Expenditure 2010-11 utilities, staff and official entertainment
£
 ResidenceUtilitiesHousehold staffEnts Expenditure

1

London

155,000

1,550

2

Portsmouth

1,777

130,561

5,313

3

Dartmouth

58,810

2,581

4

Northwood

154,637

3,233

5

Portsmouth

1,207

79,669

313

6

Devonport

109,466

3,986

7

Helensburgh

10,292

125,405

242

8

Kensington Palace

91,000

1,823

9

Camberley

10

Bulford

1 Sep 2014 : Column 91W

1 Sep 2014 : Column 92W

11

Edinburgh

17,871

97,987

887

12

London

140,035

13

High Wycombe

3,557

65,140

2,540

14

London

2,385

116,000

6,369

15

High Wycombe

3,119

50,014

376

16

Cranwell

7,450

124,104

5,098

17

London

46,000

629

18

London

114,000

34

19

Northwood

1,888

77,294

1,411

Armed Forces: Injuries

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many compensation pay outs of what value have been issued by his Department on the grounds of personnel sustaining injuries through training in each year since 2010; [206065]

(2) what the value of payouts has been in each year since 2010 to forces personnel and veterans on the grounds of physical injuries. [206070]

Anna Soubry: Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are not recorded in a manner that enables us to identify those for injuries received specifically in the course of training without incurring disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been brought forward under the (a) Armed Forces Pension Scheme and (b) War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010. [206074]

Anna Soubry: There were no claims brought forward under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in each year since 2010. The number of outstanding claims under the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010 is:

 Number

2010-11

3,695

2011-12

5,775

2012-13

9,210

2013-14

7,645

In line with Defence statistics rounding policy all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been submitted to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in each year since 2010. [206080]

Anna Soubry: The number of members whose pensions became payable in each year under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme since 2010 are:

 Number

2010-11

14,160

2011-12

15,330

2012-13

16,350

2013-14

16,715

In line with Defence statistics rounding policy all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average length of time taken to process settlements for the Armed Forces Pension Scheme has been in each year since 2010. [206083]

Anna Soubry: The key performance indicator for the Armed Forces Pensions Scheme is to make 99.3% of all service pension payments (including new awards) by the due date. This has been achieved in each year since 2010.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when designing the application process for the armed forces pension, what weight his Department gave to the ease of use of the system. [207036]

Anna Soubry: The Armed Forces Pension Scheme is an occupational pension scheme whereby the recipient has entitlement based on their reckonable service in HM Forces. Every effort is made to make the Armed Forces Pension Scheme application form (Pen1) as simple as possible while ensuring that all salient points are included, particularly for legal reasons.

There is an online version of the application form which pre-fills several boxes using data taken directly from the Service person’s record. Current statistics on its use against paper applications are below which demonstrates its success.

 January-June 2014
 ElectronicHard CopyTotal

January

1,352

242

1,594

February

1,174

193

1,367

March

1,131

256

1,387

April

1,081

148

1,229

May

1,166

167

1,333

June

1,493

200

1,693

Total

7,397

1,206

8,603

    

Average (percentage)

86

14

100

1 Sep 2014 : Column 93W

Billing

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years. [205969]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been able to distinguish between duplicate payments and other types of overpayment made to suppliers from financial year 2013-14. In that year, the total value of duplicate payments identified was £4.1 million, 100% of which has been recovered. Over the first quarter of 2014-15, we have identified duplicate payments to the value of £0.5 million of which 60% has so far been recovered. Prior to 2013-14 we were unable to distinguish duplicate supplier payments from other types of overpayments. However all overpayments have been recovered since 2010.

The MOD processes over 4 million invoices a year totalling some £26 billion. We review our bill payment processes and controls periodically to ensure that we achieve the required high standards of performance and governance and seek to recover overpayments made to suppliers as quickly as possible.

Buildings

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement. [206685]

Anna Soubry: The Department continues to make good progress on rationalising the defence estate. In financial year 2013-14 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) generated £123 million of receipts from sales of estate that was surplus to Defence requirements.

The MOD's target is to generate gross receipts of £1.9 billion through the disposal of property assets by financial year 2022-23.

Compensation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value is of compensation payouts issued by his Department on the grounds of (a) structural damage to private property and (b) loss of livestock in each year since 2010; and what the highest such payment in each case has been. [206066]

Anna Soubry: The amounts paid in the UK and abroad in regard to the two categories in question, including legal costs, were as follows:

£
Structural/Property damageAmount paidHighest payment

2010-11

185,000

125,000

2011-12

42,000

6,000

2012-13

122,000

7,000

2013-14

202,000

15,000

1 Sep 2014 : Column 94W

£
Loss of LivestockAmount paidHighest payment

2010-11

114,000

23,000

2011-12

443,000

23,000

2012-13

290,000

15,000

2013-14

521,000

15,000

These amounts do not include payments made by the Area Claims Office in Afghanistan, which are not recorded in a manner that can distinguish without incurring disproportionate cost between those claims relating to structural damage to private property and those relating to loss of livestock. The overall payments for damage to property, including legal costs, made over the periods in question in Afghanistan were as follows:

£
 Amount paidHighest payment

2010-11

1,200,000

143,000

2011-12

436,000

15,000

2012-13

677,000

9,000

2013-14

230,000

20,000

Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of (a) stationery and (b) postage incurred when sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [206144]

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) estimates a cost of 18.9p for each Ministerial reply based on stationery costs.

