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Lord Crickhowell asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the views expressed by the Lord Morris of Aberavon, the Viscount Tenby and the Lord Crickhowell to the Secretary of State for Defence about the battalion titles of the Welsh Regiments, the maintenance of their heritage and the location of
Lord Bach: A record of the exchange of views with my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence referred to by the noble Lord that took place on 6 December 2004 was conveyed to the Chief of the General Staff's office the following day. I understand that he himself read it on 8 December.
In formulating advice to the Secretary of State on the future structure of the infantry, the Executive Committee of the Army Board (ECAB)chaired by the Chief of the General Staffinitiated an exhaustive consultation process within the infantry and took very careful account of the views of each division of infantry, as expressed by its colonel commandant, on how the restructuring should be implemented. ECAB had in mind at all times the importance of maintaining so far as possible historic linkages and traditions.
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
In relation to the recently renegotiated contract for the purchase of two Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships from Swan Hunter:
(a) what were the total prices in the original and renegotiated contracts;
(b) what were the original and renegotiated stage payments;
(c) to what extent have cost over-runs been the fault of the Ministry of Defence; and
(d) to what extent the contract renegotiations were influenced by the financial position of Swan Hunter. [HL1085]
Lord Bach: The original contract with Swan Hunter for design and build of two LSD(A)s was valued at £148 million. This has since been increased to £232 million, with a further £3 million added to cover enhancements that have included aspects to ensure the vessels comply with the latest statutory safety requirements.
Contractual stage payments agreed by the Ministry of Defence and the contractor are commercially sensitive and I am withholding this information under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
None of the cost over-runs covered by the recent contract amendment is attributable to fault by the MoD.
The contract amendment negotiations were conducted solely to ensure the best value for money for the taxpayer was achieved in the delivery of this important new capability.
8 Feb 2005 : Column WA107
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
will be required as a result of the communities plan and the expansion of settlements as identified in the document. [HL923]
The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker): The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's policy for sustainable communities as set out in the communities plan, and more recently in our five year strategy Homes for All, is to concentrate additional housing growth in identified growth areas. We are working with other government departments, including the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills, to ensure that growth of communities is accompanied by the necessary infrastructure. Provision has been made across government to ensure that communities undergoing rapid population growth receive adequate funding. This includes £20 million per annum from 200405 to 200506 for primary care trusts in the growth areas and a new safety valve mechanism for education funding.
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether United Kingdom local authorities (other than parishes), who wish to conduct consultative referendums among their electorate, can use the full electoral register. [HL931]
Lord Rooker: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been advised that the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 prevent local authorities using the full electoral register for the purpose of conducting a local referendum. However, while local authorities have the right to decide who is polled, we recognise the importance of local authorities being able to conduct such referendums on a full franchise, and we are considering how to achieve this while maintaining security of information on the full electoral register.
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will encourage the 162 multinational companies based in the United Kingdom which have not established works councils or similar machinery for informing and
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): The figure the noble Lord is referring to relates to European works councils. It does not mean that there is no other form of employee representation in the companies concerned. Moreover, new legislation implementing the EU directive on Information and Consultation will come into force on 6 April. This will give employees important new rights to be informed and consulted about significant developments in their workplace.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the total cost of the Rural Payments Agency for each of the past three years; and what is the budget for the cost of the agency over each of the next three years. [HL693]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): The Rural Payments Agency's (RPA) gross expenditure, which mainly relates to the common agricultural policy (CAP) scheme payments, is as shown in the table below:
200102 £ billion | 200203 £ billion | 200304 £ billion | 200405 £ billion | 200506 £ billion | 200607 £ billion | |
Gross expenditure | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
RPA is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and was formed on 16 October 2001 as the paying agency responsible for administering CAP schemes in England and certain other schemes throughout the UK.
The detail supporting financial year 200102, 200203 and 200304 can be found in RPA's accounts under House of Commons publication numbers HC 1197, HC 940 and HC 1009 respectively.
Figures for future years reflect the position shown in the 2004 Pre-Budget Report (CM 6408) published on 2 December 2004, particularly the annually managed expenditure reflected in table 16 of the report.
Lord Fearn asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which areas of England have introduced sea defences to their coastlines in the past 10 years. [HL816]
Lord Whitty: Defra has overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk in England. The department funds most of the Environment Agency's activities in this area and provides grant aid on a project by project basis to the other flood and coastal defence operating authorities (local authorities and internal drainage boards) to support their investment in improvement works.
The Environment Agency is the principal authority responsible for managing sea defences in England, although some local authorities are also active in managing the risk from sea flooding and coastal erosion.
Most investment in projects to reduce risk of coastal erosion or flooding from the sea is to improve the protection offered by existing defences, most of which will have been in place for many years, with periodic improvement through major works in addition to regular maintenance.
The department is aware of the following coastal defences (to manage risk of flooding and/or erosion) which could be considered to be "new" rather than being improvements of existing defences:
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