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1 Jun 2009 : Column 36W—continued
Like for like figures are not available for the overseas SFA estate.
For the latest number of SFA in England and Wales at each SfC I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 17 March 2009, Official Report, columns 43-44WS. As at March 2009, SFA in Scotland was at the following SFC:
| SfC | Properties |
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the new spend on (a) each married quarters estate and (b) married quarters in total (i) was in 2008-09 and (ii) is projected to be in each of the next five years. [276803]
Mr. Kevan Jones: In 2008-09 the Ministry of Defence spent some £48 million on new projects and upgrades relating to its worldwide holdings of Service Family Accommodation (SFA). Of this expenditure around £40 million was in respect of SFA in the UK, £7 million in Cyprus and £1 million in Germany.
A breakdown of the major elements of expenditure on the UK SFA, by location is shown in the following table.
| Location | £ million |
The Department was planning to spend £48 million in each year of the next five years on the upgrade of SFA to its highest standard for condition. However as the hon. Member will know from the Budget statement on 22 April 2009, this Department is bringing forward £50 million to be spent on accommodation.
The details of this expenditure have yet to be determined. I will write to the hon. Member when a decision has been taken.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many surplus married quarters he expects to have been ceded to Annington Homes without compensation to the Exchequer by the end of 2009-10. [276804]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The decision was made in early 1996 to sell some 57,428 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL), of which some 55,055 were immediately leased back in order to provide accommodation for entitled service personnel and their families.
When it is identified that there is no future requirement for properties, the leases are terminated and the properties returned to AHL. Since 1996 the MOD has handed back some 16,751 SFA.
As the properties are not owned by the MOD, compensation is not payable when leases are terminated. The onward sale or disposal of properties is a matter for the company. However, the 1996 Sale Agreement included a profit-share whereby the Exchequer receives a percentage of any profit made on the subsequent disposal of properties and land that form a part of any release to the company. To date the Exchequer has received approximately £156 million under the terms of this agreement.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many emergency maintenance requests were made for properties occupied by service personnel and their families in each month since October 2007; and what the average time was for requested maintenance to take place. [277258]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The requested information is not held centrally and will take a little time to collate and verify. I will write to the hon. Member.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many mortgage interest payments were made by his Department to service personnel with second homes required for their work in each of the last 10 years; how much was paid for such purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [277708]
Mr. Hutton: None. There is no mechanism for service personnel to receive mortgage interest payments for any type of property they may have a financial interest in.
Armed Forces: Injuries
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many residents of (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Republic of Ireland serving in the UK armed forces have been injured in enemy action in the last year. [272892]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Data on injuries suffered by armed forces personnel who are resident of a specific location are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Medals
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department takes to (a) verify and (b) validate accounts of the actions of soldiers for which they are given awards for gallantry. [276812]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The integrity of the operational honours system is a matter of the utmost importance to the MOD. The award of Operational Honours is an independent military activity. Commanding Officers in the field initiate recommendations for awards, having gathered evidence and corroborated the incidents contained therein. These recommendations are then screened at various levels in the military chain of command and passed to a committee comprising senior military officers, all with operational experience, who decide the appropriate awards.
Armed Forces: Pensions
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average annual pension payment received by a retired British soldier has been in each year since 1997. [276666]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The available average annual amount paid to AFPS members for all three services for each year since 1999 are as follows:
| Financial year | Average pension payment (£) |
Information for financial years 1997-98 and 1998-99 are no longer held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Figures for 2008-09 are still being finalised.
The figures provided are based on average pensions paid to former members of the armed forces, their spouses, and dependants. Figures provided are not held in the format requested to reflect average pensions paid to veterans alone. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
The figures do not include any Terminal Grants or Commutations paid to AFPS members.
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former members of the armed forces in each region have re-enlisted to each (a) service and (b) trade in each year since 2000. [273585]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: None of the three Services is able to provide this information by region, as it is not held in the format requested. Information for the Naval Service is available broken down by trade, but this is not possible for the Army and Royal Air Force as the information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Total numbers of personnel that have re-enlisted in each year are provided in the following tables.
| Re-enlistment into the Naval Service by Trade—Officers( 1) | |||
| Financial Year | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| (1) Figures provided include transfers to the Naval Service from the Army and RAF, and also between RN and RM, in addition to personnel having had previous service in the RN or RM. The numbers include all re-entrants: Trained, those not requiring Phase 2 training; Part-trained, those requiring only Phase 2 training; and untrained, those requiring Phase 1 training. | |||
| Re-enlistment into the Naval Service by Trade—Other Ranks | |||
| Financial Year | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| (1) Photographer and Physical trainer. | |||
| Re-enlistment into the Naval Service—Royal Marines—Officers and Other Ranks | |||
| Financial Year | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Re-enlistment into the Army—Officers and Other Ranks | ||||
| Financial Year | ||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Re-enlistment into the Royal Air Force—Officers and Other Ranks | ||||
| Financial Year | ||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
No information is shown for earlier years because these data are not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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