In 2013, MOD Ministers responded to 4,853 letters from hon. Members and Peers, the cost of which would have been just under £920.

As replies to parliamentarians are delivered by hand to Parliament, there is no cost incurred for postage.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to increase the number of replies within his Department's working day standard; and if he will make a statement. [206476]

Anna Soubry: The handling of correspondence is given the highest priority by the Ministry of Defence and we aim to respond to all correspondence within 20 working days.

Defence Equipment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since 2010 product recall notices have been issued for equipment being used by the armed forces. [206183]

Mr Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

EU Law

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility. [206653]

1 Sep 2014 : Column 95W

Mr Brazier: The UK has never been fined for an infraction for matters within the Ministry of Defence's responsibility.

European Fighter Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the E-Scan radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft (a) was originally expected to come into use and (b) is now expected to come into use. [206090]

Mr Dunne: The E-Scan Radar Development Programme for Typhoon is currently still within the Assessment Phase, prior to its main investment decision. Once this decision has been made an in-service date on UK aircraft will be determined.

Freedom of Information

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years. [204273]

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence engages the Treasury Solicitor to provide legal advice and advise counsel in cases that have been appealed to the Information Tribunal under the Freedom of Information Act.

Departmental spend for this work is detailed in the following table:

Financial yearTotal costs (£)Number of appeals

2013-14

48,849.06

6

2012-13

11,524.17

9

2011-12

108,825.94

12

2010-11

49,450.45

5

Figures for earlier years are not readily available. Figures provided are for the number of appeals for which MOD was billed in each financial year.

Guided Weapons

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the integration of the Storm Shadow missile on the Typhoon aircraft. [206989]

Mr Dunne: The NATO Eurofighter Tornado Management Agency has awarded a contract valued at approximately £120 million to Eurofighter GmbH for the integration of Storm Shadow onto Typhoon.

The full UK costs of the integration project are still being finalised but will be published in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report later in 2014.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the introduction of the (a) Heavy and (b) Light Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon Systems on AW159 Wildcat Helicopters; and if he will make a statement. [206994]

1 Sep 2014 : Column 96W

Mr Dunne: The Heavy and Light Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon systems will be introduced to Wildcat maritime helicopters with a planned in-service date of 2020.

HMS Illustrious

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans the Government have to preserve HMS Illustrious when she is withdrawn from service in December 2014; and if he will make a statement; [206370]

(2) if the Government will investigate the tourism potential of preserving HMS Illustrious. [206371]

Mr Dunne: HMS Illustrious, the last of three Invincible class aircraft carriers, will retire from the Royal Navy on 1 August 2014. As I informed the House on 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 1WS, in recognition of the service given by these ships in protecting the UK over the last 30 years, it is our preference to see HMS Illustrious preserved intact as a lasting tribute to the service personnel who served on all three of the carriers.

In October 2013 the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Authority launched a competition to seek innovative reuse bids to retain HMS Illustrious in the UK, with part or all of it developed for heritage purposes, which could include tourism. The competition is ongoing and therefore no final decisions have been made on the ship's future.

Kenya

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his objectives are in negotiations with the Kenyan government on a memorandum of understanding for continued use of the Nanyuki training facility. [205893]

Mr Francois: The current memorandum of understanding concerning UK and Kenyan military co-operation includes UK use of training facilities in Kenya. This covers all activities until April 2015, when a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) is due to be signed. Constructive dialogue on the MOU continues, and we anticipate a successful outcome which will reflect the positions and requirements of the Kenyan and UK Governments, and permit continued military training in Kenya.

Lockheed Martin

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what hospitality the Chief of Defence Materiel has received from Lockheed Martin in each year since 2010; [206330]

(2) what meetings have been held between the Chief of Defence Materiel and representatives from Lockheed Martin in each year since 2010; and what was discussed at each. [206331]

Mr Dunne: Details of all meetings between the Chief of Defence Materiel (CDM) and external organisations are published online as part of the Government’s Transparency Agenda. Information covering the period from October 2010 until the end of December 2013 is available at the following link:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/senior-staff-meetings-with-external-organisations-ministry-of-defence

1 Sep 2014 : Column 97W

Details of hospitality received by CDM is also published under Transparency and this can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-staff-hospitality-received

Information covering the period from January 2014 to date will be published in due course.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) senior officials in his Department have held with representatives of Lockheed Martin in each year since 2010; and what was discussed at each such meeting; [206335]

(2) what events were hosted by Lockheed Martin which (a) Ministers in and (b) senior officials of his Department attended in an official capacity in each year since 2010; and what was discussed at each. [206332]

Mr Dunne: Details of meetings that Ministers and Ministry of Defence (MOD) 4 Star senior officials hold with external organisations are published online as part of the Government’s Transparency Agenda. Selected 3

1 Sep 2014 : Column 98W

Star details are also published. Information covering the period from May 2010 until the end of December 2013 is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

Information relating to meetings from January 2014 to date will be published in due course.

