This is a regular round up of Parliamentary questions and answers from ministers relevant to defence issues In addition to oral questions, MPs and Peers can ask government ministers questions for written answer. These are often used to obtain detailed information about policies and statistics on the activities of government departments. In the House of Commons ‘ordinary’ questions do not have to be answered on a specific date. An MP will date a written question for two days after they have tabled it (ie, submitted it for answer via the Table Office). The convention is that the MP can expect it to be answered within seven days of the question being tabled.
Contents
Question
Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour)
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which executive and trading fund agencies have been since May 2010, or will be, re-organised and absorbed into government departments.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, where government agencies are absorbed into departments, what arrangements are made in respect of their chief executives and senior managers; and what arrangements are made to maintain the websites of those agencies.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, where government agencies are absorbed into government departments, how the public will be informed about the former agencies’ activities on a regular basis.
Answer
Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat)
Since May 2010, three executive agencies have been reorganised and absorbed into government departments. Specifically, these are: the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency; the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency; and the People, Pay and Pensions Agency; all of which have been absorbed into the Ministry of Defence. No trading funds have been reorganised and absorbed into government departments.
On 3 October 2011, JobCentre Plus and the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service will formally have their agency status removed, and be absorbed into the work of the Department for Work and Pensions. There are a number of executive agencies whose status is currently under review, and which may be absorbed into departments in the future.
Arrangements for chief executives and senior managers, websites and performance reporting are a matter for individual departments. It will also be for departments to inform the public of the changes.
Question
Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Afghan Village Stability Operations; and what support his Department has provided to such operations.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
holding answer9 September 2011
UK forces do not provide direct routine support to Village Stability Operations, nor does the UK assess the overall effectiveness of Village Stability Operations.
Question
Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Afghan Local Police Programme; and what support his Department has provided to this programme.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
holding answer9 September 2011
UK forces, in co-ordination with the Provincial Reconstruction Team, and at the request of the Government of Afghanistan, have supported the establishment of seven Afghan Local Police (ALP) sites within central Helmand. UK support includes assistance with recruitment, training and mentoring.
We regularly review progress of these sites. The latest review concluded that progress is encouraging, with the capabilities and effectiveness of the ALP seeing steady improvement.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his Department’s Business Plan 2011-2015, how much has been saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually managed expenditure and (d) in total from the reduction of heavy artillery armoured vehicles (AS90) by around 35 per cent.
Answer
Liam Fox (Secretary of State, Defence; North Somerset, Conservative)
holding answer12 September 2011
Total savings over the period 2011-12 to 2014-15 are expected to be in the region of £2 million, mostly Resource DEL. These savings reflect a reduction in AS90 numbers and track activity.
Question
Lee Scott (Ilford North, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Challenger main battle tanks are held in long-term storage in (a) the UK and (b) Germany.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
The number of Challenger 2 main battle tanks held in long-term storage in the UK and Germany is shown in the following table:
| Location | Number of tanks |
| United Kingdom | 59 |
| Germany | 94 |
Question
Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people at each (a) rank and (b) grade there are in his Department’s Communications Department.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
holding answer15 September 2011
The Directorate Media and Communication (DMC) is responsible for internal and external communications at the departmental level within the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
DMC staff fulfil various roles including press officer, public relations, internal communication, defence publishing (news and publications), photography, graphics and some internet services.
The following table lists by rank and grade the posts in DMC as at31 March 2011as well as the number of posts planned to be cut by1 April 2012.
| Rank/grade | Posts as at 31 March 2011-10-03 | Posts planned to be cut by 1 April 2012 |
| Civilian posts | ||
| Administrative Assistant (AA)/E2 grade | 1 | 0 |
| Administrative Officer (AO)/El grade | 12 | 2 |
| Executive Officer (EO)/D grade | 14 | 1 |
| Information Officer (IO)/C2 grade | 33 | 5 |
| Senior Information Officer (SIO)/C1 grade | 22 | 1 |
| Grade 7/B2 grade | 13 | 8 |
| Grade 6/B1 grade | 3 | 0 |
| Senior Civil Service (SCS) 1 | 2 | 0 |
| SCS 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Military posts | ||
| Senior Non Commissioned Officer | 5 | 1 |
| Officer Level (OF) 3 (e.g. Lieutenant Commander Royal Navy (RN)) | 13 | 1 |
| OF4 (e.g. Commander RN) | 10 | 0 |
| OF5 (e.g. Captain RN) | 4 | 0 |
| OF6.(e.g. Commodore RN) | 1 | 0 |
In addition, the Defence Media and Operations Centre (DMOC) also falls within the line management chain of the Director Media and Communications. There are no cuts to DMOC posts planned for this financial year. DMOC co-ordinates, develops and delivers media training and education across the MOD. It also contains a team which provides media support in operational theatres.
