§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the qualifications held by senior civil servants which are relevant to their duties in the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. [52047]
§ Mr. SpellarThis is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from John Chisholm to Dr. Ian Gibson, dated 31 July 1998:
I have been asked to reply to your question about qualifications held by senior civil servants relevant to their duties in the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).Senior civil servants employed in DERA are assessed and appointed against the criteria applied across Government, which embrace experience, competence and, on initial recruitment, appropriate academic and professional qualifications.In addition, DERA's specialist staff generally have one or more of a wide spectrum of scientific, engineering and other degrees, about half at PhD level. The majority are also either members or fellows of prestigious learned and professional institutions. A number also hold visiting Professorships.I hope this is helpful.
§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what redundancies have(a) taken place and (b) are pending in the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. [52045]
§ Mr. SpellarSince DERA was formed in 1995, there have been 878 redundancies, of which 65 were compulsory. At present there are 13 members of staff in a surplus position who might be made redundant if suitable alternative employment cannot be found.
As a result of the outcome of the review of the DERA's land ranges, announced today, a further reduction of 291 jobs is planned. The implementation of the reduction is dependent on the outcome of the detailed consultation with staff and Trades Unions but will certainly involve some redundancies.
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§ Mr. McWilliamTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future of DERA's land ranges at Eskmeals, Shoeburyness and Pendine. [55200]
§ Mr. SpellarThe initial period of consultation on the second stage of the review to address the long term future of DERA's land ranges is now complete. In order to maintain the necessary facilities, and to keep the affordable within projected income, we have decided to concentrate as much of the test and evaluation work as possible at Eskmeals and to use the ranges at Shoeburyness and Pendine only as required. The proposals put forward in January have been modified slightly in the light of the consultation process, with the retention of 6 additional jobs at the range at Shoeburyness and 10 at Pendine, and the loss of 20 jobs at Eskmeals. Plans for the Environmental Test Centre and demilitarisation facilities at Shoeburyness are unchanged. The planned figures are shown in the following table:
Staff levels Site Current Future Difference Shoeburyness Range 182 31 -151 Environmental Test Centre 69 34 -35 Demilitarisations 72 72 — Pendine 115 30 -85 Eskmeals 140 120 -20 Total 578 287 -291 The implementation of these measures will be phased to ensure that customer requirements are still met during the process. It is anticipated that most of the changes will have taken place by April 1999, though the exact timing is dependent on the work programme and on the completion of the next stage of detailed consultation with staff and Trades Unions.