Army Pay and Personnel Unit (Hansard, 13 May 1993)

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton

In my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) on 4 March,Official Report, column 229, I announced that representations received during the consultation period which followed the decision to locate the Army personnel centre in Glasgow would be considered before final decisions were made. A detailed review of the available options has been undertaken and I am now in a position to report the outcome. The review was conducted against the requirement that the Army personnel centre, comprising some 1,300 military and civilian personnel, should be located in the vicinity of one of the six existing Army manning, record and pay offices at Glasgow, Chester, York, Leicester, Ashton-under-Lyne and Exeter. The opportunity was also taken to review what alternative existed to a new purchase or lease of office accommodation.

The review considered all the options against common criteria and in particular all the costs involved, which in the case of existing commercial buildings included both the 576W initial purchase price and costs of modification and any minor build required. The outcome was to show that the total cost of locating the Army personnel centre in existing Ministry of Defence office accommodation in Glasgow at Kentigern house would be some £6 million; that the overall cost of the building in Stockport referred to in my answer on 4 March would be some £15 million; that of the commercial building in Glasgow which formed the original proposal some £25 million; and the total cost of other options for an existing commercial building or new build would be in the range between £14 million and £24 million. Accordingly, in view of the significant saving over other options, I have concluded that, subject to consultation with the trades unions, siting the centre in Kentigern house represents the best possible value for money. The aim will be to complete the relocation during 1995.

Kentigern house was purpose built to Ministry of Defence requirements; with some modification to its internal layout, returning the building to open plan office space, together with the application of new office space guidelines, it will be possible to meet the key requirements of the Army personnel centre. The accommodation will be sufficient to house the centre in its entirety, and with the additional flexibility offered by Wellesley house, all MOD staff based in Glasgow will be accommodated satisfactorily. A consultative document has been prepared and is being passed to the trades unions. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. The consultation period will last until 25 June and I hope to make a final decision shortly after that taking into account the representations received.