The following table lists by rank and grade the posts in the DMOC as at31 March 2011.
| Rank/grade | Posts as at 31 March 2011 |
| Civilian posts | |
| AA/E2 grade | 1 |
| 10/C2 grade | 1 |
| SIO/C1 grade | 1 |
| Grade 7/B2 grade | 1 |
| Military posts | |
| Junior Non Commissioned Officer | 13 |
| Senior Non Commissioned Officer | 9 |
| OF2 (e.g. Lieutenant RN) | 7 |
| OF3 (e.g. Lieutenant Commander RN) | 7 |
| OF4 (e.g. Commander RN) | 2 |
| OF5 (e.g. Captain RN) | 1 |
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much is projected to be saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from implementing changes to service and civilian allowances in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
Answer
Liam Fox (Secretary of State, Defence; North Somerset, Conservative)
Savings over the next four years are expected to be:
| £ million | ||||
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| Service Allowances Resource DEL (near cash) | 100 | 170 | 230 | 250 |
| Civilian Allowances Resource DEL (near cash) | 50 | 50 | 50 | 55 |
These figures are planning assumptions, rounded to the nearest £5 million, and are subject to further work including consultation in the detail with the trade unions for civilian allowances. There are no capital or other DEL savings.
Operational allowances are not affected by the proposed changes to the level of entitlement.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the his Department’s business plan 2011-15, how much is projected to be saved in (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL, (c) annually-managed expenditure and (d) in total from the reduction of the non-deployable administrative structure of the services in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
Answer
Liam Fox (Secretary of State, Defence; North Somerset, Conservative)
Non-front line costs, such as the non-deployable administrative structure of the services, are not routinely calculated. The Ministry of Defence is committed to saving at least £4.3 billion, in activities which have been identified as non-front line, over the spending review period. Progress against this target will be reported in the Department’s business plan.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department expects to save through administrative cost savings in respect of (a) Resource DEL, (b) Capital DEL and (c) AME in each year of the comprehensive spending review period.
Answer
Liam Fox (Secretary of State, Defence; North Somerset, Conservative)
holding answer13 September 2011
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is revising its administrative costs regime upwards to reflect the outcomes of the strategic defence and security review. This work is ongoing. The MOD is committed to saving at least one-third of this new baseline by 2014-15, which will deliver at least £800 million of savings.
Question
Kevan Jones (North Durham, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on recruitment advertising for civil service posts since May 2010.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
holding answer9 September 2011
There has been a freeze on external recruitment to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) since May 2010, other than for business critical posts and posts paid for in full by other parties, for example United States visiting forces and NATO support facilities.
The amount spent on recruitment advertising since May 2010 is £484,353.01. This does not include expenditure by the Trading Funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. A large number of posts are for Service Children’s Education to provide teachers overseas but also covers, critical medical posts (including doctors and nurses) as well as a number of senior civil service posts critical to driving forward our reform agenda.
Posts have been advertised across a range of specialist media. Jobs that are open to external applicants are also advertised on the civil service jobs website.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) has been saved and (b) is projected to be saved in each financial year of the spending review period in (i) Resource DEL, (ii) Capital DEL, (iii) annually-managed expenditure and (iv) in total from contract renegotiations with defence industry.
Answer
Liam Fox (Secretary of State, Defence; North Somerset, Conservative)
Progress on commercial expenditure reduction relating to the Strategic Defence and Security Review has included the implementation of nearly 200 commercial saving options presented in the 2011 financial Planning Round. We are expecting the process of contract renegotiation to continue until 2012. Until this is complete, it is not possible to give the figures requested.
Our focus has been on the contracts and commercial options that will deliver the highest savings in the early years of the spending review period. The Ministry of Defence has already renegotiated around 30 contracts relating to the Nimrod and Harrier programmes.
What?
” how much has been saved … in total from the reduction of heavy artillery armoured vehicles (AS90) by around 35 per cent.
Answer
Liam Fox
Total savings over the period 2011-12 to 2014-15 are expected to be in the region of £2 million, mostly Resource DEL. These savings reflect a reduction in AS90 numbers and track activity.”
- so by reducing the mobile & protected part of artillery by a third, we save £2m over 4 years?
- makes under £ 1400/ day, which must be close to the average combined daily rate of MoD consultants and contractors
2 millions on four years saved by going down to just 95 self-propelled howitzers…?
That’s… ridiculously little a saving. There must be an error there, surely…?
Challenger II storage reply is very interesting by the way.
So, the active fleet has gone down to around 232, it seems.
40% reduction mathematically accurate. Said, and done…
Hi Gabby,
there’s also the short-term storage, which was not asked about
- the difference between short and long term; who knows?
- anyway, we are around the 200-mark
Short-term storaged tanks, for what i understand, are quite often pulled out and used during training exercises, and there should be short-term storage fleet for each tank regiment.
Long term storage… well. The tanks in long term storage will come out pretty much only if there’s a major war calling for it.
Has a new Regiment ORBAT announced/confirmed for the tank regiments yet?
After the reduction the (already existent only on paper) two Type 58 and three Type 44 regiments are certainly no more.
I’ve long been guessing for five Type 38 regiments, but i guess the Army should make a plan for this kind of things, no…?
I thought those AS90 figures seemed too small and begs the question why bother but when you think about, the majority will be in storage doing next to nothing anyway so track and maintenance costs will be very low. Not sure that figure includes personnel either so perhaps it is right.
Just goes to show the depths of the financial problems