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Defence Intelligence and Security Centre Agency: Key Targets 2003–04

Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:

What key targets have been set for the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre Agency for financial year 2003–04.[HL5366]

Lord Bach: DISC is the centre for Defence intelligence training in the UK. CE DISC is responsible for training authorised personnel in intelligence, security and information support disciplines and maintaining an operational capability. The key targets for the agency for the 12 months from April 2003 are:

Key Target 1—Training Quantity

To deliver, within the resources available, the quantity of training places agreed with Sponsors through the statement of training requirement (SOTR) process, and as endorsed by the customer executive board (CEB) and owner's advisory board (OAB).

Key Target 2—Training Quality

To set up a new process by which DISC can measure its training output in terms of quality.

Key Target 3—Efficiency

To reduce the current cost in real terms of delivering the average training place made available and to reduce the average cost of a man training day (MTD) successfully completed in financial year (FY) 2003–04.

Key Target 4—Operations

To satisfy the operational tasking of the defence de-briefing team (DDT) and the Field HUMINT Team (FHT).

Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency: Key Targets 2003–04

Baroness Hayman asked Her Majesty's Government:

What key targets have been set for the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency for financial year 2003–04.[HL5368]

Lord Bach: The role of the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency is to provide imagery intelligence and geographic support to defence policy, operations and training; to meet customer requirements for imagery intelligence and geographic support in accordance with defence priorities; to maintain and develop agency capabilities and readiness in line with future defence requirements; and to become progressively more efficient, whilst improving the quality and delivery of its products and services. The key targets for the agency for the 12 months from April 2003 are:

Key Target 1A—Operational IMINT Provision

To satisfy operational requirements for imagery intelligence within timescales and to standards

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agreed between the agency and its customers, by satisfying at least 95 per cent of requirements overall, whilst delivering not les than 98 per cent of priority one tasks.

Key Target 1B—Operational Geographic Support

To satisfy operational requirements for geographic support within timescales and to standards agreed between the agency and its customers, by satisfying 100 per cent of the geographic products and services essential to support current and potential operations, both from the agency's UK-based operation and its deployable units.

Key Target 2—Readiness

To achieve the required levels of operational readiness in line with defence planning assumptions, whilst continuing to satisfy those deployable element outputs required under Key Target 1, maintaining agreed status of readiness as set by PJHQ for all contingency forces.

Key Target 3A—Strategic and Contingency IMINT Provision

To satisfy strategic and contingency requirements for imagery intelligence within timescales and to standards agreed between the agency and its customers, by providing at least 57 per cent of the requirements as set out in the imagery exploitation programme (IEP), while delivering not less than 92 per cent of priority one tasks.

Key Target 3B—Strategic and Contingency Geographic Support

To satisfy strategic and contingency requirements for geographic support within timescales and to standards agreed between the agency and its customers, completing at least 90 per cent of a customer endorsed programme of work for geographic products and services.

Key Target 3T (Transitional)—Measurement of Geospatial Provision

To develop improved mechanisms for the measurement of geospatial provision which enable effective evaluation of output efficiency. Definition of output measurement mechanisms for geospatial provision which enable a baseline for output effiency to be quantified during FY 04–05.

Key Target 4—Improvement in Geographic Information Holdings

To demonstrate a further 1 per cent improvement in the coverage of geographic information holdings resulting in at least a cumulative 4 per cent improvement on the baseline established in 1999, and to ensure that the quality of the collection achieves the level of readiness agreed with customers. This will be demonstrated by Maintaining the MoD Map Library collection at the agreed level of readiness and achieving a further 1 per cent improvement in coverage of geographic information holdings.

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Key Target 5T (Transitional)—Output Efficiency

To define mechanisms for the measuring of output efficiency that encompass all key areas of agency business, which will enable a baseline for output efficiency to be quantified during FY 04-05.

Future Command and Liaison Vehicle

Baroness Gould of Potternewton asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made in awarding the contract for the Future Command and Liaison Vehicle.[HL5402]

Lord Bach: We are pleased to announce that the Ministry of Defence has today signed a contract worth £166 million (including VAT) with Alvis Vickers Ltd, for the manufacture of the Future Command and Liaison Vehicle (FCLV).

On 17 July we announced that the FCLV would be deployed with the RAF Regiment and that the contract value would be worth over £200 million. Ongoing work on armoured fighting vehicle rationalisation has led to a review of the initial requirement for vehicles. Consequently, we have revised the size of the initial procurement of FVLV whilst retaining the option to procure additional FCLV at a later date. The RAF Regiment will no longer receive vehicles from the initial fleet of FCLV and the contract value of the initial work has been revised.

The FCLV will perform the command and liaison role and replace the ageing and disparate vehicle fleet within the manoeuvre support brigades comprising elements of the 430 Series, Saxon, Land Rover and Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) fleets. From its planned in-service date of 2006, the FCLV will provide levels of crew protection and mobility commensurate with their roles in an increasingly extended ground manoeuvre area. It will offer protection against small arms, blast and anti-personnel mines. Those in the direct fire zone will contain a self-defence weapon (SDW) that can be operated under armour to provide suppressive fire and surveillance and target acquisition (STA) system will be provided to enhance situational awareness, reconnaissance, targeting and reporting. The vehicle has been selected to deliver the solution to the Armed Forces' requirement for enhanced speed, reliability, flexibility and protection for a wide range of users in combat or peacekeeping operations.

The award of this contract to Alvis Vickers Ltd is excellent news for both our Armed Forces and the defence industry. It will sustain approximately 35 highly skilled jobs at the Alvis Vickers Ltd facility at Telford, and a further 25 within other UK companies. This is the culmination of work conducted

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by both the MoD and industry, and is a good example of the principles of Smart Acquisition being put into practice. It is incumbent on the MoD and industry to work together to ensure that our Armed Forces have access to the right equipment, in the right quantities, at the right time and at the right price.

Older People: Social Research Projects

Lord Dholakia asked Her Majesty's Government:

What the Department for Work and Pensions is spending on research on older people; and whether the department has undertaken specific research on black and ethnic minority elderly people.[HL5230]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): The total spend by the department on current— that is, ongoing— social research projects on older people is £1.4 million. This includes research about issues related to those aged over 50.

In addition, the total amount to be spent on social research projects on older people that are agreed by Ministers and waiting to be commissioned is estimated to be £665,000.

The department has also committed a total of £975,000 between 2000–05 on the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a large scale survey of people aged 50 plus, funded jointly with other government departments.

In December, the department will be publishing findings from a research project called delivering services and benefits to black and minority ethnic older people. This is a large-scale qualitative study examining the barriers to take-up of benefits and service delivery preferences among older people from different black and minority ethnic groups. The department is developing a series of actions to be taken forward that builds on the findings from this research.

Employment Act 2002: Section 30

Lord Wedderburn of Charlton asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they expect to bring into force Section 30 of the Employment Act 2002; and whether they will publish the reasons for not already having done so.[HL4998]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): The Government are consulting on this point now and our conclusions will be published in the government response to consultation, once all views put to us have been considered.

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