Details of direct meetings between MOD 3 Star senior officials and Lockheed Martin (LM) since April 2010 are shown in the table. The list includes MOD 3 Star attendance at events hosted by LM, but does not include wider industry events, conferences or seminars at which LM may have been represented. It should be noted that this information is unlikely to be comprehensive as some details, particularly for earlier years, are no longer held. Information relating to senior officials below 3 Star level could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Representatives from LM also attend a number of senior level forums/working groups, including the Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF), DSF sub-groups covering Single Source Procurement Reform and exports, and Materiel Strategy industry briefings. These groups have all met regularly since 2011.

PositionDate of meetingTitle of meeting/events

MOD Chief Information Officer

29 July 2014

Overview of current activity and future plans

   

Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Capability)1,2.

March 2013

Visit programme

 

11/12 September 2013

Update on current/emerging projects at Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEI)

   

Director General Exports

24 January 2014

General catch-up

 

26 February 2014

Introduction call

 

04 June 2014

Military Flying Training System and Ascent

 

11 July 2014

Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) Gala Dinner (co-sponsored by LM and BAE Systems)

   

Director General Finance1.

10 December 2012

Routine catch-up with Chief Executive (CE) LM UK

 

26 March 2012

Routine catch-up with CE LM UK

 

4 April 2013

Routine catch-up with CE LM UK

 

3 July 2013

Routine catch-up with CE LM UK

 

22 October 2013

Routine catch-up with CE LM UK

   

Commander Force Development and Training

12 November 2012

VIP dinner hosted by LM

 

15 July 2014

Visit to LM Intelligence Centre

   

Deputy Commander Capability and Air Member for Personnel and Capability

19 September 2011

Office call

 

14 November 2011

Office call

 

12 April 2012

Office call

 

23 April 2012

Update meeting

 

24 September 2012

Meeting regarding Lightning II and Military Flying Training System

 

4 October 2012

LM Technology Conference

 

31 January 2013

Joint Strike Fighter Programme

 

23 July 2013

Guild of Aviation Artists Cocktail Party hosted by LM

 

7 August 2013

Dinner. Six-monthly update

 

20 August 2013

Visit to LM, Virginia, USA. F35 Lightning II/C130 Hercules

 

17 December 2013

Office call

 

15 January 2014

Meeting regarding Military Flying Training System

 

3 February 2014

Update meeting

1 Sep 2014 : Column 99W

1 Sep 2014 : Column 100W

 

16 July 2014

Visit to VIP Chalet at Farnborough Airshow

   

Deputy Commander Operations and Air Member for Operations

12 September 2013

Visit to LM stand at DSEI

 

19 February 2014

Office call

   

Surgeon General

11 July 2014

RIAT Gala Dinner (co-sponsored by LM and BAE Systems)

   

Chief of Defence Intelligence

23 July 2010

Invite to Farnborough

 

4 October 2012

Lockheed Martin UK conference

 

3 April 2014

DI50 dinner. Lockheed Martin was one of four sponsors for the dinner

   

DE&S Chief of Materiel Land1,3

09 May 2012

Board to Board dinner

 

19 June 2012

Working dinner prior to DVD 2012

 

11 November 2012

Routine Meeting

 

11 July 2013

Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) update

 

11 September 2013

WCSP and Joint Asset Management Engineering Solution (JAMES) update

 

11 September 2013

Drinks reception during DSEI 2013

 

06 December 2013

SCOUT Specialist Vehicle update

 

18 December 2013

WCSP Meeting

 

08 January 2014

WCSP Meeting

   

DE&S Chief of Materiel Fleet1

12 June 2012

General discussion

 

31 October 2012

General discussion

 

29 January 2014

General discussion

   

DE&S Chief of Materiel Air1

7 July 2011

Future Brize discussions

 

25 August 2011

Sustainment wargames

 

10 October 2011

Working dinner with LM Business Development Director

 

8 December 2011

Joint Combat Aircraft Safety Case

 

17 January 2013

Supporting Min (DEST) at introductory call

 

11 February 2013

Discussions on C130 and F-35

 

23 February 2014

F-35 program

 

24 February 2014

F-35 sustainment

 

27 May 2014

F-35

 

11 July 2014

Discussion on F-35 at RIAT

 

