§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence to whom the legal title of the land occupied by the Droitwich Spa Army Medal Office belongs; and who would receive the proceeds of any sale of the site. [172034]
§ Mr. CaplinThe land was acquired on 30 March 1940 by 'The Commissioners of His Majesty's Works and Public Buildings'. Subsequent Government inter-departmental transfers culminated in the disaggregation of the Common User Estate by the Government's Property Holdings Unit in April 1996. This resulted in the land transferring (again on an inter-department basis) to the Ministry of Defence although technically the legal title remains with the successor to 'The Commissioners of His Majesty's Works and Public Buildings'. The proceeds of the disposal would fall to the MOD.
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§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the investment appraisal for the proposed closure of the Droitwich Spa Army Medal Office and the relocation of its services to RAF Innsworth; [172036]
(2) what the costs of upkeep and maintenance of the Army Medal Office, Droitwich Spa, were in the most recent year for which figures are available. [172037]
§ Mr. CaplinA copy of the Investment Appraisal will be placed in the Library. It considered the options for co-location of all functions that will come into the Joint Personnel Administration Centre, but did not deal exclusively with the issue of the Army Medal Office. I have also placed in the Library a letter dated 18 March 2004 to the Trade Unions, in which more details were provided on the specific business and financial justification for the closure of Droitwich and the creation of the Joint Medal Office at RAP Innsworth.
For financial year 2003–04, the property management costs for the upkeep and maintenance of the Army Medal Office were some £110,000. This figure excludes staff and medal bullion/production costs. Utility costs for the same period were some £22,600.