HC Deb 28 March 1996 vol 274 cc693-4W
Mr. Hicks

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence agency status for the Army individual training organisation. [239581

Mr. Soames

The Army individual training organisation will become a defence agency of the Ministry of Defence on 1 April 1996. The aim of the AITO is to provide the appropriate numbers of well-trained and motivated individuals to meet the operational requirements of the Army. The headquarters of the AITO will be at Upavon, Wiltshire alongside the headquarters of the adjutant general who will be the owner of the agency on behalf of the Secretary of State. The agency will control 32 separate training centres throughout the United Kingdom and have a staff of 6,315 military and 4,546 civilian personnel.

The AITO chief executive, a major general, who will also be the Army's director general of individual training, will be required to build upon the current organisation's reputation for providing the Army with highly trained personnel while, at the same time, achieving greater efficiency effectiveness and value for money.

The chief executive has been set the following key targets for the first year of operation:

  1. 1. To meet 95 per cent. of agreed customer training requirements in terms of the quality of trained manpower delivered.
  2. 2. To meet 95 per cent. of agreed customer training requirements in terms of the quantity of trained manpower delivered.
  3. 3. To meet 95 per cent. of agreed customer training requirements in terms of timeliness of delivery.
  4. 4. To ensure success rates for phase 1 officer training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
  5. 5. To ensure success rates for phase 1 soldier training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
  6. 6.To ensure success rates for apprentices training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
  7. 7. To ensure success rates for phase 2 officer training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
  8. 8. To ensure success rates for phase 2 soldier training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
  9. 9. To ensure success rates for phase 3 officer training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
  10. 10. To ensure success rates for phase 3 soldier training are greater than or equal to 85 per cent.
  11. 11. To deliver the approved AITO programme within plus or minus 5 per cent. of agreed cash budget.
  12. 12. To achieve efficiency improvements of £16.07 million in the first year of operation.

I will arrange for copies of the agency's framework document to be placed in the Library of the House.

Forward to