§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are being made for the future delivery of pay, pensions and personnel administration services for the armed forces. [16282]
§ Dr. ReidMy predecessor announced on 20 February this year,Official Report, column 720 that the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency was to be launched as a tri-Service organisation on 1 April, and that plans were in hand to appoint a commercial partner to deliver most of the Agency's services on its behalf. AFPAA was launched on the due date, and the necessary evaluation and approval processes for its partnering contract have now been completed. I have agreed that the contract should be awarded to Electronic Data Systems (Defence) Ltd.
As part of the modernisation of our Armed Forces for the 21st Century, this public-private partnering contract is the beginning of a comprehensive programme of improvement and redevelopment in the delivery of pay, pensions and personnel administrative services. It will bring new skills and technology to this area of work, and, importantly, it will provide the necessary capital, under private finance arrangements, at a level which could not be expected from the Defence budget. The contract will 612W run for up to 12 years at an estimated cost of over £30 million. The effective date for transfer of responsibility to EDS, including staff and capital assets, is planned for 1 January next year. About 900 civilian staff will move permanently to EDS, with 100 military personnel being placed with the company in the first instance.
In about three years' time, elements of the Army Personnel Centre in Glasgow will come under AFPAA's responsibility. This will mean the transfer of a further 500 civilian staff to EDS. There are no plans to relocate these jobs from Glasgow and any proposals would need Ministerial approval.