§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many vacancies for technical staff remain unfilled at the Army Cataloguing Authority at the most recent convenient date; and how many further vacancies are likely to occur as a result of retirement before 30 June 1986.
§ Mr. PattieOn 1 April there were 23 vacancies for professional and technical staff in the Army Cataloguing Authority. Of the existing technical staff, some 52 will reach the retirement age before 30 June 1986.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for training technical staff recruited in the Glasgow area to fill vacancies at the Army Cataloguing Authority; and what is the estimated cost involved.
§ Mr. PattieTechnical staff will be expected to train initially at the existing establishments. This will involve on present indications an average overbearing of 25 posts over the next two years. The cost of this, and a small advance training team to be located in Glasgow, amounts to some £500,000 per annum.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the availability of suitable technical staff in the Glasgow area to fill vacancies at the Army Cataloguing Authority after its proposed dispersal to Glasgow.
§ Mr. PattieThe assessment of the availability of the suitable technical staff in the Glasgow area is clouded by the national shortage of engineers. However, some of the 136 technical posts will be filled by recruitment both from within the ACA and from other parts of Government service, with the residual members being found from local recruitment.
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§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated additional annual operating cost of the Army Cataloguing Authority resulting from its proposed move to Glasgow.
§ Mr. PattieThe estimated additional cost of operating the Army Cataloguing Authority in Glasgow is currently assessed at some £1 million per annum.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of visits made by Army Cataloguing Authority staff to service establishments, Government offices and private contractors each year are (a) in the midlands and (b) in southern England.
§ Mr. PattieThe proportion of ACA staff visits to(a) midlands and (b) southern England are estimated as 16 and 82 per cent. respectively.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his assessment of the number of extra technical staff needed by the Army Cataloguing Authority to make good the extra travelling time resulting from the proposed move to Glasgow.
§ Mr. PattieThe additional staff required by the Army Cataloguing Authority to make good the extra travelling time resulting from the proposed move to Glasgow is 14, all of whom are professional and technical staff.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to safeguard the position of former Chatham dockyard staff who transferred to the Army Cataloguing Authority at Woolwich and Kidbrooke and who are now required to move to Glasgow.
§ Mr. PattieNo special steps are being taken to safeguard the position of the former Chatham dockyard176W staff. It is our intention that, where possible, only volunteers will be sent on dispersal to Glasgow; but there may be some staff who, because of the nature of their tasks, will be required to transfer with their job. Former staff of Chatham dockyard will, however, be given especially sympathetic consideration.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many mobile staff employed by the Army Cataloguing Authority have so far volunteered to move to Glasgow; and how many more will be required to make the move.
§ Mr. PattieOf an expected total of 136 mobile staff needed in Glasgow, 13 volunteers to move with the ACA have so far come forward. As the Ministry has already stated, we will continue to look for suitable volunteers not only from among existing ACA staff, but also from other parts of the MOD and other Government Departments, as well as in the Glasgow area itself. If these efforts fail to provide the numbers needed, then individuals may be required to transfer in accordance with their terms of employment.