Parliamentary Answers – Dec 2010

A regular round up of Parliamentary written questions and answers

Question

Priti Patel (Witham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many EU directives are pending transposition into domestic legislation by his Department; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such transposition.

Answer

Gerald Howarth (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (International Security Strategy), Defence; Aldershot, Conservative)

The Ministry of Defence has one EU directive pending transposition into domestic legislation, namely the Defence and Security Directive (2009/81/EC) which sets out new procurement rules for contracting authorities/entities which purchase military equipment, sensitive equipment, and related goods, works or services. It also provides rules where contracting authorities/entities purchase works and services for specifically military purposes or works or services for security purposes which involve, require or contain classified information. The purpose of the rules is to meet the concerns of member states about the sensitive nature of procurements in the defence and security sectors. Currently, all public sector procurements (civil and defence), unless they are exempt, are governed by the rules set out in the Public Procurement Directive (2004/18/EC) or the Utilities Directive (2004/17/EC). The standard rules in the 2004 directives do not always permit the acquisition of military or security capability as effectively as they could, or deal explicitly with key requirements for acquisition such as security of information.

The directive was agreed by the British Government when it was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on 13 July 2009.

We estimate that the direct cost to the Department of transposing this directive has so far amounted to £325,000.

Question

John Spellar (Warley, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on rules of engagement in counter-piracy operations.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

I have been asked to reply.

As a participant in the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, the UK has discussions with partners on the legal questions and concerns affecting the international response to Somali piracy. These have included the appropriate use of force in counter piracy operations, although rules of engagement themselves are not discussed.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has had no recent discussions with its international counterparts on the rules of engagement in counter-piracy operations because this is primarily a military matter. Therefore the matter is one which the Ministry of Defence leads on rather than the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The UK operates with a number of international partners on counter-piracy operations including the European Union’s Operation Atalanta, NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield and the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and operational tactics are discussed regularly as part of this. Our rules of engagement are shared with our coalition partners as necessary to improve international co-ordination.

 

Question

Kevan Jones (North Durham, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to renew the Military Covenant.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The independent taskforce report led by Professor Hew Strachan was published on 8 December 2010. A copy can be found in the Library of the House and we intend to take forward two recommendations immediately in advance of the Government’s full response, relating to an Armed Forces Community Covenant, and a Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation scheme.

The first reading of the Armed Forces Bill took place on 8 December 2010. Once this achieves Royal Assent my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence will be required to prepare an Armed Forces Covenant Report annually and lay it before Parliament.

 

Question

Kevan Jones (North Durham, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what means he plans to make efficiencies in military training, under his proposals in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

We will enhance the training environment and use the most effective method of preparing our armed forces for the tasks we ask them to do. This will mean that some outdated training methods will be replaced by greater use of simulated training and modern training techniques.

One specific area of work that we will be focussing on is the Defence Technical Training Change Programme (DTTCP) which, following the termination of the Defence Training Rationalisation (DTR) PFI Procurement on 19 October 2010, is a new programme that has been established to build upon the work already started under DTR. DTTCP aims to deliver efficiencies through estate rationalisation and improvements in the delivery of technical training across all three services.

 

 

Question

Kevan Jones (North Durham, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the role of the Army’s Hybrid Foundation Training.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

Hybrid Foundation Training (HFT) provides the essential steps for a unit’s progression onto Mission Specific Training (MST), which trains Force Elements for a named operation or specific contingency. HFT focuses individuals and units on core soldiering skills (fire and manoeuvre, all arms integration, leadership and team building), which they can build on and adapt to suit the requirements of MST. The skills obtained during HFT are vital to allow units and individuals to gain the maximum benefit from MST training and ensure that they are delivered to the start of MST with the agility and flexibility required for the current operating environment.

HFT is constantly updated using the relevant lessons learned from operations and training.

 

 

Question

Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the production of (a) films of speeches for use at events and (b) other films since May 2010.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

Photographers are employed by the Department for a range of purposes, including capturing and editing videos. The costs associated with producing video records of speeches are not identified separately across the Department.

