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27 Jan 2010 : Column 887W—continued

Departmental Written Questions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what average time his Department took to answer questions for (a) ordinary written answer
27 Jan 2010 : Column 888W
and (b) written answer on a named day in the last 12 months. [313663]

Mr. Simon: Information on the average time taken to answer parliamentary questions is not readily available in the format requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Radio: Scotland

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the effects on rural communities in Scotland of ending FM/AM broadcasting in 2015. [312696]

Mr. Simon: There are no plans to end FM broadcasting in 2015.

Theatre: Young People

Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tickets have been taken up under the A Night Less Ordinary scheme. [313639]

Margaret Hodge: Between February 2009 and November 2009, 121,742 tickets were taken up by young people under the 'A Night Less Ordinary' scheme.

Results from 1 December 2009 to 28 February 2010 will be made available in April.

Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of overseas (a) single living accommodation and (b) service family accommodation units are in each grade in each country. [312657]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Single living accommodation (SLA) is graded by its scale (this consists of a number of factors including size and amount of storage) as well as physical condition. The best available data indicate that as at October 2009, the following number and percentage of overseas SLA bed-spaces were at the each grade:

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4
Country Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage

Germany

2,146

16

1,137

8

3,553

26

6,773

50

Cyprus

60

3

-

-

247

14

1,460

83

Gibraltar

-

-

249

81

-

-

60

19

South Atlantic Islands

2

-

-

-

-

-

2,374

100

Rest of world

70

8

13

1

60

7

736

84

UK (as at December 2008)(1)

34,933

25

19,498

14

22,101

16

60,745

45

(1) The UK SLA figures, included for comparison purposes, are for the number of bed-spaces at each 'condition grade' rather than 'Grade for Charge'.

Service family accommodation (SFA) is assessed for standard for condition (SfC), a measure of the physical condition of a property. The best available data indicate that as at October 2009, the following number and percentage of overseas SFA properties were at each SfC:


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27 Jan 2010 : Column 890W
S1fC S2fC S3fC S4fC
Country Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage

Germany

3,766

33

2,948

26

3,590

31

1,146

10

Cyprus

224

10

410

19

50

2

1,503

69

Gibraltar

163

37

24

5

70

16

184

42

South Atlantic Islands

15

16

22

23

49

50

11

11

Rest of world

222

19

526

46

393

34

4

1

UK (as at December 2009)

12,718

38

19,689

59

1,034

3

204

Less than 1


Departmental Drinking Water

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on bottled drinking water in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [313185]

Mr. Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend, the Minister for International Defence and Security, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, to the noble Lady, Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury, in another place on 19 May 2009, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA294.

NATO

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made to the right hon. Member for Ashfield on NATO's (a) nuclear policy and (b) New Strategic Concept Group; and if he will make a statement. [313551]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: My right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) has been appointed to the Group of Experts advising on NATO's new Strategic Concept by Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in an independent capacity. Mr. Hoon is able to draw on support from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the full range of issues associated with this work.

Trident Submarines

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the likely effects on life extension of Vanguard-class submarines, should continuous at-sea deterrence cease. [313549]

Mr. Quentin Davies: The Government remain committed to the policy of Continuous At-Sea Deterrence, as set out in the 2006 White Paper "The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994). The 2006 White Paper indicated that it might be possible to extend the life of the current submarines by five years and these studies are ongoing, based on the operating posture of Continuous At-Sea Deterrence.

Warships: Portsmouth

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his review of the use of naval bases will include issues other than the relocation of Type 23 Frigates to Portsmouth; when the outcomes of the review will be published; and if he will make a statement. [312853]

Mr. Quentin Davies: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 6 May 2009, Official Report, column 16WS, as part of work to consider the optimal base-porting arrangements for the less complex variants of the Future Surface Combatant (FSC), the Department would examine whether there is any case to change the base-porting of the Type 23 frigates. Under the Maritime Change Programme, key stakeholders, including representatives from Portsmouth and Plymouth city councils as well as naval base staff, are supporting Warwick university in developing a shared socio-economic model, which will help to greater understand the implications of any potential future change to warship base-porting arrangements at Portsmouth and Devonport.

The contiguous impact of three principal scenarios is to be initially investigated: the move of Trafalgar Class submarines from HM Naval Base Devonport to HM Naval Base Clyde; the decommissioning of Type 22 Frigates and any potential change to the current Type 23 base-porting arrangements. We aim to have this model ready in spring 2010 to help inform debate and decision making. The impact of any proposed base-porting changes across the Defence Lines of Development, including accommodation, support, personnel and infrastructure, will be also assessed during the decision making process.

Currently, no date has been agreed by when an announcement on any potential Type 23 base-porting arrangements will be made. As part of any future announcement, we will be able to confirm that there will be no base porting changes for around five years as we are committed to providing sufficient notice for Royal Navy personnel and their families and the wider community to plan for the future.

Warships: Shipbuilding

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) Astute and (b) Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programmes; and if he will make a statement. [313110]

Mr. Quentin Davies [holding answer 25 January 2010]: The Major Projects Report 2009 reported delays to the Astute Class Programme which will lead to cost growth and reduction in planned submarine availability. Of the seven planned Astute Class submarines the first four boats have been ordered. Boat 1 (Astute) is currently undergoing an extensive programme of Sea Trials while Boats 2 to 4 (Ambush, Artful and Audacious) are in various stages of construction. Orders for long lead items for Boat 5 and the reactor core for Boat 6 have also been placed.


27 Jan 2010 : Column 891W

Following the delays, work to re-baseline the Astute Programme is ongoing and the final impact on both the overall programme and individual boat build profile can only be confirmed once detailed joint planning and cost analysis work has been completed and MOD investment and HM Treasury re-approval has been obtained.

A competition for the Tanker element of the MARS Programme was originally started in late 2007. The competition was cancelled in March 2009 and subsequent work to review the procurement strategy concluded that a more open approach, considering a range of possible solutions, is more likely to secure best value for money. A new international competition for the Tanker element of MARS is therefore under way and Pre-Qualification Questionnaires from a number of companies/consortia are currently being evaluated. This work is nearing completion and, once internal MOD approval to proceed to the next stage of the competition has been granted, invitations to submit outline proposals will be issued. This is expected to be during spring 2010. On current plans the contract is due to be awarded in 2012.

The later classes of MARS ships, Fleet Solid Support and Amphibious Combat Support, remain uncommitted at this stage.

Leader of the House

Departmental Internet

Mr. Heald: To ask the Leader of the House what the cost was of maintaining her Office's website for the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within her responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year. [313039]

Barbara Keeley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 25 January 2010, Official Report, column 534W.

International Development

Algeria: Overseas Aid

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department allocated to Algeria in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007, (d) 2008 and (e) 2009. [312912]

Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a bilateral programme in Algeria and has not allocated any aid to the country between 2005 and 2009.

Details of DFID's aid expenditure in developing countries are published annually in "Statistics on International Development", which is available in the House Library or online at:


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