§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the estimated value of the capital assets of Rosyth royal naval dockyard;
- (2) what is the estimated value of the capital assets of Devonport dockyard;
206 - (3) what is the estimated value of the land in his Department's ownership at Devonport dockyard:
- (4) what is the estimated value of the land in Rosyth royal naval dockyard.
§ Mr. Norman LamontI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Dunfermline, East (Mr. Brown) on 25 November 1985, at columns513–14.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to protect the pension rights of royal naval dockyard employees following privatisation.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe consultative document "The Future of the Royal Dockyards" set out proposals for the pensions arrangements for dockyard employees who transfer out of the Civil Service into the operating companies. These employees cannot remain in the principal Civil Service pension scheme and a new scheme is therefore being devised which will provide comparable benefits, including index-linking. We shall ensure that this "transferred" scheme, governed by a trust deed and managed by independent trustees, will be secure. It will be funded by an initial transfer payment in respect of employees' previous Crown service, and by future employer-employee contributions. Staff will be able to choose whether to preserve their accrued pension rights in the PCSPS, or to transfer them to the "transferred" scheme, or to a new entrants scheme which would be established for those recruited into the dockyards after vesting day.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent Royal Navy personnel are involved in refitting ships in Rosyth and Devonport; and at what cost.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe extent to which Royal Navy personnel are involved in a refit varies considerably with the type and complexity of refit and the class of ship. The pay and allowances of these personnel are not recorded separately.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence what were the last five ships that had major refits completed at Rosyth and Devonport; and what was the cost and time of refit for each of the ships.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe information requested on the last five ships for which costs are available is as follows:
Her Majesty's ships Dockyard Production costs £ million Duration of refit Hubberston Rosyth 6.9 58weeks Scylla Devonport 72.1 214weeks Resolution Rosyth 113.9 106weeks Sovereign Devonport 19.2 137weeks Iveston Rosyth 6.1 67weeks