Agency Job Losses (Hansard, 28 April 1995)

§ Mr. Freeman

[holding answer 27 April 1995]: I have asked the chief executives of the agencies mentioned in the question to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from J. Drew to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: The Secretary of State for Defence has asked me to reply directly to your parliamentary question concerning the number of Army Base Repair Organisation offices closed in Scotland, and the transference of workload between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. It might be helpful if I begin by briefly explaining how the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO) is organised. The Agency is responsible for the delivery of a repair and refurbishment service for Army equipment. This service is delivered through a network of workshops and contract repair offices located throughout the United Kingdom. Agency Headquarters is at Andover. The repair service comprises two distinct categories. First is the planned repair of the Army's equipment fleets, known as base repair. Second is the unplanned repair and support of equipment held by Army units in the geographical area covered by each workshop and contract repair office. Both the planned and unplanned repair workload is divided between ABRO's workshops and private industry. This could well change in the future as our Competing for Quality strategy matures. The Agency has a workshop situated at Stirling, and I can confirm that there has been no transference of workload into or out of Scotland, and therefore no loss or increase in jobs other than that associated with the normal fluctuation of the annual workload. However, given the character of the work, there can be substantial variations. The future may well see further reductions throughout the agency as Defence Costs Study decisions are implemented. During June 1992 the ABRO Contract Repair office based at Inverness closed with the loss of two technical posts (HPTO, PTO) and one and a half clerical posts. The workload was transferred to the Glasgow office with no increase in staffing levels at that location. Subsequently, the ABRO Contract Repair office at Glasgow relocated to Stirling during March 1994, co-locating with the workshop with the loss of one clerical post. I hope this information is sufficient for your purposes.

Letter from P. Trevelyan to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Defence to reply, on behalf of the Defence Accounts Agency, to your Parliamentary Question number 7343G. You asked for the number and location of Agency offices closed and the number of jobs lost or transferred as 776W a result of Agency work transferring from Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom over the past five years; and the number and location of offices opened and jobs gained in Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom over the same period. The answer to both parts of your question is Nil.

Letter from P. Altobell to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: The Secretary of State for Defence has asked me to reply to your question about jobs lost or gained as a result of Agency work transferring to or from Scotland over the past five years. For the period concerned the Defence Analytical Services Agency have had no offices in Scotland.

Letter from A. Roache to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: The Under Secretary of State for Defence has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question No 7343G, relating to numbers of Agency offices and jobs in Scotland. The Defence Animal Centre operates from a single site here at Melton Mowbray and has no connection, past or present, with jobs or offices in Scotland. I hope you find this information useful.

Letter from T. Brown to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: The Secretary of State for Defence has asked me to reply on behalf of the Defence Postal and Courier Services Agency to your question about the number of offices closed and jobs lost or transferred as a result of work moving between Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom. In the period requested this Agency has not closed or opened any new offices. In addition no work has been transferred from Scotland to other parts of the United Kingdom, or vice versa.

Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995:

1. I am replying to your parliamentary question about changes in employment in Scotland over the last 5 years in the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).
2. The DERA was formed on 1 April 1995 out of the Defence Research Agency (DRA), the Defence Operational Analysis Centre (DOAC), the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE), all Agencies of the MOD, and a number of other MOD directorates and establishments providing scientific and technical support to the department.
3. I am therefore now responsible for three former Agencies listed in your question. Of these, only the DRA, which was formed in April 1991, has sites in Scotland, DOAC and CBDE are both confined to single sites in the south of England.
4. Since its launch in 1991 the DRA has neither closed offices or lost jobs as a result of any of its work transferring from Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom nor has it opened offices or gained jobs in Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom over the same period.
5. I hope this information is useful.

Letter from W. Spreadbury to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: I have been asked to reply to your PQ 7343G on behalf of the Chief Executive who is absent on duty. In response to your request to list the number of offices closed and jobs lost or transferred from Scotland and also of offices opened and jobs gained in Scotland for the same reason, I have to report that the answer in respect of the Duke of York's Royal Military School is nought in all cases.

