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20 July 2009 : Column 883W—continued
The following table shows the strength of regular military and civilian personnel in City of York. Civilian strength is reported in full-time equivalent (FTE) for MOD permanent and casual personnel only. Local authority level breakdown excludes trading funds, royal fleet auxiliaries and locally engaged civilians.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian staff his Department (a) employed in each of the last three years, (b) employs and (c) plans to employ in each of the next three years. [287199]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Table 1 comprises the total number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) civil servants employed by the Ministry of Defence at each 1 April point since 2006.
| Table 1: Total civilian personnel strengths | ||
| FTE | ||
| Civilian Level 1 | Civilian Level 0 | |
| Notes: 1. Civilian Level 1 includes all permanent and casual civilian personnel and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, but excludes Trading Funds and Locally Engaged Civilians. 2. Civilian Level 0 contains all those at Level 1 plus Trading Funds and Locally Engaged Civilians. 3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. 4. Full time equivalence counts part time staff by the number of hours they work as a proportion of their full time conditioned hours. Source: DASA (Quad-Service). | ||
The projected numbers of civilian staff employed across MOD for the remainder of this Spending Review period ending April 2011 are set out in Table 2.
| Table 2: Current Level 0 FTE projections | |
| Civilian Level 0 (FTE) | |
| (1 )Provisional Source: Stat Mann. | |
Data provided are provisional and subject to review. As the Department develops more mature plans for the delivery of the required input savings and outsourcing then these figures will be subject to change.
Departmental Work Experience
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) paid and (b) unpaid graduate internships his Department has awarded in each of the last six months. [281514]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
EU Law
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the statutory obligations upon it provided for in legislation introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available. [283479]
Bill Rammell: The Department has a responsibility to ensure that it complies with all relevant EU legislation. The cost of complying with these obligations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Future Lynx Helicopters
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when he expects the first Future Lynx helicopters to enter service; [287236]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the procurement of Future Lynx helicopters; [287237]
(3) what his policy is on proceeding with the Future Lynx contract. [287238]
Mr. Quentin Davies: There are two variants of the Future Lynx aircraft which is now known as the Lynx Wildcat. The first aircraft is due to enter service in January 2012, leading to an initial operating capability in 2014 for the Army's Battlefield Reconnaissance Helicopter (BRH) and in 2015 for the Royal Navy's Surface Combatant Maritime Rotorcraft (SCMR). A contract has been agreed with AgustaWestland for the procurement of 62 Lynx Wildcat aircraft. The total cost of the demonstration and manufacture of the project is forecast to be some £1.7 billion.
Gurkhas: Pensions
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Gurkha soldiers who retired prior to 1997 would have qualified for a British Army pension given their length of service, if eligibility for a British Army pension was extended to such soldiers. [287432]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There are no plans to extend eligibility to transfer from the Gurkha pension scheme (GPS) to the armed force pension scheme (AFPS) to those Gurkhas who retired before 1 July 1997. Their pension arrangements have been found to be fair and lawful in two Judicial Reviews and a High Court appeal.
However, of the recipients of the GPS who retired before 1 July 1997 (which includes Gurkha veterans, their widows or dependants), it is estimated that about 1,800, would, by length of service or because of disability, be qualified for an immediate pension from the date of their discharge under the AFPS. A further 8,800 who were discharged after 1 April 1975 would be qualified for a preserved pension under the AFPS from the age of 60.
Those Gurkha service pensioners who served for less than 22 years and who discharged before 1 April 1975, would not be entitled to a service pension since there were no preserved pensions prior to the introduction of AFPS 75.
Helicopters
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average cost is of upgrading a Merlin helicopter for use in Afghanistan. [287103]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: It is envisaged that all 28 Merlin Mk3/3a helicopters will be upgraded at a cost in the region of £42 million. This equates to an average of £1.5 million per aircraft. These figures are lower than previously reported and stated in the written answer my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton), gave on 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1364W, to the hon. Member for Congleton. This is due to improved maturity in our cost estimates following work undertaken in the intervening period.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the conversion of the eight Mark 3 Chinook helicopters; and if he will make a statement. [287104]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The conversion of the Chinook Mk3 helicopters is progressing well. The first successful test flight of the modified aircraft took place in June 2009. This is a significant milestone on the project. The programme is on schedule to deliver the first aircraft to operational commanders later this year.
HMS Invincible
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for the disposal of HMS Invincible. [287194]
Mr. Quentin Davies: HMS Invincible is currently in a state of very low readiness and on present plans she will be withdrawn from service in 2010. Once she has been declared surplus to Royal Navy requirements, all disposal options will be considered.
Military Aircraft
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training sorties have been flown by each aircraft type in each of the armed forces in each year since 2003. [284538]
Bill Rammell: Training does not cease after pilots have completed their formal training but continues throughout their flying career because all operational flying contains an element of training. The information is not held in the format requested; either by the number of training sorties undertaken during basic flying training or by qualified personnel undertaking training on other aircraft types. In addition, flying is not recorded by the number of sorties undertaken by individual pilots. Furthermore, the number of hours flown during basic flying training is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Military Aircraft Reach and Sustainability Programme
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce decisions on the future of the Military Aircraft Reach and Sustainability programme. [287191]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The requirements and procurement strategy for the Military Aircraft Reach and Sustainability programme are currently under review and we expect to announce a way forward later this year.
Military Aircraft: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) required and (b) actual number of training instructors for each Royal Air Force aircraft type was in each of the last five years. [284545]
Bill Rammell: Historical information for each of the last five years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The required and actual training instructor number for each aircraft type in the armed forces as at 9 July 2009 is provided in the following table. These figures are for RAF flying instructors in current flying instructional positions of all ranks.
Training instructor numbers fluctuate on a day by day basis as individuals are reassigned, medically downgraded or leave the service. The overall aircraft fleet is currently undergoing significant change with some aircraft types drawing down and new aircraft coming into service, such as with the rapid expansion of the Merlin Force. Numbers of training instructors are responding to reflect these changes and action is being taken to ensure that current operations are not affected.
| Aircraft type | Required training instructors | Actual training instructors |
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