million had been spent on the VeloPark project. As reported in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Annual Report 2009, the potential final cost of the project is £105 million. This figure takes into account all known cost pressures and opportunities, in particular the more complex foundations and ground conditions encountered on the VeloPark site, following its slight relocation to the west to enhance the legacy configuration of facilities.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Departmental Surveys
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department spent on staff surveys in each of the last five years; and which companies were contracted to carry out the surveys. [260251]
Mr. Simon: The Department was created on 28 June 2007. Since it was established, the Department has conducted one full staff survey in October 2008. The survey was delivered in house and the results were analysed by ORC International Ltd.
The cost of the staff survey was £19,515 inc. VAT.
Graduates: Employment
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he plans to take in response to the decline in the number of graduates being recruited by businesses. [260787]
Mr. Lammy: We recognise that graduates will not be immune from the downturn. However, graduates should not panic: a recent AGR survey suggests that many companies will continue to recruit graduates in the knowledge that it is in their long term interests, and that many graduates will still get graduate level jobs. The Government are committed to helping new graduates to improve their prospects for work, so we are promoting volunteering, development of entrepreneurial skills and further study to graduates who do not yet have a job, and working alongside major employers to encourage more internships.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to make students aware of Government initiatives to help them into employment. [260796]
Mr. Lammy:
The Government are committed to helping new graduates to improve their prospects for work. Our message to students is that they should take advantage of the professional support available from university careers services and take every opportunity to gain the experience and broad range of work related skills that are valued by employers. To help them to do this we are working with employers in the public, private and charitable sectors to increase the availability of volunteering and
internship opportunities, and are encouraging new graduates to consider self employment opportunities. The Department has recently created a new section on DirectGov:
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