Videos are made by the Ministry of Defence for internal training and information purposes. Additionally the armed forces commission films for recruiting campaigns for use across a range of external media channels, including TV, cinema and online.

Since May 2010 the Department has spent around £850,000 producing such films, the majority of which are for recruiting and training purposes. The costs broken down by services are shown in the following table:

	£
Royal Navy	670,000
British Army	133,000
Royal Air Force	45,000

 

 

Question

Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on its website since May 2010.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

The Ministry of Defence website is an important channel for communicating with the wider defence community, the general public and the worldwide internet audience. It provides a platform for MOD to respond rapidly to current issues as well as providing an authoritative source of enduring information about defence and the armed forces.

From 1 May to 30 November 2010 the MOD spent £206,803.24 on the www.mod.uk website; where applicable, these figures include VAT. Spending falls under the following categories defined by the Cabinet Office:

Strategy and planning

Design and build

Hosting and infrastructure

Testing and evaluation.

 

 

Question

Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed by his Department in each month since April 2010.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The following table shows the total strength of the Ministry of Defence⁽¹⁾ by month from April 2010 to November 2010.

⁽¹⁾ Totals listed are headcount and have been rounded to the nearest 10.

	Headcount
April 2010	89,970
May 2010	89,770
June 2010	89,500
July 2010	89,300
August 2010	88,970
September 2010	88,570
October 2010	88,130
November 2010	87,940
Source:DASA (Quad Service)

There has been a freeze on external recruitment since May 2010, other than for business critical posts, such as those in direct support of operations, apprenticeships, fast stream and specialist graduates and posts paid for in full by other parties (for example United States Visiting Forces and NATO Support Facilities).

 

 

Question

Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the change in staff numbers in his Department has been since 1 May 2010.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

Between May and November 2010, there was a reduction of 1,830 in the staff headcount in the Ministry of Defence.

 

 

Question

Madeleine Moon (Bridgend, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on naval operations in British Overseas Territories of changes to Royal Navy capability resulting from the outcome of the strategic defence and security review; and if he will make a statement.

 

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

The Government reiterated our commitment to the defence of the UK’s overseas territories in the strategic defence and security review. The Royal Navy is a modern, powerful and capable force and remains able to deploy a taskforce worldwide in support of our national interests. Inevitably, with fewer ships there will have to be some reduction in activity, but the Royal Navy will continue to send ships to priority regions such as the north and south Atlantic, the Indian ocean and the Gulf.

 

 

Question

Stephen Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press and communication posts in his Department are remunerated at (a) between £50,000 and £99,999 and (b) £100,000 or over.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

holding answer 13 December 2010

Our records indicate that in March 2010, 52 press and communication posts across Defence were remunerated at between £50,000 and £99,999. These posts are across the military and civilian defence community, in the UK and overseas in Headquarters and in the single Service units.

A further 109 posts were filled by military ranks or civilian grades for which the salary range straddled £50,000. The range of salaries that these posts could have been paid is between £45,190 and £56,078. It is not possible to say how many of these individuals were paid more than £50,000.

There was one press and communications post remunerated at £100,000 or over, which is a military two-star appointment.

We are taking a number of steps to reduce expenditure on defence media and communications. This will include further post reductions.

 

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding the Government provided for the European Defence Agency in each year since 2005; and what proportion of the Agency’s funding this figure represented in each such year.

Answer

Gerald Howarth (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (International Security Strategy), Defence; Aldershot, Conservative)

The amount paid by the Ministry of Defence to the European Defence Agency’s budget in each year since 2005 and the proportion of the Agency’s funding that the amounts represent are as follows:

Calendar year	£ million	Proportion of UK share to total Agency budget (percentage)
2005	2.36	18.1
2006	2.09	17.6
2007	1.95	17.0
2008	3.11	17.2
2009	3.03	15.4
2010	3.23	13.9

 

 

 

