10 Feb 2010 : Column 967W
10 Feb 2010 : Column 967W
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Electoral Commission Committee
Local Government: Suffolk
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many Boundary Committee employees have visited Suffolk for the purposes of their work on the reorganisation of local government in Suffolk; what the duration of the stay was of each such visit; and what the cost was of (a) accommodation and (b) subsistence in respect of each such visit. [314863]
Mr. Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that seven Boundary Committee staff visited Suffolk in connection with the structural review of local government in Suffolk.
The Commission further informs me that as the reviews of Suffolk and Norfolk were closely linked in the Secretary of State's request for advice, meetings in the two counties were frequently held on the same day, or on consecutive days. Accommodation and subsistence costs relating to these meetings were recorded together.
The total accommodation and subsistence cost of the visits to Suffolk, calculated where necessary on a pro rata basis according to the proportion of time spent at Suffolk meetings, was £1564.38. I will write to the hon. Member with a detailed breakdown of these costs and will place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Postal Votes
Mr. Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what recent estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the average proportion of returned postal votes sent back to local authorities within 24 hours of close of poll in each of the last five years. [308783]
Mr. Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that there is no requirement for returning officers to record the number of postal ballot packs received in any period before the close of poll. Returning officers are required to report the number of postal ballot packs returned in the 25 days after the close of poll, including those which were deemed undeliverable by the Royal Mail, and the latest figures are available on the Commission website at:
www.electoralcommission.org.uk
Returning officers are not required to provide information relating solely to the period of 24 hours after close of poll.
10 Feb 2010 : Column 968W
Defence
Armed Forces: Expenses
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces received annual remuneration, including benefits, of at least £100,000 in the latest year for which figures are available. [316375]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There are currently 800 out of 174,890 members of the armed forces who are paid in excess of £100,000. 674 of these are in the medical and dental professions reflecting the special skills they are required to hold. The remainder are senior officers in a variety of strategic leadership and senior command appointments.
Armed Forces: Furniture
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on household furniture for properties occupied by members of the armed forces with a rank of Brigadier or equivalent and above. [316373]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information is not held in the format requested.
Furniture is made available for all members of the armed forces who occupy public accommodation if it is requested and a charge for its use is reflected in the rent deducted from the occupant. There is no requirement to separately account for the furniture provided to all officers of 1 Star status and above.
Armed Forces: Housing
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on accommodation for members of the armed forces with a rank of Brigadier or equivalent and above in each of the last 12 months. [316391]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 8 February 2010]: The information is not held in the format requested.
Members of the armed forces are entitled to live in publicly funded accommodation. Where this is not available, accommodation will be provided through either substitute service single accommodation or substitute service family accommodation. There is no requirement to separately account for the accommodation provided to all officers in the group requested.
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for members of the armed forces with a rank of Brigadier or equivalent and above in each of the last 12 months. [316392]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 8 February 2010]: The information is not held in the format requested.
Hotel accommodation is required when a member of the armed forces is on temporary duty away from their parent unit and there is no Service facility that can accommodate them locally.
10 Feb 2010 : Column 969W
The majority of the MOD's hotel bookings are made through the Defence Hotel Reservation Service. However, this is not exclusive, as hotel accommodation may be included in a residential training course or privately arranged at very short notice.
To determine how much has been spent by this specific group would require a manual search of a number of records which could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Northern Ireland
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops are stationed at each location in Northern Ireland. [316410]
Bill Rammell: As at 1 November 2009 the number of regular service personnel stationed at regular military locations in Northern Ireland was as follows:
| Location | Number |
(1)As MOD announced in a written ministerial statement on 26 November 2009, Official Report, column 89, DCU will close by 1 April 2010.
In addition there were some 100 regular service personnel serving at Reserve Forces locations throughout Northern Ireland.
Armed Forces: Official Cars
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on hired cars for members of the armed forces with a rank of Brigadier or equivalent and above in each of the last 12 months. [316376]
Mr. Kevan Jones: This information is not held in the format requested.
When a member of the armed forces is required to travel on duty the most economical mode of travel is to be utilised. When travel by road is necessary, pool cars will be used. However, when this is not available a hire car will be authorised. There is no requirement to separately account for the hire cars provided to those officers in the group requested. To do so would require the manual search of all requests which could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Visits Abroad
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on overseas travel for members of the armed forces with a rank of Brigadier or equivalent and above in each of the last 12 months. [316377]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information is not held in the format requested.
