§ Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will detail the accommodation provided to the Council of Voluntary Welfare Work, referred to in the other notes to class I, vote 1 of the Appropriation Accounts 1993–94.
§ Mr. SoamesA list of all accommodation made available to the Council of Voluntary Welfare Workers in British forces Germany during financial year 1993–94 is provided. The following list is divided into commercial and residential accommodation respectively.
739W
CVWW commercial accommodation financial year 1993–94 Organisation Location Usage Rental £ Bunde Shops 2,785 Osnabrück Bookshop/Canteen 12,601 Düsseldorf Bookshop/Store 6,501 Krefeld Bookshop/Canteen 2,862 Rheindahlen Cardshop 2,286 Rheindahlen Bookshop/Canteen 26,250 Fallingbostel Bookshop/Canteen/Offices 19,558 Herford Offices 2,273 Herford Shop/Office/Store 8,045 CVWW Herford Offices 1,281 Services Central Book Depot Herford Store 969 Total 237,661 Note:
1 Property handed back during financial year 1993–94
CVWW residential accommodation financial year 1993–1994 Quarter Type Annual Rent £ Number Total Cost £ Type IV 6,706 8 53,648 Type V 5,642 20 112,840 D Type 5,794 2 11,588 C Type 3,880 3 11,640 B Type 3,719 5 18,595 A Type 3,189 2 6,378 40 214,689 Total value of waiver during financial year 1993–94: £452,350
§ Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will name the(a) contractor and (b) RAF leases which led to the extra-contractual payment referred to in the notes to class I, vote 1 of the Appropriation Accounts 1993–94.
§ Mr. SoamesIt is not my Department's practice to identify individual contractors where matters of commercial confidentiality are concerned. There were no leases involved in the case in question.
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Number Description Value £ Recipient 30 RN Flags 10.00 Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust 3 Deck Plate, Honours Board Name Board—ex HMS Sirius 150.00 Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Society 50 Liferaft Plastic Shells 100.00 Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust 1 Bell—ex HMS Scylla 200.00 City of Aberdeen 1 Name Plate—ex HMS Osiris 40.00 Kent and sharp-Shooters Yeomanry Squadron 1 Bell—ex HMS Cleopatra 250.00 Fleet Air Arm Museum Yeovilton 1 Honours Board—ex HMS Ambuscade 40.00 Borough of Crewe and Nantwich 1 Name Plate—ex HMS Ambuscade 40.00 Sea Cadet Corps TS Amberconwy 1 Name Plate—ex HMS Ambuscade 40.00 Sea Cadet Corpos TS Ambuscade
§ Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list(a) the contractors and (b) the circumstances which led to an extra-contractual payment of £11,750,000, as listed in the notes to class I, vote 3 of the Appropriation Accounts 1993–94.
§ Mr. FreemanIndividual contractors are not normally identified where matters of commercial confidentiality are concerned. The contractor had submitted claims against the Department in respect of alleged failures to meet obligations to supply equipment and information. These claims were disputed. However, following legal advice, the Department agreed to accept a share of responsibility for some of the delays and increased cost. The settlement, £19,000,000 payable over two years, was for approximately half the value of the total claim.
Mr. MundieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the gifts under £100,00 value recorded in class I, vote 2 of the Appropriation Accounts 1993–94.
§ Mr. SoamesThe information requested is as follows:
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Number Description Value £ Recipient 1 Marine Anchor 450.00 The Merchant Seamans War Memorial Society 1 Name plate—ex HMS Opossum 40.00 St. Edmundsbury Borough Council 1 Honours Board—ex HMS Amazon 50.00 North Tyneside Council 1 Name Plate—ex HMS Arrow 40.00 Sunderland Companions Club 1 Gun Tampion—ex HMS Arrow 35.00 4th Regiment Royal Artillery 1 Deck Plate—ex HMS Arrow 50.00 Harrow Combined Cadet Force 1 Name Plate—ex HMS Arrow 40.00 Royal Companion of Archers 2 Ships Bell and Honours Board—ex HMS Arrow 300.00 City of Sunderland 1 Deck Plate—ex HMS Arrow 50.00 The Royal Naval Association 4 Name Board, deck Plates—ex HMS Alacrity 180.00 Sea Cadet Corps TS Alacrity 1 Flags—RAF and White Ensign 30.46 Gibraltar Museum 1 Anchor 600.00 Royal Burge of Culross 1 AVGAS Bowser 1,600.00 Portsmouth Naval Club 1 Admiral's Barge 6,000.00 Portsmouth Property Trust 1 ACR 430 System 10,000.00 Albania 9 Anchors 1,000.00 FIFE Enterprise 1 Humber Pig 1,000.00 Irish Museum 1 25 Pounder Gun 2,000.00 Luxembourg National Museum 1 Ammunition 84,092.00 National Rifle Association Bisley Meeting–1993 1 AR Martel Missiles 30,000.00 French Air Force 6 25 Pounder Guns 6,000.00 R A Museum 1 Harrier GR3 1,100.00 Chilean Air Force Museum 2 25 Pounder Guns 1,500.00 Military Auster Flight 1 Humber Pig 1,000.00 RAMC Museum Aldershot 1 Saladin 4,000.00 RAC Tank Museum 3 Combat Support Boats 4,500.00 WEU (Romania and Bulgaria) 1 Transport for CSBs 32,000.00 WFU (Romania and Bulgaria) 1 Medical Stores 1.00 Latvia 1 Harrier GR3 1,200.00 Belize Government 1 POL Equipment 1.00 Secondary School 2 Gliders 5,000.00 RAFGSA 1 1000 Rounds of Ammunition 375.00 Zimbabwe National Park 1 Grand Projector 150.00 RAF Museum
Number Description Value £ Recipient 1 Jet Provost Fuselage 150.00 RAF Museum 1 Parachute 298.00 Russian Air Forces Museum—Ryaza 2 Film Drying Drum and Meteor Fuel Pump 10.00 RAF Museum 147 £195,722.46
§ Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give(a) the name of contractor and (b) the circumstances which led to £1,175,000 payments as listed in the notes to class I, vote 3 of the Appropriation Accounts 1993–94; and what disciplinary action was taken.
§ Mr. FreemanIndividual contractors are not normally identified where matters of commercial confidentiality are concerned. Without admission of liability, a payment of £1,175,000, VAT included, was made to a contractor in respect of extra-contractual claims made against the Department. The claims were founded on the allegation that Government-furnished equipment had been provided late and in an unserviceable condition while Government-furnished facilities were not made available as planned. Disciplinary action was not considered to be appropriate in this case.
§ Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which naval base was involved and what was the gross cost of purchasing the property referred to in the order notices to class I, vote 1 of the Appropriation Accounts 1993–94.
§ Mr. SoamesThe property referred to was purchased in connection with works at the Clyde submarine base. Some £203,500 was spent to purchase land to facilitate the construction of new mess and living accommodation at Faslane.
§ Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will detail the type of goods which led to £1,331,000 being lost as set out in the loss statement in class I, vote 2 of the Appropriation Accounts 1993–94; and what disciplinary action was taken.
§ Mr. SoamesThe type of goods referred to form part of the marine engineering spares inventory and are wholly or mainly manufactured of rubber. The introduction of British standard 3574 in 1987 resulted in shorter shelf and working life periods for many rubber goods held at RNSD Eaglescliffe. A review which was carried out to test all rubber components against the new British standard revealed that a number of rubber items should be classified as non-conforming stock. An exhaustive study into this matter concluded that no blame could be attached to an individual or individuals in this case.