15 July 2014

Discussion on F-35 and C130 at Farnborough Airshow

   

DE&S Chief of Materiel Joint Enablers1

14 April 2010

Dinner

 

26 April 2010

General catch-up

 

11 May 2010

Dinner

 

19 May 2010

Dinner

 

25 May 2010

Dinner

 

4 June 2010

Working lunch

 

29 March 2011

Reception

 

13 April 2011

US visit

 

20 July 2011

Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) Review

 

8 September 2011

General catch-up

 

15 September 2011

DSEI chalet visit

 

22 September 2011

General catch-up

 

24 October 2011

LEAPP Review

 

7 December 2011

LEAPP Review

 

24 January 2012

LEAPP Review

 

22 March 2012

LEAPP Review

 

11 April 2012

Visit LM Cyber Division

1 Sep 2014 : Column 101W

1 Sep 2014 : Column 102W

 

31 May 2012

General catch-up

 

15 August 2012

LEAPP Review

 

18 October 2012

General catch-up

 

20 November 2012

LEAPP Review

 

4 April 2013

LEAPP Review

 

10 July 2013

LEAPP Review

 

20 July 2013

RIAT chalet visit

 

28 August 2013

LEAPP Review

 

12 September 2013

DSEI chalet visit

 

27 January 2014

General catch-up

 

27 March 2014

LEAPP Review

 

4 April 2014

General catch-up

 

3 June 2014

LEAPP Review

 

12 July 2014

RIAT chalet visit

   

Chief Scientific Adviser1.

14 December 2010

Meeting with Serco and Chief Operating Officer, LM

 

14 April 2011

Office call with LM Non-Executive Director

 

c. 29 October 2013

Office call with LM Space Systems

 

30 January 2014

Office call with LM Space Systems

   

Director General Military Aviation Authority

30 August 2011

Working dinner

 

13 September 2011

Visit to LM stand at DSEI

 

5 January 2012

Routine discussion

 

7 February 2012

ADS dinner at LM table

 

11 June 2012

Routine discussion

 

12 September 2012

Routine discussion

 

8 November 2012

Routine discussion

 

21 January 2013

Routine discussion

 

3 July 2013

Routine discussion

 

20 January 2014

Routine discussion

 

4 August 2014

Routine discussion

   

Defence Senior Advisor to the Middle East

3 July 2012

Meeting with KBR (LM part of consortium) regarding Libyan Border Project

 

25 September 2012

Middle East activities

 

10 October 2012

Call at LM offices

 

8 February 2013

Middle East activities

 

12 July 2013

Middle East activities

 

1 October 2013

Middle East activities

 

10 February 2014

Lunch meeting. Middle East activities.

1 Limited information about meetings with external organisations published online under the Transparency Agenda 2 Information prior to August 2011 not held. 3 Information prior to May 2012 not held.
1 Limited information about meetings with external organisations published online under the Transparency Agenda 2 Information prior to August 2011 not held. 3 Information prior to May 2012 not held.

Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much will it cost his Department to keep Sentinel aircraft in service in each year until 2018 [206089]

Mr Dunne: The cost to keep Sentinel aircraft in service in each year until 2018 is shown in the table:

Financial Year£ million

2015-16

63.541

2016-17

54.644

2017-18

45.054

2018-19

35.158

Total

198.398

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when it was decided that his Department would maintain the use of the Sentinel aircraft until 2018; and what the reasons were for this decision. [206091]

1 Sep 2014 : Column 103W

Mr Dunne: The decision to extend the Sentinel long-range airborne surveillance aircraft until 2018 was made in the Department’s most recent financial planning cycle. The decision was taken to preserve a capability to conduct wide area surveillance of operational environments in the short term, and to allow the longer-term requirement to be considered during the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the new contract to extend the life of the Sentinel aircraft until 2018 will be signed. [206329]

Mr Dunne: The Sentinel aircraft fleet is supported by a number of logistic support contracts, each of which has a different expiry date. Defence Equipment and Support is currently working to extend all contracts before their respective expiry dates.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of expanding the capabilities of the Sentinel R.1. [206985]

Mr Dunne: Enhancements to the Sentinel R1 aircraft are currently the subject of commercial negotiations. I am therefore withholding details of the potential costs, as the disclosure of this information would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communication (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Boeing Company regarding the lease of four P-8A aircraft. [206988]

Mr Dunne: I am withholding the information requested, as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the formulation or development of Government policy.

Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid in compensation as a result of contractual disputes with suppliers in each year since 2010. [206068]

Mr Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

RAF Northolt

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what grounds he has concluded that the use of RAF Northolt for commercial flights does not constitute state aid; and if he will make a statement. [206188]

1 Sep 2014 : Column 104W

Mr Dunne: The fees charged at RAF Northolt are in excess of the amount required by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to cover its costs in the provision of commercial services and are calculated to be at market rate. The MOD is therefore obtaining market value for the commercial services that it provides and so it does not constitute state aid.

