HC Deb 22 January 1991 vol 184 cc178-9W
Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he now expects to reach a decision about the proposed move of the Directorate General, Defence Quality Assurance from Woolwich to Teeside.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

As my right hon. Friend made clear in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton, South on 4 December, the issues being addressed by my Department are now wider in scope than the affordability of the Directorate General, Defence Quality Assurance move as planned. We will come to a decision as soon as possible.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the total cost of moving the Directorate General, Defence Quality Assurance to Teesside as compared to constructing a new headquarters building at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

My Department is currently re-examining the range of facilities that the Directorate General, Defence Quality Assurance will require in the long term to support the armed services, and is re-estimating the construction costs that need to be incurred. Indications to date are that the cost of retaining existing London sites and undertaking necessary reconstruction on them would be considerably more than the cost of constructing facilities outside London.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on(a) the design and preparation for a new Directorate General, Defence Quality Assurance headquarters building at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich and (b) the proposed move to a new headquarters on Teesside.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

I refer the hon. Member to the responses given to him by my predecessor on 20 April 1988,Official Report, columns 501–2, and 12 April 1989, Official Report, columns 515–17. Sketch plans for a headquarters building at the Royal Arsenal west, Woolwich for the Quality Assurance Directorate were completed in 1983 at a cost to the Property Services Agency of £300,000. The identified costs of studies on other buildings amounted to £120,000. The departmental costs of the staff carrying out feasibility studies and investment appraisals on the future location of the Directorate General, Defence Quality Assurance were incurred in the normal course of their work and have not been separately identified.

Expenditure on the proposed move to new headquarters and technical facilities on Teesside currently totals around £4.3 million.