Question

Julian Lewis (New Forest East, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2010, Official Report, columns 317-19W, on military aircraft, whether he estimated that the retention of 50 selected Harriers and 50 selected Tornados would be less costly than retaining 137 Tornados only; to what refitting in respect of the 15 Harrier GR9s which have returned from operations in Afghanistan he referred to in his answer; for what reason a mixed force of Harriers and Tornados has not been retained; if he will place in the Library a suitably redacted copy of the advice given to the Prime Minister on the fast jet fleet; and whether the final decision on retaining Tornados only was taken by (a) the chiefs of staff, (b) the National Security Council, (c) the Cabinet and (d) the Prime Minister.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

holding answer 16 December 2010

The overriding factor in deciding between removing either the Tornado GR4 or Harrier was the ability to support operations in Afghanistan. A fleet of 50 Tornado and 50 Harrier aircraft would have been unable to maintain continuous support to operations in Afghanistan at current levels and maintain the ability to support concurrent operations. In addition, withdrawal of an aircraft type delivers greater savings than partial reductions, due to the fixed costs associated with supporting an aircraft platform; therefore running two smaller fleets would not have been cost-effective.

When the 15 Harrier GR9 aircraft returned from their deployment to Afghanistan, the funding to support their urgent operational requirements ceased and as such this equipment was removed from the aircraft. If Harrier had been required to redeploy to Afghanistan, these capabilities would need to have been re-activated, either with new funding streams or replacements where they had been superseded and could have taken up to 18 months.

In relation to release of further details regarding the military advice given to the Prime Minister, including savings estimates, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him, and to Penny Mordaunt on 24 November 2010, Hansard, columns 317-19W.

The Strategic Defence and Security Review decisions were taken by the National Security Council, chaired by the Prime Minister.

 

 

Question

Douglas Carswell (Clacton, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees of BAE Systems were on secondment to his Department on 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The information requested is not held centrally and will take some time to collate. I shall write to the hon. Member with a substantive answer as soon as one is available.

Substantive answer from Andrew Robathan to Douglas Carswell:

In my written reply of 15 November 2010, I advised you that I would write to you with a substantive answer to your question on secondees from BAE Systems as soon as possible.

Secondments, whether inward or outward, are full or part-time development activity, usually involving a private sector organisation or charity. They are normally used to develop individuals and can enable the business to introduce different perspectives and expertise. Inward secondments from the private sector or charities cannot exceed two years in duration.

As at April 2010, there were 40 individuals on inward secondment to the MOD from various organisations in the public and private sector. Ten of these were employees of BAE Systems. In addition, two BAE Systems employees are engaged to provide external assistance with tasks in the Defence Intelligence Staff. Air Command has a number of BAE Systems employees conducting depth servicing at Marham, Cottesmore, and Kinloss. The numbers vary.

Since May 2010, inward secondments from the private sector and charities have been banned as part of civil service-wide controls on external recruitment.

I am sorry for the delay in providing this response.

 

 

Question

Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff of his Department were assigned to work on the Strategic Defence and Security Review consultation process.

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

holding answer 20 December 2010

The Ministry of Defence had around 10 members of staff working on the strategic defence and security review consultation process: the team also drew on resources elsewhere in the Department as necessary.

Answer

Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what external contracts his Department commissioned as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review consultation process.

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

holding answer 20 December 2010

As part of the strategic defence and security review consultation process the Department contracted the Security and Defence Agenda to facilitate a discussion with EU and NATO allies. The cost of the contract was approximately £7,000.

 

 

Question

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay (Liberal Democrat)

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of providing education in private schools for the families of members of the armed forces in each of the last thirteen years.

Answer

Lord Astor of Hever (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Defence; Conservative)

The Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) is provided to enable service personnel whose children accompany them on necessary relocations achieve continuity of education that is not achievable through the day school system. Details of these costs are only held for Financial Years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 and can be found in the following table. Prior to the implementation of the Joint Personnel Administration System this information was held on single service legacy systems and as such could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Financial Year	Amount (£m)
2007-08	162.2
2008-09	172.8
2009-10	176.8

In addition to the money paid to service personnel, the Ministry of Defence also pays Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for tax and national insurance following the grossing up of the allowance. Therefore, the figures quoted in the table reflect the total cost to the department for the past three financial years.