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) attendance by RAF Northolt personnel and (b) related marketing materials at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition on 20 to 22 May 2014; and if he will make a statement. [206197]

Mr Dunne: The cost to the public purse for attendance and related marketing material was around £5,500.

Road Accidents

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid in compensation to victims of road traffic accidents in each year since 2010. [206069]

Anna Soubry: Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence (MOD) specifically by victims of road traffic accidents are not recorded in a manner that enables us to identify them without incurring disproportionate cost. The amounts paid as a result of claims brought by third parties against the MOD arising out of road traffic accidents, including legal costs, since 2010 were as follows:

 Amount paid (£ million)

2010-11

6

2011-12

5

2012-13

4

2013-14

3

Service Personnel

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many service personnel of each rank there were in the Royal Air Force in each year since 2010; [206086]

(2) how many service personnel of each rank there were in the Army in each year since 2010; [206087]

(3) how many service personnel of each rank there were in the Royal Navy in each year since 2010. [206088]

Anna Soubry: The information requested is provided in the following tables:

UK Regular Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel, by rank as at 1 April each year
 20102011201220132014

Total

38,730

37,660

35,540

33,960

33,330

      

Officers

7,460

7,410

7,190

6,940

6,800

Admiral (RN)/General (RM)

2

2

2

2

1

Vice Admiral (RN)/Lt General (RM)

9

7

8

9

8

Rear Admiral (RN)/Major General (RM)

29

33

31

30

29

Commodore (RN)/Brigadier (RM)

80

80

80

80

80

1 Sep 2014 : Column 105W

1 Sep 2014 : Column 106W

Captain (RN)/Colonel (RM)

290

300

300

280

260

Commander (RN)/Lt Colonel (RM)

1,140

1,130

1,060

1,020

1,030

Lt Commander (RN)/Major (RM)

2,260

2,210

2,100

2,040

2,000

Lieutenant (RN) or Captain (RM)

2,890

2,860

2,870

2,770

2,670

Sub-Lt/Midshipman (RN) or Lieutenant/2nd Lieutenant (RM)

750

800

740

710

720

      

Other Ranks

31,270

30,240

28,350

27,020

26,530

Warrant Officer 1

770

740

690

640

660

Warrant Officer 2

790

800

770

730

670

Chief Petty Officer (RN) / Colour Sergeant (RM)

3,940

3,800

3,530

3,300

3,090

Petty Officer (RN) / Sergeant (RM)

4,600

4,460

4,200

3,880

3,650

Leading Rate (RN) / Corporal (RM)

6,220

6,270

6,020

5,750

5,650

Lance Corporal (RM)

570

530

610

590

660

Able Rate (RN)

14,380

13,640

12,560

12,120

12,140

UK Regular Army personnel, by rank as at 1 April each year
 20102011201220132014

Total

108,920

106,240

104,250

99,730

91,070

      

Officers

14,640

14,760

14,480

13,890

13,200

General

5

6

5

5

5

Lt General

14

9

9

10

11

Major General

40

43

42

44

39

Brigadier

180

170

170

150

160

Colonel

600

580

530

530

520

Lt Colonel

1,770

1,780

1,760

1,690

1,670

Major

4,700

4,700

4,520

4,340

4,150

Captain

4 940

5 040

5 030

4 770

4 490

Lieutenant/2nd Lieutenant/Officer Cadet

2,390

2,440

2,410

2,340

2,160

      

Other Ranks

94,280

91,480

89,780

85,840

77,860

Warrant Officer 1

1,700

1,620

1,490

1,390

1,340

Warrant Officer 2

4,790

4,500

4,320

3,990

3,730

Staff Sergeant

6,030

5,950

5,790

5,700

5,280

Sergeant

10,170

10,090

9,760

9,270

8,230

Corporal

15,450

15,330

14,990

14,420

13,520

Lance Corporal

15,960

16,200

16,050

15,190

14,030

Private

40,180

37,800

37,380

35,880

31,730

UK Regular RAF personnel, by rank as at 1 April each year
 20102011201220132014

Total

44,050

42,460

40,000

37,030

35,230

      

Officers

9,820

9,660

9,030

8,230

7,850

Air Chief Marshal

3

3

3

2

2

Air Marshal

8

8

8

9

8

Air Vice-Marshal

26

26

28

23

27

Air Commodore

90

90

80

80

80

Group Captain

330

330

310

300

300

Wing Commander

1,210

1,180

1,100

1,040

1,020

Squadron Leader

2,570

2,540

2,430

2,260

2,200

Flight Lieutenant

4,080

4,180

4,130

3,890

3,560

Flying Officer/Pilot Officer/Acting Pilot Officer

1,510

1,300

940

630

650

      