10 Feb 2010 : Column 970W
When there is a need to travel overseas, MOD charter aircraft will be used where possible. When this is not available, overseas travel will be arranged through Hogg Robinson Travel, under contract to the MOD, to ensure the best value for money is obtained. However, this is not exclusive, as overseas travel may be included as part of a training course or privately arranged at very short notice.
There is no requirement to account for the rank of brigadier or equivalent and above separately and to do so would require a manual search of records thus incurring a disproportionate cost.
Greater use of video and telephone conferencing is being encouraged to reduce the time and money expended on overseas travel.
Depleted Uranium: Scotland
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times depleted uranium shells have been test-fired in Scotland in 2009 at each test-firing location. [316751]
Mr. Quentin Davies: No depleted uranium shells were test-fired in Scotland in 2009. The last test firings took place on 11 and 12 March 2008, when a total of 20 rounds were fired at the Kirkcudbright Range in Scotland
Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many problems have been reported with the Brimstone missile system (a) in operational situations and (b) during testing since it entered service. [316510]
Mr. Quentin Davies: There have been no reported problems with the original Brimstone missile system since it entered service in 2005. A variant, known as Dual Mode Seeker (DMS) Brimstone, was developed as an Urgent Operational Requirement; it entered operational service in 2008. Since then, two problems have been reported and these are being addressed in consultation with the prime contractor. Neither prevents the DMS Brimstone missile system being used operationally.
Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft: Cost
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to date of development of the Brimstone missile system has been. [316511]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The cost of developing the original Brimstone Missile System was £370 million. Dual Mode Seeker (DMS) Brimstone was developed as a variant of the original Brimstone system. Development costs specifically for the DMS variant amounted to about £10 million.
RAF Lyneham: Weather
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many days RAF Lyneham was closed as a result of recent adverse weather conditions. [315787][Official Report, 22 February 2010, Vol. 506, c. 4MC.]
10 Feb 2010 : Column 971W
Bill Rammell: Between 1 and 17 January, RAF Lyneham closed only once on 6 January between 2.40 am and 3.12 pm, a total of 11 and a half hours. This was to enable the runway to be cleared of snow and ice. This limited period of closure was due to the fact that Lyneham has a short runway and clearance could be completed quickly.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the effect of meteorological differences between RAF Lyneham and RAF Brize Norton on their operational sustainability. [315788]
Bill Rammell: An assessment of weather factors at various RAF airfields during the period 2004-09 indicated that while neither station was closed for flying operations on a frequent or regular basis, RAF Lyneham was unavailable to aircraft, because of poor weather conditions, on marginally more occasions than RAF Brize Norton.
Careful consideration of all relevant factors was made in coming to the decision to base the Air Transport and Air-to-Air Refuelling Fleet at RAF Brize Norton.
The runway at RAF Lyneham is not long enough to facilitate all of the aircraft in the RAF’s Air Transport and Air-to-Air Refuelling Fleets. RAF Brize Norton is assessed to be fully capable of operationally sustaining the Air Transport and Air-to-Air Refuelling Fleets.
Scotland
Government Car and Despatch Agency
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department paid to the Government Car and Despatch Agency in each of the last five years; how much it has spent on such payments in 2009-10; and what proportion of such payments was made in respect of the Government Car Service. [316426]
Ann McKechin: The cost for Scotland Office ministerial cars are reported annually to Parliament by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport through written ministerial statements and are available in the Libraries of the House.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) empty and (b) occupied residential properties his Department owns; and what recent estimate he has made of the (i) potential annual rental and (ii) total book value of those (A) empty and (B) occupied residential properties. [313793]
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) currently owns three residential properties of which one is empty and two are occupied.
The empty residential property is currently for sale at a value of £180,000. There is no potential annual rental figure available for this property.
10 Feb 2010 : Column 972W
One occupied residential property has a fixed asset register value of £366,827. Annual rental figure for this property is £12,000 per annum.
The third residential property has a fixed asset register value of £288,260. There is no potential annual rental figure available for this property.
Potential rental value for the two occupied properties is kept under regular review.
Departmental Sick Leave
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last three years. [316457]
Paul Goggins: There were 118 employees in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) who have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last three years. The Northern Ireland Office robustly monitors and takes appropriate action in the management of all sickness absence.