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1 Feb 2010 : Column 40W—continued


Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the mean time between medical downgrading and appearance before a medical board of survey was for each of the armed forces in each year since 1997. [304873]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Individuals may normally be downgraded in a temporary reduced medical category for up to 12 months continuously for the same condition (18 months for the RAF); this will usually be done when a recovery of function would be expected within this time period. At any time during this period, and in any case at its expiration if full recovery has not taken place, the individual can be referred to the appropriate single Service Medical Board for award of a permanently reduced Joint Medical Employment Standard (JMES). The timing of referral will in all cases strike an appropriate balance between the needs of the individual service and those of the patient. The mean time between initial temporary downgrading and attendance at a Medical Board for award of a permanently reduced JMES in each year since 1997 is not held centrally, and could be provided at disproportionate cost.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of each diagnosed condition each service medical board of survey considered in each year since 1997. [304874]

Mr. Kevan Jones: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints were filed against each
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service medical board of survey by (a) attendees and (b) third parties acting on behalf of attendees since 1997. [304876]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Each of the single services has a process for handling complaints against medical board decisions. Redress of complaint and service complaints can be made only by the person involved, not on behalf of others, and so the following figures apply only to complaints by attendees.

Within the Naval Service, the Naval Service Medical Board of Survey (NSMBOS) has no record of any complaint filed against it. Current and historic data are not held centrally about service complaints concluded successfully at unit level and data could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There are no records of any service complaints about NSMBOS decisions being referred to higher level naval authorities for consideration.

Within the Army, service complaints are resolved at one of three levels: Level 1-the prescribed officer (usually the Commanding Officer (CO); Level 2-the Superior Officer (SO); and Level 3-The Defence Council. The intent is that complaints are dealt with at the lowest level possible and resolution achieved quickly and, where possible, informally but the making of a service complaint in accordance with legislation is a legal right under section 334 of the Armed Forces Act 2006.

If either the CO or SO are unable to deal effectively with the complaint or lack the authority to grant the desired or any other appropriate redress, they may refer the complaint to the next level. At each of the first two levels, if the complainant is not satisfied with the proposed resolution of the complaint or the redress to be granted, they may apply to have the complaint referred to the next higher level for consideration. For serving personnel in the Army, the following data reflect those complaints against a decision made by a medical board which reached Level 3 (Defence Council); verified data are not available prior to 2000:

Level 3 complaints

2000

3

2001

0

2002

0

2003

2

2004

0

2005

0

2006

0

2007

4

2008

4

2009

1


For the RAF, the numbers of personnel that have put a service complaint forward via the redress mechanism, regarding the Permanent Employment Standard awarded by the RAF Medical Board, since 2004 are as follows:

Complaints received

2004

0

2005

3

2006

0

2007

3

2008

1

2009

(1)7

(1 )Including clarification of award.

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Files are kept for five years and then destroyed. consequently records for the full period requested are not available.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) single living and (b) service family accommodation units are awaiting demolition. [314183]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties are only demolished as a last resort in cases where they are surplus to requirements but cannot be sold or otherwise disposed of.

While the majority of properties are located in the area surrounding a military site, some are located 'within the wire' of the site itself and so cannot be disposed of for security reasons.

This is the case with the 81 SFA properties currently awaiting demolition. They are located at RAF Digby and Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, Grantham and are due to be demolished by the end of March 2010.

Around 35,000 Single Living Accommodation (SLA) bed-spaces are now at the highest standard (Grade 1) and our intent is that by 2020 some 70 per cent. of UK personnel will be in Grade 1 SLA and the remainder in Grade 2. Some barrack blocks are routinely refurbished or demolished as part of our £1.4 billion modernisation programme, but the re-use or demolition of accommodation blocks which have been replaced is a matter for local commands and information is not held centrally.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to expedite the issuing of Mk7 helmets to troops serving within theatre. [314598]

Mr. Kevan Jones: 15,000 Mk7 helmets have been ordered, of which 5,000 were delivered to theatre last year. A further 7,000 will be delivered to theatre early this year.

Helmets are a personnel issue item, so theatre stocks are continually replenished as service personnel return to the UK with their helmet at the end of their tour of duty.

Army: Recruitment

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department allocated for overseas travel expenses for Army recruitment teams in each of the last five years. [314184]

Bill Rammell: Army recruiting teams operate in the United Kingdom and do not incur any costs for overseas travel.

However, the Army's overseas pre-selection teams, which travel to countries that have a high number of people who have applied to join the Army, have incurred the following costs for flights, transport and accommodation charges for staff since 2005-06:


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Financial year Cost (£)

2005-06

42,507

2006-07

78,639

2007-08

197,589

2008-09

140,566


Overseas pre-selection teams tend to be more active during periods when the Army is finding it harder to attract sufficient numbers of recruits. In light of the relatively healthy manning position which exists in the Army at present, there have been no overseas visits by the overseas pre-selection teams in 2009-10.