Other Ranks

34,230

32,810

30,970

28,790

27,380

Master Aircrew

1 200

1 130

1 060

980

970

Warrant Officer

*

*

*

*

*

Flight Sergeant/Chief Technician

3,200

3,130

2,910

2,720

2,540

Sergeant

6,310

6,140

5,760

5,500

5,210

Corporal

8,440

8,250

7,880

7,370

7,000

Lance Corporal

*

150

210

220

200

Senior Aircraftman/woman/Leading Aircraftman/woman/Aircraftman/woman

15,080

14,020

13,150

12,010

11,470

Notes: 1. UK Regular Forces includes trained and untrained personnel and excludes Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve personnel, and mobilised reservists. 2. When rounding, totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. "*" denotes not applicable. Source: All data provided by Defence Statistics

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) compulsory and (b) voluntary redundancies have been issued to employees of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each year since 2010. [206075]

Anna Soubry: The total number of compulsory and voluntary redundancies that have been issued to employees of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each year since 2010 is set out in the table.

 Number1 of redundancies from SPVA
 CompulsoryVoluntaryTotal

2010

*

9

12

2011

-

-

0

2012

*

-

*

2013

*

-

*

2014

-

-

0

Total

8

9

17

1 In line with departmental policy * Represents 5 or fewer

Social Networking

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Twitter accounts are run by his Department; how much his Department spends annually on (a) Twitter accounts and (b) all social media; and how many people in his Department are employed to work on social media. [206050]

1 Sep 2014 : Column 107W

Anna Soubry: A Twitter account run by the Department is a Twitter account that has been registered either by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) or one of the single services (either corporate or sponsored accounts). The MOD currently runs 109 Twitter accounts.

Spending on Twitter accounts includes money paid to Twitter in financial year (FY) 2013-14. See table.

1 Sep 2014 : Column 108W

Spending on all social media includes money paid to other social media channels directly during FY 2013-14. The MOD spent £87,206 on Twitter in FY 2013-14 and £767,981.89 on all social media. See table.

£
DepartmentTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTubeFlickrBlogsOtherTotal

MOD

14.61

148.78

Royal Navy

175,000

1223,000

137,000

1204,000

235.53

British Army

3 12,206

4 105,737.48

40

459

Royal Air Force

530,200

535,000

Dstl

40,000

UK Hydrographic Office

6 5,140.49

1 Recruitment. 2 Covers two years. 3 @armyjobs 4 Army Jobs. 5 Careers. 6 Figures not split by channel.

Submarines

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medical downgrades there have been in the Submarine Service since the removal of retention and recruitment pay, in each month for which figures are available. [207018]

Anna Soubry: Recruitment and retention payments for the Submarine Service have not been removed.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the new common jamming pod for the Tornado aircraft; and when the requirement for that pod was first identified. [206987]

Mr Dunne: A requirement for a new common jamming pod was first identified in 2012. The total approved value of the project is £50.9 million.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the press release from the Prime Minister's Office of 14 July 2014, entitled PM announces £1.1 billion investment in capabilities for the armed forces, how much he plans to invest in unmanned future combat air systems. [206101]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence is investing over £100 million in future combat air systems as part of the £1.1 billion investment in capabilities for the armed forces.

Veterans UK

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints Veterans UK has received since its creation; and whether those complaints have been categorised. [207034]

Anna Soubry: Veterans UK was formed on 1 April 2014 as part of the merger of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency into Defence Business Services.

Veterans UK has received a total of 122 complaints since April 2014. These are broken down into 25 Armed Forces Pension Scheme, and 97 War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme complaints.

Veterans: Advisory Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to lay before the House a Statutory Instrument to reflect the establishment of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees; and if he will make statement. [205921]

Anna Soubry: It is our intention to change legislation to reflect the establishment of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees. The Armed Forces Bill 2015 represents the most likely opportunity to make the change through primary legislation.

War Pensions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been submitted to the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010. [206081]

Anna Soubry: The total number of claims submitted under the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010 are:

 Number

2010-11

24,345

2011-12

22,520

2012-13

21,865

2013-14

21,460

In line with Defence statistics rounding policy all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

1 Sep 2014 : Column 109W

Energy and Climate Change

Buildings

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement. [206687]

Amber Rudd: The Department of Energy and Climate Change currently occupies four buildings in London and one in Aberdeen. DECC’s current occupation is in line with the Cabinet Office directives of fewer desks than staff (Full-Time Equivalent—FTE) and within 8-10m2 per FTE (by December 2015).

The lease in Aberdeen is due to expire in May 2016 and alternative accommodation will be sought with value for money as one of the key objectives.

London accommodation is being reviewed with a view to reducing the existing four buildings to two in 2015, and therefore reducing the overall cost of the estate. In order to achieve this, alterations will be required to the two remaining buildings. These changes will be in line with the Cabinet Office directives listed above as well as the Civil Service Reform Plan.

