§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) for what reason Territorial Army financial systems administrators have each received substitution pay of £10 per day; and what has been the total cost to his budget; [99929]
(2) how many Territorial Army financial systems administrator posts are being civilianised; what is (a) the average and (b) the maximum number of training weeks required to train executive officers as FSAs; what is the cost of that training; what is the cost of (i) subsistence and (ii) travelling expenses per person per day for that training at Worthy Down; and whether overtime will be payable to civilianised FSAs. [99933]
§ Mr. SpellarThe post of Financial Systems Administrator (FSA) was civilianised with effect from 1 July 1999, and this will affect some 78 non-regular permanent staff (NRPS). The executive officer (EO) grade civil servants who will fulfil this function in future will each undergo a maximum of 18 weeks training at the School of Employment (SET) Training at Worthy Down before taking over the job fully. One additional member of staff has been temporarily employed to assist in running courses at SET at a cost of some £35,000 to minimise the impact of this surge in requirement on existing courses.
The travel and subsistence costs for EOs attending these courses depend on an individual's circumstances. Where EOs stay in the Officers' Mess at Worthy Down, they will receive daily subsistence of £5 in addition to the cost of accommodation. If they stay in a hotel, the rate is up to a maximum of £25 in addition to the cost of accommodation. It is not possible to provide a meaningful figure for travelling expenses because each individual's circumstances are unique. Executive officer FSAs will be entitled to claim overtime.
Until such time as the executive officers take over these responsibilities, the NRPS staff sergeants who are currently filling the posts are entitled to substitution pay which equates to £10 a day. In order to provide an overall cost, it would be necessary to refer to individual records and this has not been possible in the time available.