§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Environment for how long the offices at Fleet Bank House have remained empty while his Department has paid rent; how many Ministry staff are employed there; why it was decided to take this accommodation and what is the approximate total paid annually for rented Defence Ministry accommodation in addition to offices owned by the Ministry.
§ Mr. ArmstrongRent has been payable at Fleet Bank House for 11 months during which time occupational services have been carried out. When these are complete 800 Ministry of Defence staff will occupy the premises. The Property Services Agency leased the building to meet a demand for additional office space in London and it has been allocated to the MOD Procurement Executive to enable rationalisation of its currently scattered accommodation, with some consequential reallocations for other Departments. The rent payable for other leased MOD Headquarters buildings is approximately £2.3 million per year.