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12 Oct 2009 : Column 420W—continued
Departmental Legal Costs
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid by his Department in legal costs to (a) the solicitor Phil Shiner and (b) public interest lawyers since 2001. [289809]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Specific data on the expenditure by the MOD on all legal costs paid to claimants' solicitors are not held centrally and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's (a) civilian and (b) military manpower capitation rates are. [289984]
Bill Rammell: A copy of the 2009-10 average yearly capitation rates for industrial and non-industrial civilian staff, members of the MOD Police Service, MOD Police and Guarding Agency and military personnel of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF has been placed in the Library of the House.
Capitation rates are used mainly for charging other Government departments, foreign governments and the private sector. Average capitation rates are not generally used for military ranks above colonel and equivalent as any calculations would be based on actual rates for greater accuracy.
The rates are an average of the attributable direct employment costs that include: salary and pay related elements national insurance contributions and superannuation charges and indirect administrative costs borne by the Department. The rates do not include individual allowances.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff there were in (a) his Department's predecessor in 1997 and (b) his Department on the latest date for which figures are available. [292060]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The following table shows how many staff there were in the Ministry of Defence on 1 April 1997 and 1 August 2009.
| Thousands FTE( 1) | ||
| 1 April 1997 | 1 August 2009 | |
| (1) Full-time Equivalent FTE is a measure of the size of the workforce that takes account of the fact that some people work part-time. Actual hours worked are used; the average hours worked by pan-timers is about 60 per cent. of full-time hours. (2) Due to ongoing validation of data from the Joint Personnel Administration System, Service strength statistics for 1 April 2007 onwards are provisional and subject to review. | ||
Comparative data for the time periods between 1 April 1997 and the current data can be found at the following website:
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2008, Official Report, column 1171W, on departmental marketing, how many staff in his Department were responsible for branding activity in 2008-09; and what the cost of employing such staff was in 2008-09. [290218]
Mr. Kevan Jones: In the financial year 2008-09 seven members of staff had some responsibility for brand management issues as part of their wider duties in the central MOD Media and Communication organisation.
The total cost of these seven staff was £363,000 based on average capitation rates. Only a small proportion of this cost is attributable to brand management activities. It is not possible to say how much as the time spent varies from week to week.
Some Defence Agencies, Top Level Budget areas, Trading Funds, Joint Headquarters, single Service Commands and some military units also have individuals whose responsibilities include brand management. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Motor Vehicles
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years. [291598]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Expenditure on short term hires of passenger cars for the last five financial years through the UK White Fleet contract is provided in the following table.
| Financial year | Amount (ex-VAT) £ million |
Expenditure on short term hires of passenger cars for the last two financial years, through the British Forces Germany White Fleet contract is provided in the following table.
| Financial year | Amount (ex VAT) £ million |
These data have been rounded to approximate figures.
Data prior to this are held in hard copy and could only be analysed and provided at disproportionate cost.
Expenditure on other overseas car hire, booked through MOD's Defence Travel Cell, has only been recorded since April 2008 and amounted to some £1.2 million (ex-VAT) in FY 2008-09.
Hires through Government Procurement Cards, MOD Agencies such as the Defence Support Group, Met Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and overseas dependencies fall outside the scope of White Fleet contracts and have separate local arrangements. These details are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mrs. Villiers:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 May 2009, Official Report, column 747W, on departmental official
hospitality, how much his Department spent on entertainment and hospitality in (a) each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07 and (b) 2008-09. [290178]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The MOD has spent the following on entertainment and hospitality.
| £ million | |
These figures include expenditure by the Defence Agencies, but not by the MOD's Trading Funds and Executive Non-Departmental Bodies, which lie outside the MOD's accounting boundary.
