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9 Jun 2010 : Column 177W—continued
| Army - Other Ranks | |||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| Army - Officers | |||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
Due to the way Army Officers are recruited, data are only available as a total and not by country.
Chiefs of Staff
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of travel by the (a) Chief of the General Staff and (b) Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in the last 12 months. [1044]
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of travel by the (a) Chief of the Air Staff and (b) First Sea Lord in the last 12 months. [1040]
Mr Robathan: I will write to the hon. Members with the information requested.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Government grant to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; and if he will make a statement. [1046]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to change the long-standing arrangement whereby the United Kingdom funds 78% of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission costs, which is proportionate to the number of war casualties the United Kingdom sustained during what are considered the war years. This year's United Kingdom funding is in excess of £42 million.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission have already outlined their requirements for their next three- year financial cycle, including a number of proposals for additional projects. These will be developed and considered in conjunction with the Commission and the contributing nations, with a view to reaching an agreed budget later this year.
We remain committed to ensuring that those who died during the two world wars, and the men and women who have died while serving in HM armed forces in subsequent years, continue to be commemorated with the same honour and dignity as hitherto and which they so richly deserve.
Defence
Mr Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the names are of those participating in the strategic defence review; and when he expects that review to be completed. [1092]
Dr Fox: Within the Ministry of Defence (MOD), a team of about 30 people, the final membership of which will be determined soon, is being established to coordinate the Defence contribution to the Strategic Defence Spending Review (SDSR). A wide range of personnel across the MOD and armed forces will participate in developing that contribution. The SDSR will run in parallel and underpin the spending review. These will report in a coordinated way towards the end of this year.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the (a) number of and (b) number of hours worked by officials of his Department of the proposal to hold a strategic defence review in every Parliament. [1153]
Dr Fox: This will be part of the Department's core work and is not separately identifiable.
Defence Support Group
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for future ownership arrangements of the Defence Support Group. [1390]
Peter Luff: Defence activity is being reviewed in the context of the Strategic Defence and Security Review and the Spending Review. It would be premature to speculate about the impact of these reviews on any aspect of defence activity, including the Defence Support Group, at this stage.
Departmental Billing
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of invoices from suppliers to his Department were paid within 10 days of receipt in (a) March and (b) April 2010. [1262]
Mr Robathan: Performance figures for March and April 2010, against the Government's agreed 10-day payment target, are shown in the following table:
| 2010 | Percentage of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt |
The figures provided represent invoices processed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Financial Management Shared Service Centre and the four MOD trading funds:
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Meteorological Office
Defence Support Group
UK Hydrographic Office.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) plasma and (b) LCD televisions there are in ministerial offices in his Department. [385]
Dr Fox: There are six plasma televisions in ministerial offices in the Ministry of Defence. This is the same as the number inherited from the previous Government.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalent staff at each civil service grade are employed in the private office of each Minister in his Department. [127]
Dr Fox: 18 full-time equivalent civil service staff are currently employed in the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) six ministerial offices. The following shows the breakdown of each MOD civil service grade employed in the private office of each Minister.
Secretary of State for Defence
SCS PB1
B1
B2
C1
D
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
B2
C1
D
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare a nd Veterans
B2
C2
D
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
B2
C1 x 2
D
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for International Security Strategy
C1
C2
D
The composition of the private offices of the Under-Secretary of State and Lords spokesman on defence is yet to be finalised. There are also two military officers at OF4 rank and one at OF5 in the Ministers' private offices.
Departmental Official Cars
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Government (a) cars and (b) drivers are allocated to Ministers in his Department. [290]
Dr Fox: None. I am driven and protected by the Metropolitan police. Junior Defence Ministers draw on the Ministry of Defence pool of drivers and cars as the Department has dispensed with the individual drivers allocated to Ministers in the previous Government.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the effect on his Department's expenditure on official cars for (a) civil servants and (b) service personnel in 2010-11 of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement on Government spending on 24 May 2010. [1165]
Mr Robathan: The Government are committed to saving at least 25% of the running costs of Defence. This includes reductions in the cost of official transport and business travel.
Total Defence expenditure in 2010-11, however, is not affected by the announcement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 24 May 2010, and any savings made are being recycled within Defence. This will apply to any expenditure that might be saved in respect to official cars.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when and in what form he plans to publish a list of all items of expenditure by his Department over £25,000. [270]
Dr Fox: The Prime Minister has written to Cabinet Ministers reiterating transparency commitments made in the coalition programme for government, and setting out a timetable for achieving them. In particular, all new items of central Government spending over £25,000 will be published online in an open format from November 2010.
France
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost to the public purse was of (a) accommodation and (b) travel of the Veterans Minister's visit to France on 29 and 30 May 2010; and what the cost to the public purse was in respect of officials of his Department of (i) accommodation, (ii) travel and (iii) wages; [1151]
(2) what the cost to the public purse was of (a) accommodation, (b) subsistence and (c) wages of drivers deployed in respect of the Minister for Veterans' visit to France on the weekend of 29 May 2010. [1152]
Mr Robathan: The net additional cost to the public purse for my attendance as Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans at the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of Dunkirk was approximately £810, using the most cost effective and efficient methods. This is broken down as follows:
| Cost | |||
| £ | |||
| Item | Minister | Officials | Total |
| (1 )Included in ferry and fuel costs (2) Indicates brace | |||
Low Flying
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of how many wind farm developments (a) in North Carmarthenshire and (b) nationally his Department has made an agreement with the developer providing that low-flying aircraft activity (i) may and (ii) may not take place in the vicinity of the development. [964]
Mr Robathan: Wind farm developers do not control the airspace within which their equipment is sited and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not have to approach them for authority to operate low-flying aircraft in the vicinity of the wind farms.
If a proposed development raises potential low-flying concerns, MOD will always do everything practical to work with the developers to find mutually acceptable solutions wherever possible. That said, military aircraft do not usually operate in close proximity to wind farms and will always maintain the appropriate minimum separation distance.
Since 2001 the Department has objected to 14 wind farm planning applications on the basis of low-flying concerns, none of which fall within North Carmarthenshire. It is not possible to identify from available records the number of cases where low-flying concerns have been overcome as a result of mitigation discussions.
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