§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Department spent on(a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [134686]
§ Mr. HoonThe Ministry of Defence provides accommodation for Service personnel (and for United Kingdom based civil servants serving abroad) as a condition of service. Within the Service Families Accommodation stock of some 75,000 properties worldwide are 37 properties known as Official Service Residences. These properties are maintained to a higher than normal standard, owing to the presentational role of the occupant and the requirement for them to host and sometimes accommodate guests of the most senior level, including representatives of overseas states, in their homes. The MOD is also responsible for costs associated with the Government-owned official residence assigned to the Secretary of State for Defence by the Prime Minister during 2002.
Costs for these 37 properties (excluding staff costs and income from charges paid), and those for the residence provided for the Secretary of State for Defence for the last two years are shown in the table. Data prior to this was not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
£ Residences 2001–02 2002–03 Maintenance 939,651 1,061,259 Renovation 200,587 141,693 Council Tax 41,563 47,932 Running Costs 848,430 1,060,291