Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anas Sarwar and Lord Robathan

Monday 22nd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robathan]

I have to say that that question is best addressed to the SNP, but unfortunately no SNP Members are here to answer it at the moment. It is almost incredible that a country might wish to join NATO but then say that NATO’s assets and armaments would not be allowed to be stationed in that country or pass through it.

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

The Minister has noted that there is no SNP presence in the House today. The hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) said, “Who dares wins,” but SNP Members do not dare turn up to engage in the debate.

Does the Minister agree that it smacks of a contradiction for the SNP to say that it wants to join an international alliance and promote co-operation with NATO, and at the very same time say that it wants to leave a Union that best serves the defence of Scotland?

[Mr Robathan]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, because I entirely agree. That is an interesting dilemma that members of the SNP will have to sort out among themselves.

Defence Equipment and Support: Recruitment

Debate between Anas Sarwar and Lord Robathan

Monday 10th October 2011 Ministerial Corrections

[Anas Sarwar]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of recruitment and retention rates for Defence Equipment and Support staff based in (a) Glasgow and (b) Bristol.

[Official Report, 6 September 2011, Vol. 532, c. 546W.]

Letter of correction from Andrew Robathan:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Anas Sarwar) on 6 September 2011. The original answer failed to take account of organisational changes that took place in April 2011 but which were not recorded on the departmental HR management information system until August. The data provided in the original answer covered the period August 2010 to July 2011 only.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Mr Robathan]

Defence Equipment and Support currently employs around 100 civilian staff in Glasgow and around 5,500 civilian staff at its headquarters in Bristol. The significant difference in numbers means that direct comparisons cannot readily be made. In the year to July 2011, about 2.5% of Bristol staff and about 1% of Glasgow staff left through retirement or resignation compared with around 4.5% for Defence Equipment and Support as a whole.

The restrictions on recruitment across the whole of the Ministry of Defence mean that there has only been external recruitment into critical or specialised posts. In the year to July 2011, we recruited around 150 new staff in Bristol and none in Glasgow.

The correct answer should have been: