IT Systems (Army Recruitment)

Debate between Gavin Shuker and Lord Hammond of Runnymede

Tuesday 14th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

There are a number of elements to that. I said that potential recruits seeking to access the system will notice an improvement in the quality of the IT platform, principally because the front end—the web-based portal through which they will access the system—will be replaced at the end of January by a system that is now running but still being trialled before it goes live. The system will work, but that is by applying additional manual resource, which, as I have already told the House, is costing us £1 million a month. The purpose of the partnering contract is to take about 1,000 personnel who were involved in the administration of recruiting out of that role, and save about £300 million a year. In the long term we still need to harvest that saving, and it will be necessary to have a proper ICT solution to do that.

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

How many recruits have fallen through the cracks?

[Mr Hammond]

That is difficult to say because, by definition, when we talk about recruits falling through the cracks, we are essentially talking about people who have become frustrated with the delay in the process and simply dropped out and gone away. We are seeking to track those people and to go back and re-engage them, as it were, but I know from anecdotal evidence—e-mails I get in my personal e-mail account—that a number of people have just got fed up with the system and given up. The Army is acutely conscious that we cannot afford to waste any potential recruits.

Defence Procurement

Debate between Gavin Shuker and Lord Hammond of Runnymede

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

There are countless examples of excellent procurement results in the UOR—urgent operational requirement—system. Indeed, it is common ground among Members who take an interest in this issue that we have to try to import some of the lessons from the UOR system into the routine procurement system. I do not want to pre-empt the major projects review that the National Audit Office will publish in the new year, but I can promise my hon. Friend that he will see programmes that deliver on time and within budget on a scale that he will not have seen before. That is a sign of the progress that is being made, although there is much further to go.

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Part of getting value for money for the taxpayer out of the defence industry must surely be about sending clear, consistent signals to that industry. Does the Secretary of State believe that this affair has met that test?

[Mr Hammond]

Yes, and if the hon. Gentleman talks to the defence industry, he will find that it is getting a clear and consistent signal. Let me be clear: this is—[Interruption.] I beg to disagree with the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones): that is what the industry is saying. This is not about beating people up over their profit margins; it is about working together to try to ensure that we do projects in a way that can deliver value for money. It is about not letting contracts where the costs of any overruns are split 90% to the taxpayer and 10% to the industry. No wonder the industry is having a quiet word with the hon. Gentleman.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Shuker and Lord Hammond of Runnymede

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

T2. The recent London-Somali conference reflected the commitment of successive Governments to that region, but the communiqué spoke of co-ordinated ground action, and air strikes were also mooted. Will the Secretary of State rule out British military action in Somalia, including ground troops and air strikes?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

I do not think it would be sensible for me to rule out anything in the long term, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we have no plans to deploy any troops at the moment. As he will know, the African Union provides the troops for this operation; our involvement is limited to a very small number of staff advisers, largely advising the Kenyan forces.

Intercity Express and Rail Electrification

Debate between Gavin Shuker and Lord Hammond of Runnymede

Tuesday 1st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am well aware of the vigorous campaign to redouble the Kemble to Swindon link, and I know that the case will continue to be made for it as a major investment programme, and also for its possible inclusion in Network Rail’s next control period.

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Following the delivery of the IEP, will the Secretary of State tell the House how many ageing InterCity 125s will still be on the network and for how long?

[Mr Hammond]

Only a small number of diesel 125s will remain on the network, and they will be serving the route down to Penzance in Cornwall. All the other 125s will be replaced by bi-mode trains under today’s proposal. I cannot say for how long those diesel 125s will remain on the network. There are no specific proposals to replace them at the moment, but I would remind the hon. Gentleman that the intercity express programme was always conceived as a commitment to a firm fleet of trains as the first phase, with options on further trains for future phases. It will therefore be for my successors at some point in the future to consider whether the remaining InterCity 125s should in due course be replaced by bi-mode IEPs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Shuker and Lord Hammond of Runnymede

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. What steps he is taking to ensure that the Thameslink project is completed on time.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Philip Hammond)]

As I confirmed on 25 November, the Thameslink programme will go ahead in full. To improve delivery confidence, we will defer completion of the full programme, allowing 24 trains per hour in each direction, until 2018. This will reduce both cost and risk, particularly in respect of the reconstruction of London Bridge station. Passengers will start to see benefits from December 2011, when works at Blackfriars will be completed, and some 12-car trains will start to run from Bedford through to Brighton.

[Gavin Shuker]

As the Secretary of State will be aware, many of my constituents are struggling to get into work this morning on the existing rolling stock. New rolling stock is therefore vital as part of the Thameslink upgrade. Would he be willing to share the time scales for delivery of such rolling stock and place the information on record in the House?

[Mr Hammond]

It is expected that the new Thameslink rolling stock—1,200 vehicles—will start to be delivered in 2015, and delivery should be completed by 2019.

Transport (Investment)

Debate between Gavin Shuker and Lord Hammond of Runnymede

Tuesday 26th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

That is the third representation that we have had on the Coventry-Nuneaton rail upgrade this afternoon. I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend, and may I tempt him to include Opposition Members who have an interest in this? He and they are welcome to come along and talk about it.

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister understand the concern that he will cause in Luton and the surrounding areas by his shelving of the A5-M1 link road to the north of Luton, which is vital not only for improving transport but for solving our housing problems? Those housing problems will be even more acute in the coming years because of the coalition’s policies, which will force London residents out to places such as Luton.

[Mr Hammond]

The A5-M1 link road has not been shelved: it is a scheme on which we will do further development work. From memory, the issue involves the possibility of a significant developer contribution and the building of the road will open up significant amounts of developable land. We will need to do some further work to ensure that we extract the maximum possible developer contribution and that the public purse is not left to pick up a cost that should properly be borne by the private sector.