The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to his Department was of commissioning and publishing the report, entitled BBC television, radio and online services: An assessment of market impact and distinctiveness, published in March 2016.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The costs of this piece of independent research was £98,900 excluding VAT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) households and (b) businesses unable to access broadband speeds of (i) 10 Mbit/s and (ii) two Mbit/s in the latest period for which figures are available.
Mr Edward Vaizey
According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2015 report – based on the state of the market in May 2015 – 8% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 10Mbp/s and 2% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 2Mbp/s. These figures are likely to have reduced due to continued commercial and BDUK broadband deployment across the UK – superfast broadband access has increased from 45% in 2010 to 90%, and by the end of next year, 95% of homes and businesses will have access to superfast broadband. In addition, all premises with speeds below 2Mbp/s now have access to speeds greater than this through the Government’s Basic Broadband Scheme, and the Prime Minister has announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, with a minimum speed of 10Mbps, to help ensure no-one is left behind.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
Mr Philip Dunne
We are unable to release this information publicly while commercial negotiations are continuing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which sites owned by his Department he plans to sell in 2015-16.
Mark Lancaster
In the current financial year, 2015-16, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) expects to sell the Old War Office Building, Islington TA Centre, a part of Shorncliffe Garrison, Canterbury TA Centre and around 70 smaller sites throughout the UK which are mainly small parts of larger establishments.
The MOD is committed to reducing the size of its estate holding to the most appropriate size and lay down required for our Armed Forces. As set out in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 the Department intends to reduce the built estate by 30% with the aim of providing a smaller more sustainable estate in support of Military capabilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to retire the Sentinel aircraft from service.
Mr Philip Dunne
Under plans announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cm9161), Sentinel will be extended in service into the next decade.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 4.105 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, how much of the £1.9 billion investment in cyber defence he plans to spend in each year until 2020.
Matthew Hancock
As announced in the Chancellor’s speech of 17 November, a new National Cyber Security Strategy will be launched in 2016, implemented through a new National Cyber Security Programme. The new programme will determine how much of the £1.9 billion investment is spent each financial year to March 2021.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by when he plans for his Department to achieve its target strength for the Army Reserve.
Mr Julian Brazier
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by my right hon. Friend the previous Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) on 19 December 2013, (Official Report, column 124WS) on Future Reserves 2020, and the accompanying document that was placed in the Library of the House which sets out the planned growth of the trained strength of the Reserve Forces, together with the enlistment targets for the next five years.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2015 to the hon. Member for Strangford (Mr Shannon) to Question 11812 which explained the improvements we have made to ensure we reach our target strength of 35,000 trained volunteer Reservists by 31 March 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the projected in-service date for the first of the Successor class submarines has been delayed by two years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
Designing and building submarines is one of the largest programmes and one of the most complex activities that the Ministry of Defence and UK Industry has ever undertaken. It is the purpose of a design phase to improve our understanding of costs and timescales, which we have now done. The current estimates reflect what we have learned since the design phase began.
As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015 (Cm9161), our latest estimate of the total cost to manufacture the four Successor submarines reflects greater maturity of the design and understanding of the supply chain, amounts to £31 billion; we will also set a contingency of £10 billion. This level of contingency represents about 35% of the costs to completion and is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff were employed at the Joint Service Housing Advice Office in each year since 2010.
Mark Lancaster
The Joint Service Housing Advice Office has had eight posts since 2010.
The total expenditure of individual departments, including the Joint Service Housing Advice Office, is not collated at a single point. For example, infrastructure costs (including utilities) are managed through Regional Prime Contracts which do not split out individual units. Similarly, equipment costs cannot be split out. For this reason, the total expenditure of the Joint Service Housing Advice Office cannot be provided.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what expenditure his Department was on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising on making the Defence Infrastructure Organisation government-owned in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13, (iii) 2013-14 and (iv) 2014-15.
Mark Lancaster
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has been led by a Strategic Business Partner (SBP) since September 2014. The SBP contract allowed for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to instruct the incorporation of DIO as a Government-owned company (GovCo), subject to a value for money review.
I announced the conclusions of the review in my written statement of 10 December 2015 (Official Report, columns 55-56WS). The GovCo model would have been led by the SBP but 100% owned by the Secretary of State for Defence. A GovCo is distinct from a Government-owned contractor-operated organisation (GOCO) which has a different legal construct. The MOD has never proposed for the DIO to become a GOCO.