§ Mr. FallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the sites of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency visited by Defence Ministers since May 1997. [89621]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 2 July 1999]: Since May 1997, Defence Ministers have visited the following DERA sites:
- Farnborough
- Malvern
- Porton Down
- Chertsey
- Portsdown West.
§ Mr. FallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the meetings he and his Ministers have held with trade union representatives of staff employed by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency to discuss the Public Private Partnership proposals [90632]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 12 July 1999]: In July 1998, the Strategic Defence Review—SDR—announced a Public Private partnership—PPP—for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency—DERA. Since then, there have been a number of meetings between Ministers and trade union representatives of DERA staff. Many of these meetings were intended to discuss a range of SDR issues, but the subject of DERA PPP often featured prominently.
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Date Attendees Location 22 July 1998 Minister (DP), DERA management, staff and trade unions DERA Farnborough 28 July 1998 Secretary of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and trade unions MOD 28 January 1999 Secretary of State and the trade unions The Royal United Services Institute 10 February 1999 Under-Secretary of State and trade unions Defence Industrial Whitley Committee, MOD
Date Attendees Location 19 February 1999 Minister(DP), DERA Management, staff and trade unions DERA Malvern 26 February 1999 Minister(DP), DERA staff and trade unions DERA Portsdown West 28 April 1999 Under-Secretary of State and trade unions Defence Industrial Whitley Committee, MOD The formal method for consultation with the trade unions is through the DERA Consultative Committee, and regular meetings, attended by DERA senior management and MOD, have been held. On a less formal basis, DERA management has taken every opportunity to keep the trade unions informed of progress on the DERA PPP study and staff issues. DERA site managers have also met with local representatives. The MOD study team has a continuing dialogue with both local and national trade union representatives.
We intend this level of dialogue to continue throughout the project.
§ Mr. FallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are currently employed by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency; and how many at each site. [90559]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 12 July 1999]: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Sir John Chisholm to Mr. Michael Fallon, dated 13 July 1999:
I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question concerning the number of people currently employed by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency and the number employed on each DERA site.As of 2 July 1999 DERA employed a total of 11,647 people. The numbers employed on the major DERA sites are as follows:96W
Site Hebrides 70 Aberporth 282 Alverstoke 123 Aquila 182 Bedford 305 Bincleaves 184 Boscombe Down 1,062 Chertsey 396.5 Defford 111 Bridgwater 28 Eskmeals 41 Farnborough 2,594.5 Fort Halstead 1,174.5 Fraser 55 Funtington 24 Glasgow 50.5 Haslar 190.5 Larkhill 41 Loch Goil 26.5 Malvern 1,871 Pendine 38 Portland Bill 26 Porton Down 637.5 Portsdown 35.5 Portsdown West 610.5 Pyestock 548.5
Site Rosyth 135.5 Shoeburyness 53 West Drayton 26 West Freugh 30 Winfrith 442 DERA also has a small number of staff, currently 64, manning various ranges and facilities in the UK. There are also another 188.5 staff on secondment to non-DERA establishments or lodging in small numbers on non-DERA sites.
I hope that this information is helpful.