Scottish Affairs CommitteeAdditional written evidence submitted by Philip Dunne MP, Minister For Defence Equipment, Support And Technology, Ministry of Defence
I regret to inform you that an error has been identified in the written briefing provided to the Scottish Affairs Committee on 22 June 2012, regarding the structure of the Armed Forces, following the evidence session held on 13 June 2012 with my predecessor as Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (Mr Peter Luff MP) and the then Minister for the Armed Forces (Sir Nick Harvey MP). The error concerns the number of personnel who work at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, and was in Annex C of the briefing material. The original text reads as follows:
As of June 2012, there are approximately 6,300 personnel working at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde, including the Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport. This consists of approximately: 3,350 service personnel; 1,300 MOD civilians; and 1,650 civilian contractors. This number includes all lodger units at the Naval Base, and excludes contractors and subcontractors who are not resident on site. It should be noted that the total number of personnel will fluctuate on a daily basis as staff are posted in and out of the Naval Base, and contractors’ taskings vary.
The correct information should be as follows (with corrections in bold text):
As of June 2012, there are approximately 6,700 personnel working at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde, including the Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport. This consists of approximately: 3,400 service personnel; 1,600 MOD civilians; and 1,700 civilian contractors. This number includes all lodger units at the Naval Base, and excludes contractors and subcontractors who are not resident on site. It should be noted that the total number of personnel will fluctuate on a daily basis as staff are posted in and out of the Naval Base, and contractors’ taskings vary.
I apologise for the error, and I hope you will understand that it was not the intention of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) or its Ministers to mislead the Committee in any way. The error was primarily a result of a misunderstanding when compiling the figures. In addition, it is now apparent that the precise figures had not been rounded consistently when the evidence was prepared. The error came to light when MOD officials were preparing an answer to written parliamentary questions to the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), answered on 30 November 2012, Official Report Col. 560W. This written answer now provides the latest manpower figures available for Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde. I have enclosed the written answer for your information.
I hope this rectifies the situation, and I look forward to appearing before your Committee on 19 December.
Enclosure 1: Extract from Official Report 30 Nov 2012: Column 560W
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what change there will be in the number of military or civilian personnel employed across the Royal Navy due to the transfer of hunter-killer submarines from HM Naval Base Devonport to HM Naval Base Clyde; [128976]
(2) what change there will be in the number of military and civilian personnel employed at HM Naval Base Devonport due to the transfer of hunter-killer submarines to HM Naval Base Clyde; [128977]
(3) how many of the jobs which will be moved to Faslane with the transfer of Astute and Trafalgar class submarines are for (a) service personnel and (b) civilian staff. [128978]
Mr Francois: The number of jobs at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde is forecast to increase from around 6,700 now to around 8,200 by 2022.
This change is primarily due to an increase of around 1,500 in the number of Royal Navy jobs at the site, of which around 630 will transfer from HMNB Devonport due to the move of the base-port for the Trafalgar Class submarines to HMNB Clyde. There are no plans to transfer any Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian jobs from HMNB Devonport.
It is not possible to determine the impact on civilian jobs at HMNB Devonport caused solely by the move of the base-port for the Trafalgar Class submarines. It is anticipated, however, that it will not lead to any significant changes in either HMNB Devonport civilian numbers, or in the total number of civilians employed by the MOD. It is also anticipated that it will not lead to an increase in the overall size of the Royal Navy.
The decision to base-port the entire Astute Class at HMNB Clyde was taken before any of the submarines in the class entered service. As a result, no transfers of jobs from HMNB Devonport are planned.
December 2012