§ Mr. Keith SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those properties and lands identified for disposal by his Department. [51037]
§ Mr. SpellarMy Department has a large number of properties which have been identified as surplus and are now in the process of disposal. These range from major establishments and airfields, to smaller plots and single houses. A list of sites currently in disposal was placed in the Library earlier this year, on 23 February 1998,Official Report, column 41. That list is now being updated. As part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) we have identified further sites for disposal some of which are listed in Supporting Essay 11 to the SDR White Paper, and on some of which final discussions have not yet been reached.
To provide our assessment of the open market value of individual sites might prejudice the eventual sale and I am therefore withholding the information under Exemptions 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Mr. Keith SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Strategic Defence Review, if he will make a statement on the basis of his Department's assumptions that receipts from sales of properties and land from the Defence Estate will double over the next four years.[50963]
§ Mr. SpellarThe figure for estimated disposal receipts included in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) White Paper is based upon our assessment of the open market value of the properties currently identified for disposal. In some cases this is based on in-house valuations carried out by professional surveyors, and in others on valuations carried out by consultants. The figure also allows for receipts from sites which are likely to come forward as a result of studies and further rationalisation of the estate following SDR.