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26 Oct 2009 : Column 28W—continued
Armed Forces: Training
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the training budget for the (a) Territorial Army, (b) University Officer Training Corps and (c) Cadet Force is in 2009-10. [293152]
Bill Rammell: This year is very challenging in resource terms, and success in Afghanistan must take priority. As such the Army has directed that the Regular Forces and the reserves must focus available resources on supporting the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan, which means reducing activity levels elsewhere. The overall budget for the Territorial Army, which is inclusive of the University Officer Training Corps, has been reduced by £43 million from £139 million. The funding for the Army Cadet Force has been reduced by £4 million from £29 million.
Forecast outturn for the Air Cadet Organisation and Navy Command Cadets for the current financial year is £20.6 million and £11 million respectively
The output of the Territorial Army, University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) and Cadet Forces is focused on training and therefore all activity is either directly or indirectly attributable to planning, organising or conducting training.
British Forces Post Office
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his plans are for the future of the British Forces Post Office; and if he will make a statement. [295253]
Bill Rammell: The information was published in Defence Internal Brief, Serial 2009DIB/37 dated 6 October 2009, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Defence Board
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 15 October 2009, Official Report, columns 34-36WS, on defence acquisition (independent review), who the members of the new sub-committee of the Defence Board are; and if he will make a statement. [295775]
Mr. Quentin Davies:
As recommended in Bernard Gray's recent report on Defence Acquisition, the members of the new Defence board sub-committee on equipment
are the Permanent Under Secretary, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the 2nd Permanent Under Secretary, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff and the Director-General Finance. The sub-committee is charged with determining, for agreement by the Defence board and Ministers, an equipment plan that is aligned with strategy, affordable and realistic.
Defence Medical Services
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many compensation claims have been submitted by armed forces personnel in respect of malpractice on the part of Defence Medical Services; how many such claims were upheld; and how much was paid out against such claims in each year. [295645]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The number of new clinical negligence compensation claims is not recorded on the Department's claims database in a format that differentiates between service personnel, service dependants and civilian cases. The number of claims upheld and the amount of compensation, including legal costs, paid out each year to service personnel is identifiable. The figures are shown in the following table. Information relating to clinical negligence can be found in the Department's Claims Annual Report which has been issued each year since 1997-98, a copy of which is held in the Libraries of the Houses.
| All new clinical negligence claims received | Service personnel claims upheld | Compensation/legal costs (£ million) | |
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) actual strength, (b) establishment and (c) percentage difference between establishment and actual strength is of each speciality of qualified medical personnel (a) in the Army and (b) tri-service. [295646]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Manning statistics for the Defence Medical Services are updated twice a year, in April and October. The October 2009 figures are currently being collated, and verified figures should be available by the end of November. I will place these figures in the Library of the House.
Defence: Procurement
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 15 October 2009, Official Report, columns 34-36WS, on defence acquisition (independent review), what arrangements he plans to make to provide greater visibility of project management costs in the Defence Equipment and Support Organisation to the Capability Sponsor in head office; and if he will make a statement. [295776]
Mr. Quentin Davies: We are currently reviewing how best to provide greater visibility of project management costs, and this will be addressed as part of the Strategy for Acquisition Reform to be published in the new year.
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 15 October 2009, Official Report, columns 34-36WS, on defence acquisition (independent review), what steps he plans to take (a) to improve the way in which projects in the equipment plan are costed, (b) to use better and more sophisticated techniques applied more consistently and (c) to ensure that investment decisions are based on the most reliable forecasts; and if he will make a statement. [295777]
Mr. Quentin Davies: We are examining options to improve our approach to costing, and will be addressing this as part of the Strategy for Acquisition Reform to be published in the new year.
Departmental Energy
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has a strategy for voltage optimisation on its estimate. [295276]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There are currently no plans to roll out voltage optimisation across the whole of the defence estate. However, voltage optimisation technology is currently being trialled at Lympstone. This work will inform our future approach to wider application of the technology across our estate.
Departmental Procurement
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2009, Official Report, column 140, on departmental procurement, (1) how many of the recommendations of the Glover Report on Accelerating the SME engine his Department has implemented; [294906]
(2) what target date his Department has set for implementation of all the key recommendations of the Glover Report on Accelerating the SME engine. [294907]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Glover Report recommendations relate to the adoption of a number of public procurement related measures across Government and their implementation is being led by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The OGC, BIS and other Government departments, including local government, are working towards completing the implementation of each of the recommendations as soon as possible and within the timescales, where given, within the report.
Departmental Publicity
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on information campaigns and advertising in each year since 1997. [294063]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The majority of information campaigns and advertising conducted by the Ministry of Defence are part of the drive to recruit the best personnel to the armed forces and civil service. In addition the Department may promote other initiatives such as armed forces day.
Spend relating to these activities, which is available centrally, is shown in the following table. The figures given include creative and production costs, as well as media spend.
| Spend (£ million) | |
Figures are not available prior to FY 2004-05 and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Figures for 2009-10 are not yet available.
Departmental Secondment
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which staff have been seconded to his Department from the private sector since 2000, stating in each case the secondee's (a) name, (b) company, (c) position within his Department and (d) start and end date of secondment. [295103]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There have been 76 individuals seconded into the MOD since the beginning of 2000. A breakdown of the respective start and end dates of the secondments, together with reasons for joining the department is provided in the following table.
| Staff seconded into the MOD from the private sector since 2000 | |||
| Identifier | Reason for joining | Start date | End date |
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