§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the area is of office space in the Craigiehall building to be occupied by Command HQ civilian and service personnel; and if the trade unions have been given this information; [116054]
(2) if he will make a statement on the risk assessment relating to the Craigiehall building to be used for Army 2 Division Headquarters under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992; [116045]
(3) how many personnel and what volume of office equipment can be safely accommodated in the Craigiehall building; [116052]
(4) how many (a) civilian and (b) service personnel are planned to occupy the Craigiehall building following the transfer there of Army 2 Division Headquarters; and if this information has been disclosed to the relevant trade unions; [116037]
(5) if he will estimate the numbers of (a) civilian and (b) service personnel planned to occupy Craigiehall; [116051]
(6) what investigation has been carried out in the Craigiehall building, which is to house the Army Headquarters 2 Division, to establish the extent of the use of asbestos in its fabric and whether it is safely inert; what alterations to the interior of the Craigiehall building are planned that could disturb existing asbestos installation; at what cost; and what are the health and safety implications for his Department's personnel being accommodated there; [116036]
399W(7) what load-bearing tests have been carried out in the Craigiehall building to establish whether it can safely accommodate the personnel and equipment needed in the reorganised Army Headquarters 2 Division; when and by whom the tests were conducted; what the findings of the tests were; and whether the report of the tests was disclosed to the trade unions; [116039]
(8) what representations he has received concerning the proposed accommodation to be provided for Army 2 Division HQ at Craigiehall; [116053]
(9) what is the total office space in the Craigiehall building to be occupied by Army Command HQ civilian and service personnel; and when the trade unions were given this information. [116038]
§ Mr. SpellarFollowing the move of the Headquarters 2 Division from York to Edinburgh, a total of up to some 262 staff posts are planned to be accommodated within Annandale Block, which is the Headquarters 2 Division HQ Building, Craigiehall. Of this total, some 204 are civilian and 58 military. Some 35 of the total number work for organisations other than Headquarters 2 Division. All these staff can be safely accommodated within the building.
The gross floor office space of the building, excluding corridors, is approximately 4,000 sq m, some 3,475 sq m of which will be utilised by Headquarters 2 Division staff. It is not possible to provide a meaningful figure of the maximum number of personnel and amount of office equipment that could be safely accommodated within the building, as the occupation of each room would be dependent on individual circumstances. Planning for reorganisation of accommodation within the building has been undertaken with due regard to The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations and the Approved Code of Practice 1992, Regulation 10 (Room Dimension and Space).
The presence of asbestos as an insulator behind convected heating panels and in ceiling tiles of the building was identified in December 1997. Although it was judged to be safely inert, it was nevertheless recorded as a potential hazard and brought to the attention of all staff. In line with the requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, Regulation 3 (Risk Assessment), a reassessment was carried out on Annandale Block in early 1999, and the judgment was that it remains safely inert.
In addition, a Legionellosis Risk Assessment relating to the building was carried out in February this year. The assessment made a number of minor recommendations to comply with statutory obligations, and implementation of these recommendations is now in hand.
Currently, alterations relating to the reconfiguration of the reprographic room in Annandale Block are being carried out at an estimated cost of £3,400. Safe systems of work have been applied and all necessary precautions have been taken in accordance with the control of Asbestos at Work (Amendment) 1992. No further work is currently planned for the building.
An intrusive structural survey has been carried out in March this year by Posford Duvivier Scotland Ltd., Edinburgh on behalf of the Estate Adviser Scotland and 400W this confirmed that the structural integrity of the building and, in particular, the steelwork remained sound. The survey made a number of recommendations about the positioning of heavy objects such as filing cabinets on the upper floors with which the Headquarters is complying.
The health and safety of personnel accommodated within the building, and indeed throughout the HQ 2 Division, Craigiehall remains a high priority. This will remain the case.
No formal representations have been made concerning accommodation at Craigiehall. Prior to the move of the Headquarters 2 Division from York to Edinburgh, a formal consultation document associated with the restructuring, which included cost data, was given to the national and local trade unions in October 1998. Local trade unions have been kept informed of office moves within the headquarters of HQ Scotland, Craigiehall, including internal moves within Annandale Block, on an informal basis.