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29 Jun 2009 : Column 42W—continued
Further details on this breakdown are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of service family accommodation as the information is not held in the form requested and will take more time to collate and verify. I will therefore write to the hon. Member with the requested information.
Substantive answer from Kevan Jones to Liam Fox:
In my answer of 14 May 2009 (Official Report: Column 938W) I promised to provide you with the number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) by location in England, at each Standard for Condition (SfC).
The following table is the best available breakdown of SFA by location, in this case the Department's housing regions, and is correct as at 25 March 2009. This updates information given in my answer to you published on 30 March Col 884W and my Written Ministerial Statement of 17 March and reflects further verification and analysis work including that carried out with the National Audit Office.
| Housing region | S1fC | S2fC | S3fC | S4fC | Not assessed | Total | ||||
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | No. | |
Data for the condition of Service Families Accommodation will be updated on a quarterly basis beginning from July 2009, and the information will be placed in the library of the house.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what recent steps his Department has taken to improve accommodation for service families; [282461]
(2) what recent steps his Department has taken to improve accommodation for service personnel. [282460]
Mr. Kevan Jones: This Department is committed to improving the standard of all service accommodation and in addition to the significant increase in investment in recent years. We plan to spend £8.4 billion over the next decade on accommodation, of which £3.1 billion will be on new-build and upgraded accommodation. As announced in the budget, £50 million is being brought forward to be spent on improving service accommodation.
Since 2003, over 35,000 new or upgraded single living accommodation bed-spaces have been delivered, with a further 21,000 planned by 2013.
Since 2001, over 13,000 service family accommodation properties have been upgraded to the top standard for condition with a further 800 planned in this and each financial year thereafter.
In addition, thousands of SFA properties have benefited from improvements such as new boilers, bathrooms and kitchens, which have improved the living conditions for many service families.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2009, Official Report, columns 35-6W, on armed forces: housing, what discussions he has had with Modern Housing Solutions on the figures for numbers of married quarters by standard for condition in the Faithful and Gould survey carried out by Modern Housing Solutions. [282754]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The asset condition survey of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in England and Wales was carried out in order to provide improved management information for reporting on the condition of the SFA estate, and to enable the Department to make improved planning decisions for future investment in the SFA estate.
Although the results of this survey do not impact directly on the terms and conditions of the Housing Prime Contract with Modern Housing Solutions (MHS), officials have worked closely with MHS to ensure the accuracy and validity of the survey results.
We continue to work closely with MHS, and its counterparts, to ensure that the standards of SFA continue to improve. Over 90 per cent. of our stock in England and Wales is already at the two highest standards for condition. Service families are no longer required to live in SFA at the lowest Standard for Condition, although some may chose to do so. From 2012 no families will have to live in properties at either of the two lowest Standards for Condition.
We are committed to housing service personnel and their families in high quality accommodation.
Armed Forces: Pensions
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what average pension is payable to a soldier who retired after 15 years in the British Army on 30 April 1997 as a sergeant in (a) a Gurkha regiment and (b) a regiment in the UK. [282128]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Pensions paid under the terms of the Gurkha Pension Scheme, which is now a closed scheme, are calculated in Indian currency rupees (ICR) and paid in Nepalese currency rupees (NCR). This is because the scheme retains a structural link to the Indian Army Pension Scheme and also has the benefit of protecting pensioners from fluctuations in the pounds sterling/NCR rates of exchange. Members of the scheme qualified for immediate payment of pension on completion of 15 years service.
The current rate of pension for a former Gurkha soldier who retired in the rank of Sergeant on 30 April 1997, after 15 years service, is ICR 13,687.64 per month.
Expressed in pounds sterling, at the 1 June 2009 exchange rate, this gives the following annual rates provided below.
Gurkha Sergeant after 15 years: £2,149.56 a year, paid immediately on leaving the Army.
A non-Gurkha soldier who was in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75), unlike his Gurkha counterpart, did not receive a pension until age 60, if he left after 15 years’ service. The AFPS 75 pensions for a sergeant as calculated on the last day of service on 30 April 1997 is provided below.
Sergeant after 15 years: Preserved pension of £4,162.13 a year.
There would be no payment until age 60, at which point the pension calculated on the last day of service would be index linked by rises in the retail prices index over the period. While the Gurkha pension is lower it is paid from an earlier age and over a longer period and is therefore well suited to life in Nepal, where it provides an income that equates to a very good working wage.
Gurkha soldiers on leaving the Army on 30 April 1997, on completion of 15 years service, would also have received lump sums, provided below in pounds sterling, but paid in NCR.
| Gurkha sergeant | |
| £ | |
A sergeant leaving the wider Army on 30 April 1997, on completion of 15 years service, would have received a resettlement grant of £6,218. In addition soldiers with a preserved pension receive a pension lump sum at age 60 of three times the sum of their uplifted pension.
Departmental Billing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2009, Official Report, column 1171W, on departmental billing, how much his Department's non-departmental public bodies paid in interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years. [282332]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence has five service museums classified as executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) that receive Grant in Aid from the Department. During the financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, no interest was paid by any of these under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
This does not include any payments that may have been made by commercial trading arms associated with the museums as these are not funded from Grant in Aid and therefore outside of the remit of the Department.
Hebrides Range
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure has been incurred in respect of (a) upgrading facilities and (b) other purposes for missile testing facilities at (i) the Hebrides Range and (ii) each other such range in the UK in each of the last three years. [282806]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Three of the ranges operated by QinetiQ on behalf of the MOD under the terms of the Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA) specialise in missile testing—MOD Hebrides, MOD Aberporth and MOD West Freugh. Annual investment at each range since FY 2006-07 is provided in the following table.
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