Letter from R. Cotton to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995:

1. You recently asked The Secretary of State for Defence a Parliamentary Question concerning the number of Offices closed and jobs lost or transferred from Scotland to other areas in the UK as a result of agency work transferring from Scotland over the past five years. As your question was, in part, related to the Hydrographic Office, the Secretary of State has asked that the Chief Executive of the Hydrographic Office should reply to you direct. Unfortunately, 777 Admiral Essenhigh is at present away from the Office on official duty so I am replying on his behalf.
2. The UK Hydrographic Office, located in Taunton, Somerset, became a Defence Agency on 6 April 1990. Its primary task is to provide nautical charts and publications to the Royal Navy, but it also offers similar services to the mercantile marine and other commercial shipping agencies both within the UK and overseas. To support the Royal Navy, a number of chart maintenance units (CMU) exist throughout the UK to provide a waterfront service for the Fleet. Two such CMUs are located in Scotland, one at Rosyth and one at Faslane.
3. Since 1990 there has been a reduction from 10 to 2 posts in the complement of the CMU at Rosyth; some of these posts have been lost while others have been transferred to other CMUs within the UK. No posts have been lost at Faslane, where the complement remains at 2. This reduction has been caused by a combination of a reducing Fleet, baseport transfers and a reduction in stockholdings arising from ongoing efficiency improvements.
4. I hope the above has served to answer your question. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 25 April 1995: I am responding on behalf of the Meteorological Office to your Parliamentary Question concerning job gains and losses in Scotland over the past five year. As an operational organisation responsive to changes in customer requirements we have periodically to move jobs around within Scotland as well as 'importing' and 'exporting' posts to and from the rest of the United Kingdom. However the net effect of these changes over the years in question has been neutral in terms of Meteorological Office staff in Scotland.

Letter from A. J. Hoon to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 20 April 1995: I understand that you have asked the Secretary of State for Defence to give the number Military Survey offices closed, and the number of jobs that have been lost or transferred result of Agency work transferring from Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom, over the five years. Likewise for the creation of such in Scotland. Acting on behalf on the Chief Executive of Military Survey I have been asked to reply with regard to this Agency. Military Survey has no offices in Scotland. There have, therefore, been no closures of nature identified and no job losses resulting in the last five years. Neither have there been transfers to Scotland during the period.

Letter from W. S. Graham to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995:

1. The Secretary of State for Defence has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning offices and jobs changes in the NARO DA over the last 5 years.
2. My response to your 2 part question is as follows:

(a) Transferring from Scotland: Nil.
(b) Transferring to Scotland: Nil.

Letter from Brian Raine to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: The Secretary of State for Defence has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question No 7343G about Agencies and jobs lost or transferred out of Scotland. As a result of Queen Victoria School being designated an Agency in 1992, no offices or jobs have been lost or transferred to other parts of the United Kingdom, nor have any jobs been created. I hope this answers your question satisfactorily, but if there is anything on which you would like to me to elaborate, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Letter from Richard Kyle to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995: You asked Secretary of State for Defence if he would give the number and location of RAF Logistics Command's Maintenance Group Defence Agency's offices closed, and the number of jobs lost or transferred, as a result of Agency work transferring from Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom over the past five years; and if he will list the number and location of offices opened and jobs gained in Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom over the same period. The Maintenance Group was established as a Defence Agency on 1 April 1991. The Defence Agency has no offices or establishments located in Scotland and no offices or jobs have been transferred from Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom since the creation of the Defence Agency.

Letter from A. A. Nicholson to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995:

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO PQ7343G—TRAINING GROUP DEFENCE AGENCY REPLY The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State asked me to reply, in respect of my own area of responsibility, to the question you asked of him about Defence Agencies and Jobs Lost and Jobs Transferred. I am able to tell you that no Training Group jobs have been lost in Scotland since the launch of Training Group Defence Agency on 1 April 1994, nor have others been transferred to Scotland since the same date. I am copying this letter to the Agency's owner, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Personnel & Training Command.

Letter from Ian S. Mitchelson to Mr. Calum Macdonald, dated 27 April 1995:

1. The Secretary of State has referred to me for reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the number of Service Children's Schools (amongst others) closed and the number of jobs lost or transferred as a result of Agency work transferring from Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom in the past 5 years. You also asked for similar information about offices opened and jobs gained.
2. Service Children's Schools (North West Europe) formed as a Defence Agency in April 1991. Under the arrangements set out in the Agency's Framework Document the Agency operates solely overseas in North West Europe. The Agency does not have any responsibility for Scotland.