Expenditure on entertaining and hospitality is incurred according to business need and is subject to prior approval and compliance with departmental rules and the principles of propriety set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury's handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money. Departmental-level information on expenditure on entertainment and hospitality has been routinely published for many years, including in our annual report and accounts. From 2008-09 this information is shown broken down between "Other Administration Costs" (in Note 10a) and "Other Programme Costs" (in Note 10b).
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Minister in his Department has been assigned responsibility for overseeing the delivery of value for money in his Department; whether his Department has established a public sector reform team to implement service reforms; and if he will make a statement. [289743]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) has been appointed Value for Money Minister for the Ministry of Defence in response to the announcement about the Organisational Efficiency programme made in the 2009 Budget.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to delivering greater value for money, strengthening its governance and working more closely with both other Departments and the centre of Government to achieve this. The Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2008-09 described the wide range of programmes in place to deliver efficiency and value for money savings. A specific public service reform team has not been formed and the work is coordinated by the Defence Board and the Value for Money Minister.
Electronic Warfare
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the estimated cost of incorporating a surge protection device in a typical electricity generating station; and what assessment he has made of the likely effectiveness of such a device. [289835]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Assessments on the threats faced by electricity generation and distribution in the UK, and advice on proportionate protective measures, are provided by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) in close consultation with the energy sector and the Department for Energy and Climate Change, rather than the Ministry of Defence.
Falkland Islands: Chinook/Apache Helicopters
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British armed forces (a) Chinook and (b) Apache attack helicopters are stationed in the Falkland Islands. [290379]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: There are no Chinook or Apache attack helicopters stationed in the Falkland Islands.
Falkland Islands: Military Bases
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the size of the complement serving at the military garrison on the Falkland Islands. [291756]
Bill Rammell: There are some 1,250 UK armed forces personnel based in the South Atlantic Islands, the majority on the Falkland Islands, supported by a small detachment based on Ascension Island. This figure varies during the year due to individual posting plots and unit moves. Force levels are subject to regular review, the last having completed in July 2009, but there are no current plans to change them.
Future Large Aircraft
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outcome was of the discussions on the A400M aircraft with EU partner nations in July 2009. [291557]
Mr. Quentin Davies: A number of discussions were held with partner nations during July 2009. The culmination of these was the announcement at the ministerial meeting on 24 July 2009 that the UK agreed to join Partner Nations in a negotiation phase to determine the way ahead for the A400M programme.
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the A400M to enter service with the Royal Air Force. [291762]
Mr. Quentin Davies:
The UK has joined Partner Nations in a negotiation phase with Airbus Military. The purpose of these discussions-which are not expected to conclude before the end of this year-is to determine the way ahead for the A400M programme, including
revised aircraft production and delivery schedules. Until these discussions are complete, it is not possible to provide definitive dates. The current planning assumption is late 2014.
Future Nature of War
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's document, The Future Nature of War. [289986]
Bill Rammell: There has been a range of work on the character of future conflict conducted within the MOD. Key findings will be incorporated within the Defence Green Paper that will be published in early 2010.
Gazelle Helicopters
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the replacement of the Gazelle fleet of helicopters on reaching its out-of-service date. [290329]
Mr. Quentin Davies: We have recently extended the out of service date for the Gazelle from 2012 to 2018. This change to our planning assumptions is based on a revised assessment of the need to provide a capability in support of domestic commitments, and can be safely provided from the remaining fatigue life of the airframes. This decision has no impact for operations in Afghanistan as the Gazelle is not used in the battlefield helicopter role; its former battlefield communications and ISTAR roles are all now performed by other helicopters and non-rotary wing assets.
Glasgow
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to visit Glasgow on official business during the summer adjournment. [288904]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I do not currently plan to visit Glasgow on official business during the summer adjournment.
Greater London
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) office and (b) technical premises in Greater London his Department owns. [289985]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The following list provides the office premises in Greater London the Department owns.
6 - 8 Palmer Street
Army Career And Information Office, Wembley
Horse Guards, Whitehall
Ministry of Defence Main Building
Old War Office, Westminster
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