HC Deb 06 March 1997 vol 291 cc711-2W
Mr. Mans

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at the time Ministers took decisions on the future of command and staff training what contribution that reorganisation was expected to make to the overall annual savings from 1996–97 arising from the defence costs study; what is the total cost in 1996–97 of those parts of single service command and staff training which will eventually be replaced by the joint services command and staff college; and what is his estimate of the costs of the JSCSC in 1997–98 and 1999–2000. [17057]

Mr. Soames

The proposals to form a joint services command and staff college was initially put forward in the "Front Line First" studies. These constituted internal departmental advice to Ministers, the details of which I am withholding under exemption 2 of the code of practice on access to Government information. Financial information at this stage was indicative only.

The decision to implement the JSCSC was based primarily on the operational need for enhanced joint training. Some savings were initially suggested but were on the basis of considerably reduced student numbers, which subsequent analysis found to be unrealistic.

The JSCSC came into being on 1 January 1997—part way through the financial year 1996–97—which also makes the year a typical in course programme terms. Accurate costs for the three single service colleges and the joint service defence college at Greenwich, even for the previous year, 1995–96, are not available because the MOD's cash accounting system does not enable a wide range of support costs to be disaggregated from larger sums covering more than one establishment, such as Camberley and Sandhurst, or from sums covering more than one function at the same location, as was the case at Greenwich. This should be addressed by the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting.

The estimated cost of the JSCSC in 1997–98 is £30 million. This applies to the JSCSC at its interim sites, mainly Bracknell, and for reasons similar to those given above is likely still to be slightly underestimated; 1999–00 is also atypical because the move from the interim to the permanent site is due to take place during the summer of 1999. The first full year of operation at the permanent site will be 2000–01 for which estimated costs, for the facilities and services provided by the contractor as well as MOD-provided teaching and directing staff, are also approximately £30 million.