§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what(a) heritage and (b) historic buildings are owned by his Department; and what is their value is in each case. [18812]
§ Dr. MoonieI have placed in the Library of the House a list of the historic and heritage properties and scheduled monuments, which are in the Ministry of Defence's care. I regard these properties as very valuable in both national and departmental terms, and we seek to maintain them to the highest appropriate standards.
Valuation of such properties is, however, difficult whether in terms of the contribution they make to our business, or in open market terms. For MOD accounting purposes we record only the replacement value of operational assets (for instance, an historic building used for administrative purposes would be valued as an office with certain capacity). The National Asset Register records historic/heritage properties as having nil value. Given the number of properties in the keeping of the MOD, as well as their often unique history and location, the information required is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, which would in any case be of questionable practical use.