Energy: Consumption

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the energy savings opportunity scheme proposed in his consultation document of July 2013, what estimate he made at the time of publication of that document of the maximum potential value of savings to the UK economy arising from that scheme by 2020; and what his current estimate is of such savings. [206766]

Amber Rudd: At the time of publication of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) consultation document, the Government estimated that ESOS would have a net present value ranging from £900 million to £3 billion, with a central estimate of £1.9 billion, measured over the period 2015 to 2030. The Final Stage Impact Assessment, published alongside the Government’s Response to the ESOS Consultation, took account of new evidence which led to it revising down the estimated net present value, to between £600 million and £2.7 billion, with a central estimate of £1.6 billion. The reasons for this change are set out on pages 17-19 of the Final Stage Impact Assessment, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323116/ESOS_Impact_Assessment_FINAL.pdf

Energy: Meters

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of whether the accessibility online of energy usage and efficiency data means that in-home energy displays are no longer needed. [206721]

Amber Rudd: The Government recognise that online sources of energy usage information can be useful but does not believe that these can substitute for in-home displays in delivering the benefits of smart meters.

1 Sep 2014 : Column 110W

In home displays allow consumers and their family members to see immediately their current and historic energy use and its cost in near-real time and do not rely on consumers having internet access or smart phones. Current evidence shows higher energy savings from those with a smart meter and IHD compared to those with a smart meter only.

Energy suppliers are free to offer additional means for their customers to engage with their energy usage, which may be available online and offer different forms of analysis to the IHD. We expect that some consumers will want different information but believe that all should have the information provided by IHDs readily available.

We will continue to monitor the evidence in this area and emerging technical developments to ensure that our policy remains appropriate.

EU Law

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility. [206655]

Amber Rudd: The Government have not lost any EU infraction proceedings brought against the UK since 2010 relating to matters falling within the Department's responsibility.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the Green Deal Scheme, whether the £450 million of financial support for domestic installation of energy efficiency measures announced in the Autumn Statement in December 2013 is in addition to (a) the £125 million allocated to the Green Deal Cashback Scheme announced in January 2013 and (b) the £200 million allocated to the Green Deal Programme in November 2011. [205957]

Amber Rudd: The funds announced in the autumn statement in December 2013 are additional to the others mentioned, and cover difficult financial periods.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the Green Deal Scheme, if he will make it his policy that no household receives more in money back under the Green Deal Home Improvements Fund than the cost of the installation of the energy efficiency measures. [205958]

Amber Rudd: The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund rules state that households are not able to receive more money back than the cost of the installation of the energy efficiency measures.

The full rules are set out in the Customer Terms and Conditions which are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/get-money-back-from-the-green-deal-home-improvement-fund

1 Sep 2014 : Column 111W

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 536W, on the Green Deal Scheme, how much of the £200 million announced in November 2011 has (a) been spent, (b) been allocated for expenditure and (c) not yet been allocated for expenditure. [205959]

Amber Rudd: Of the £200 million announced in November 2011, as of the end of March 2014, £142.98 million had been spent by DECC.

The figure given for spend in 2013-14 includes the recently launched Green Deal Communities programme —an £88 million fund to support 24 local authority consortia (covering c100 local authorities in total) to deliver Green Deal street by street. In addition, as part of the autumn statement, the Government announced that £450 million will be made available to support household energy efficiency incentives over the next three years.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 305W, on housing energy, what programmes, projects and policies were funded under the financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14. [205960]

Amber Rudd: Financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme has chiefly funded the following projects and policies:

Delivery of these schemes was, or is, funded by the obligated energy companies, not Government, and administration is undertaken by Ofgem. Ofgem is funded by DECC for the administration of CESP and ECO.

Delivery of the Energy Saving Advice Service-a telephone response service taking calls from the public and the industry, providing advice to people enquiring about information on the Green Deal or household energy efficiency measures. This service remains in operation.

Funding for the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body-the independent governance body for the Green Deal supply chain. This remains in operation.

DECC’s investment in The Green Deal Finance Company.

Core Cities—a project to enable bids from Local Authorities of the Core Cities to install energy-saving measures in their housing stock, mostly in 2012/13. This has been completed.

Green Deal Cashback—a scheme to provide grant funding to support households in the installation of energy-saving measures. The scheme opened in January 2013 and closed to new applicants on 30 June 2014.

Green Deal Communities—a scheme to provide funding for Local Authorities to implement energy-saving measures in their housing stock. Funding was available in 2013/14.

Supporting IT development and systems-the procurement, supervision and control of IT systems to enable Energy Performance Certificates, Green Deal Assessments and Green Deal financing to be delivered to applicants.

Funding the administration by Ofgem of:

Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP)-closed.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO)-open.

1 Sep 2014 : Column 112W

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 305W, on housing: energy, how much of the financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 was spent in each year. [205961]

Amber Rudd: As of the end of March 2014, £186.7 million had been spent by DECC; £9.3 million in 2011-12, £62.6 million in 2012-13 and £114.8 million in 2013-14. There was also a small amount of Green Deal policy development prior to April 2011.

