§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost was of re-locating the fire fighting school to Whale Island, Portsmouth; and if he will make a statement; [155800]
(2) what the costs were of the fuel tanks recently installed at Whale Island, Portsmouth; and if he will make a statement. [155798]
§ Mr. SpellarThe overall cost of the new fire fighting training units at HMS Excellent, HMS Raleigh and Strathclyde fire brigade was £6.50 million (excluding VAT) per annum over a 20-year period. These provide all the fire fighting training for the Royal Navy.
The overall project was funded as a private finance initiative (PFI) with Flagship Fire Fighting Ltd. under the public-private partnership agreement between the Navy Recruiting and Training Agency and Flagship Training Ltd. Flagship own the facilities at HMS Excellent and HMS Raleigh and the Royal Navy pays a monthly cost for the training, currently estimated to average £500,000 per month. The cost of demolition of the fire fighting training facility at Horsea island was £65,000.
551WThe fuel tanks referred to are, in fact, waste water tanks which hold waste water expended following completion of the day's fire fighting training activities.
The cost of the waste water tanks is included within the PFI contract with Flagship Fire Fighting Training Ltd.