Clyde Naval Base

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has for the conventional surface fleet based at Faslane other than the withdrawal of HMS Walney; [314303]

(2) what plans he has for the fleet of Sandown class mine hunters other than the withdrawal of HMS Walney. [314304]

Mr. Quentin Davies: The eight Sandown class mine hunter vessels are the only conventional surface ships based at Faslane. We have no plans to change this arrangement or to make any changes to the Sandown class other than the withdrawal from service of HMS Walney later this year.

Departmental Consultants

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses in each of the last 10 years. [313993]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Summaries for the years 1995-96 to 2007-08 of the MOD's expenditure on External Assistance, of which consultancy is a part, are available in the Library of the House. These summaries also include the spend figures for the Department's agencies, but they exclude expenditure by non-departmental public bodies, which is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Information on reimbursable expenses paid to consultants is not held centrally and could be only provided at disproportionate cost. The circumstances in which reasonable expenses may be reimbursed are set out in contract terms and conditions and their payment is subject to subsequent scrutiny by a designated official.

Departmental Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the (a) potential annual rental and (b) total book value of the (i) empty and (ii) occupied residential properties owned by his Department. [313751]

Mr. Kevan Jones: The majority of the 70,000 service family accommodation (SFA) properties worldwide are leased rather than owned by the Ministry of Defence
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(MOD) and therefore details of the potential annual rental and book value of these properties is a matter for the owners.

Where the MOD does own the SFA, such as in Scotland and Northern Ireland, it is solely for the purpose of housing entitled Service families. No estimate is made of how much income could be generated by letting out the properties on a commercial basis. SFA occupancy charges for personnel are set annually by the independent armed forces pay review body.

With regard to the value of the premises, details of all MOD holdings over £1 million, together with their latest asset valuations, can be found in chapter seven of the National Asset Register, on HM Treasury's website, last published in 2007:

The requested information, and details of all property below £1 million in value, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2010, Official Report, column 796W, on departmental pay, how many senior fixed-term appointees in each organisation were paid bonuses of over £50,000 in 2008-09. [314600]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Two. The individuals are employed by the MOD in two separate organisations. Performance awards are judged against taut objectives, on a sliding scale with no awards until specific levels of performance are achieved. Performance is judged by remuneration committee with independent departmental validation at a senior level. These individuals and their organisations have played a critical role in supporting front line operations and contributed to savings of £57.5 million paid to the Department in 2008-09.

Departmental Public Consultation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many citizens' juries or summits have been hosted by his Department since October 2008; on what date each event took place; and which Ministers were present at each event. [314594]

Mr. Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence has not arranged any citizens' juries or summits since October 2008.

Ex-servicemen: Homelessness

Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of homeless former service personnel in each year since 1992. [314389]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Independent research carried out in London in 2008 by the university of York shows that the proportion of veterans among the homeless population has fallen dramatically over the last 10 years. Veterans now represent some 6 per cent. of the homeless population in London compared with the 22 per cent. found in separate research in 1997. This is a real success story in
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our strategy to tackle homelessness in London. However, the numbers of ex-service personnel who find themselves homeless are still too high, and we plan to continue to develop our relationships with the charitable sector to ensure we continue to address this very important issue.

The MOD is always interested in identifying ways in which veterans can be assisted. The Government's commitment was set out in the Service Personnel Command Paper, "The Nation's Commitment: Cross Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans", in July 2008.

Changes have been made to the law in England and Wales so that servicemen and women are now able to establish a local connection with the district in which they are or have just been serving for the purposes of applying for social housing and homelessness assistance while plans are in place to implement similar arrangements in Scotland. We are also working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to agree arrangements whereby empty MOD houses can be used by veterans for an interim period after they leave the service. In addition, a 25-unit supported housing facility for veterans, Mike Jackson House, was opened in Aldershot in 2008. Building work on a similar 31-unit scheme in Catterick started on 19 January 2010.

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to minimise the number of ex-service personnel who are street homeless. [314023]

Mr. Kevan Jones: The MOD are always interested in identifying ways in which veterans can be assisted. The Government's commitment was set out in the Service Personnel Command Paper (The Nation's Commitment to our Armed Forces, their families and veterans) in July 2008.

Changes have been made to the law in England and Wales so that servicemen and women are now able to establish a local connection with the district in which they are or have just been serving for the purposes of applying for social housing and homelessness assistance while plans are in place to implement similar arrangements in Scotland. In addition we are working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to agree arrangements whereby empty MOD houses can be used by veterans for an interim period after they leave the Service. A 25-unit supported housing facility for veterans, Mike Jackson House, was opened in Aldershot in 2008. Building work on a similar 31-unit scheme in Catterick started on 19 January 2010.

Independent research carried out in London in 2008 by the University of York shows that the proportion of veterans among the homeless population has fallen dramatically over the last 10 years. Veterans now represent some six per cent of the homeless population in London compared with the 22 per cent. found in separate research in 1997. This is a real success story in our strategy to tackle homelessness in London. However, the numbers of ex-service personnel who find themselves homeless are still too high, and we plan to continue to develop our relationships with the charitable sector to ensure we continue to address this very important issue.


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