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Baroness Morgan of Huyton
Lord Northbrook asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the appointment of Baroness Morgan of Huyton as a Minister provides an example of the Xdiscretionary right for the Prime Minister to appoint a small number of people . . . directly as Ministers in the Lords", referred to in paragraph 66 of the White Paper The House of Lords: Completing the Reform (Cm 5291), and which it is proposed the Prime Minister should retain.[HL1535]
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg): Yes.
Former Far East Prisoners:Compensation
Lord Wilson of Tillyorn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Why the criteria for being considered British under the offer of compensation made in November 2001 to those held prisoner by the Japanese in the Second World War were later restricted so far as civilian internees were concerned; and how restricted criteria can be justified which rule out many of those who were interned simply because they were holding British passports. [HL1440]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): The ex gratia payment scheme for former Far East prisoners, which was announced on 7 November last year, covers various British groups, including civilians who were interned by the Japanese. The eligibility criterion for civilian claimants under the scheme is that they were British subjects whom the Japanese interned and who were born in the United Kingdom or had a parent or grandparent born here. This criterion was clarified earlier this year, but there has been no change to the intended scope of the scheme. Holding a British passport, either then or now, was never a criterion for eligibility under the scheme.
Service Personnel: Separated Service
Lord Vivian asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When the Ministry of Defence will produce the statistics for the amount of separated service undertaken by each individual in the Armed Forces. [HL1475]
Lord Bach: Recording separated service for all service personnel is a key objective of the Armed Forces' personnel strategy, reflecting its importance in
our efforts to manage the effect of operational tempo on the family lives of our people. The provision of systems to capture this information from a widely dispersed and highly mobile population is a difficult task and there are competing demands for the technical resources required. We have made a substantial investment in the development of this capability, and its coverage will be extended to all parts of the services as soon as it is practicable.Since 1997, the RAF has provided a facility for its personnel to record periods of separation of three days or longer. The naval service commenced recording separation on a daily basis for the majority of its personnel in September this year. The Army conducted trials of a recording system in some of its units earlier this year and intends to implement a universal recording system as soon as the technical modifications to its personnel information systems can be made.
The frequency and duration of separation varies very widely between the armed services, and people joining their chosen service do so with appropriate expectations. While this information is of great importance to the services in managing their people, it is in no way a benchmark for comparison with any other type of employment or even for comparison within the services. We do not believe it would be helpful to produce aggregated statistics for the amount of separated service undertaken by each individual.
Although separated service can be a strain on service families, it should not be seen as a wholly negative factor. The prospect of overseas deployment is a very powerful attraction to potential recruits and the vast majority of service personnel relish the opportunity to put their skills to use on operations and exercises.
Affinitas
Lord Carlile of Berriew asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the role of the company Affinitas in providing careers advice to members of the Royal Navy; and what is the nature and cost to the Government of any commercial arrangement with Affinitas. [HL1516]
Lord Bach: Affinitas is a private company which offers careers advice on a commercial basis to individuals who are considering leaving the Royal Navy. Members of the Royal Navy may elect to use its services or those of any other supplier. The Government have no commercial arrangement with Affinitas.
Royal Navy: Stakeholder Pensions
Lord Carlile of Berriew asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What advice the Royal Navy arranges or makes available to its members under the age of 30 as to whether and how to determine the suitability of stakeholder pensions for their circumstances. [HL1517]
Lord Bach: In accordance with legislation, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has designated a provider of stakeholder pensions to the Armed Forces. This is Scottish Widows plc. Individuals may choose to invest in this or any other stakeholder pension scheme. Financial advice may only be given by those who are qualified under the terms of the Financial Services Act. Personnel, regardless of age, are therefore encouraged to seek independent financial advice before making decisions of this sort. Information on where to find such advisers is available in MoD and Scottish Widows' literature.
Bowman Tactical Radio System
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which companies are the main contractors for the supply of the Bowman tactical radio system to be operated by the United Kingdom Armed Forces; what contracts have so far been let for this equipment; and what is the value of these contracts. [HL1602]
Lord Bach: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave on 19 July 2001 (WA 153) to my noble friend Lord Howie of Troon. The prime contract for the supply and support of the Bowman tactical radio system was awarded to CDC, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, now trading as General Dynamics (UK) Ltd (GD(UK)Ltd).
The placing of subcontracts is a matter for GD(UK) Ltd. and this work is continuing.
The contract with GD(UK) Ltd. was placed on 13 September at a value of about £1.8 billion (VAT inclusive at outturn prices).
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will set up a public inquiry into the military and cost consequences of, and the procurement lessons to be learnt from, the failure to replace the Clansman family of radios and ancillaries as the main tactical radio and communications system operated by the United Kingdom Armed Forces with the Bowman system in 1995 as planned and the consequent nine-year delay in the in-service date of the Bowman system to 2004. [HL1603]
Lord Bach: No. The reasons for the delays to the Bowman system are well known and have been reported to Parliament on many occasions in response to questions and also as part of the Ministry of Defence's annual response to the major projects report. This report, produced by the National Audit Office on behalf of the Public Accounts Committee, has examined in detail the problems with Bowman several times. As a result the MoD has given evidence to the committee on Bowman.
As part of SMART acquisition, under which Bowman has been brought to a successful production contract placement, a learning from experience exercise is currently under way. Lessons learned from earlier phases have already been promulgated.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What action they propose to take to ensure that the United Kingdom Armed Forces have access to a secure tactical radio communications system during the three years before the Bowman system comes into service.[HL1604]
Lord Bach: The in-service Clansman family of radios can already provide secure tactical communications down to the battlegroup level. Where secure communications are required below that level, we use a system of manual encryption.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is expected to be the cost during the current financial year and in each of the next three years of supplying the United Kingdom Armed Forces with the Bowman tactical radio system.[HL1605]
Lord Bach: The cost during the current financial year of supplying the United Kingdom Armed Forces with the Bowman tactical radio system is expected to be £103 million.
The costs for the next three years are approximately:
| Year | Costs £ million |
| 2002–03 | 250 |
| 2003–04 | 300 |
| 2004–05 | 360 |
Note: all costs are VAT inclusive at outturn prices.
Lord Northbrook asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): Mr Gez Sagar is not an employee of Cardew & Co. He has been retained by the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) as an in-house press officer since 1997. I last met Mr Sagar on 31 December 2000 at the Millennium Dome, the last day of operation for the Millennium Experience. In my position of shareholder of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) I have discussed issues relating to the Millenium Experience with him on a number of occasions.
When the sole shareholder of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) last met Mr Gez Sagar of Cardew & Co; and whether he has discussed the Millennium Dome with him at any time.[HL1532]
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