HC Deb 13 June 2000 vol 351 c561W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers and of what rank comprise the Special Investigations Branch; and what is the annual expenditure of the SIB broken down into relevant headings. [123887]

Mr. Spellar

The Special Investigations Branch (SIB) comprises 25 Officers and 158 soldiers, of the following ranks:

Rank Total
Lieutenant Colonel 3
Major 12
Captain 10
Warrant Officer Class I 14
Warrant Officer Class II 27
Staff Sergeant 49
Sergeant 68
Total 183

The full cost of operating the SIB does not currently fall to a single, discrete budgetary area. For example, support costs may be satisfied at local level by the military unit with whom the SIB personnel are collocated; and, moreover, such costs are not separately apportioned. To determine the cost of operating the SIB worldwide could not, therefore, be achieved without disproportionate effort.

A provisional estimate of expenditure on the three major SIB units which operate in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Germany, for the present financial year, is detailed in the table.

Expenditure £
Military pay 7,122,261
Civilian pay1 1,020,969
Contracts2 32,500
IT3 29,989
Lands and buildings4 28,000
Travel and subsistence5 244,658
Fuel and utilities 60,638
VAT receipts -33,000
Miscellaneous6 423,603
Total 8,929,618
1In the UK and NI the SIB's functions are supported by civil servants, and in Germany by Locally Employed personnel
2Cleaning; Technical cleaning
3Installation and upkeep of both hardware and software
4Rents, legal fees, and minor estate improvements
5Vehicle hire, detached duty and daily travel
6Telephone costs, office supplies and logistical support