In addition to implementing the core Green Deal framework, the figure given for total spend includes for instance that for the recently launched Green Deal Communities programme—an £88 million fund to support 24 local authority consortia (covering c100 local authorities in total) to deliver Green Deal on a street by street basis. It also comprises other schemes relating to wider energy efficiency work including the Energy Technologies List (ETL), Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), Home Energy Efficiency Database (HEED).

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the Green Deal Scheme, (1) how many households have received money from the Green Deal Home Improvements Fund to date; [205962]

(2) what the average amount paid has been to households under the Green Deal Home Improvements Fund to date. [205963]

Amber Rudd: As at 14 July 2014, 6,607 vouchers have been issued under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund with a maximum potential value of £36,484,100.

Data on numbers of vouchers issued is currently published weekly on the Gov.Uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-savings-advice-service-esas-calls-and-green-deal-webpage-views

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding from the Green Deal has (a) Tivium Limited, (b) Green Deal Marketing Services Limited, (c) Tivium Green Deal Installers Limited and (d) Nationwide Green Deal Installers Limited received; and whether the actions of the directors of each company are under investigation. [206961]

Amber Rudd: The Green Deal does not offer funding to companies participating in the scheme.

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that Green Deal companies employed by the Government are not making nuisance calls under the contract. [206980]

Amber Rudd: The Government do not employ Green Deal companies.

Housing: Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the green deal scheme, what estimate his Department has

1 Sep 2014 : Column 113W

made of the average cost of energy efficiency improvements for households that have received money back under the green deal home improvements fund. [206000]

Amber Rudd: As at 14 July 2014, 6,607 vouchers have been issued under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund with a maximum potential value of £36,484,100.

Data on numbers of vouchers issued is currently published weekly on the gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-savings-advice-service-esas-calls-and-green-deal-webpage-views

Renewables Obligation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the annual saving to the Levy Control Framework budget from closure of the Renewables Obligation to large-scale solar from April 2015; what that saving is as a proportion of that budget in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020; and if he will make a statement. [205849]

Amber Rudd: In its consultation issued on 13 May 2014, DECC has proposed closing the Renewables Obligation (RO) to new solar PV capacity above 5MW from 31 March 2015. We consider this to be necessary because large-scale solar PV is deploying more rapidly than expected. This poses a substantial risk to our ability to manage the levy control framework budget, and therefore our ability to minimise costs of renewables deployment for consumers.

The impact assessment published alongside the consultation set out the projected impact of proposed intervention on deployment and spend. Option 1 below assumes no action; option 2 is the proposed intervention:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv

Solar Power

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the additional solar PV expected to be deployed to 2020-21 as a result of the measures proposed in the latest feed-in tariff consultation. [205721]

Amber Rudd: We have used scenario-based analysis to illustrate a range of potential outcomes under each policy. For the changes to the FITs degression mechanism to support midscale building-mounted solar, the scenarios for deployment in 2020-21 are set out in Table 5 here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310432/2014-05-13_-_FITs_solar_consultation_IA_-_FOR_PUBLICATION.pdf

For increasing the maximum capacity ceiling to 10 MW for community projects, the range of deployment under the scenarios is set out in Table 3 here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310416/impact_assessment.pdf

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of whether support levels for accredited solar PV plants will be maintained for the 20 year

1 Sep 2014 : Column 114W

duration specified in the Renewables Obligation order; and what the Government’s policy is on

(a)

Renewables Obligation scheme and

(b)

solar PV. [205820]

Amber Rudd: The Government have no plans to change the 20-year duration of support under the renewables obligation (RO) for accredited solar PV stations. DECC has recently consulted on proposals to control the deployment of new solar PV capacity above 5 MW under the RO. A copy of the consultation document is available on DECC’s web page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv

With regard to our policy on the RO scheme, DECC has laid draft regulations before Parliament which will bring about the closure of the RO to new capacity on 31 March 2017 as planned, subject to parliamentary approval. The Government have proposed closing the RO to new solar capacity above 5 MW two years earlier, from 31 March 2015. We consider this to be necessary because large-scale solar PV is deploying more rapidly than expected. This poses a substantial risk to our ability to manage the levy control framework budget, and therefore our ability to minimise costs of renewables deployment for consumers. The consultation closed on 7 July and consultation responses are being considered. We will publish a Government Response setting out our decision as soon as possible.

The UK has seen a remarkable transformation in solar PV deployment under the coalition Government: solar capacity stood at 3.5 GW at the end of the first quarter of 2014, increasing its share to 17% of all renewables capacity. The Government remain committed to solar PV, and the measures that we set out in our UK Solar PV Strategy will ensure that solar PV continues to be a vital part of the UK’s renewable energy mix for many years to come. A copy of the Strategy is available on DECC’s web page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-solar-pv-strategy-part-1-roadmap-to-a-brighter-future