Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Cunningham Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Peter Luff]

It is not an either/or situation. UAVs have their role to play, but Typhoon is not a cold war legacy; it has proved to be an exceptionally capable modern aircraft, taking on the world and proving its exceptional worth in Libya. I am very confident of success in the large number of ongoing export campaigns around the world. Typhoon is a remarkable modern aircraft with a very bright future ahead of it.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

9. How much his Department spent on accommodation in London for military officers and staff of his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Andrew Robathan)]

Over the last 12 months, the Ministry of Defence spent some £25 million on renting 3,000 service family accommodation properties and 1,000 substitute family and single accommodation properties in London for entitled service personnel. Substitute properties were rented only when no suitable MOD accommodation was available. We seek to get best value for money. Travel and subsistence payments for service and civilian personnel relating to short-term detached duty, permanent transfer, which involves move of home, or temporary transfer in London cannot be identified separately. However, for civilian personnel in London, the MOD imposes a monthly rental ceiling of £1,250. Personnel based in the London area are undertaking essential duties in a range of locations.

[Mr Cunningham]

Given the financial difficulties of the MOD and the worldwide economic situation that we inherited, the present Government have made the position worse. With all these defence cuts going on, particularly among specialist police in the MOD, how does the Minister justify spending £500,000 on a trip to America, which was cancelled last year?

[Mr Robathan]

I am not entirely sure how that question relates specifically to my previous answer, but I will of course answer it. As I understand it, the trip is part of the Defence Academy course, and 300 people went to America for a week or whatever. It seems to me that this is a reasonable use of defence expenditure to ensure that people are properly trained at the Defence Academy and that they gain a proper understanding of the United States, which is, after all, our most important ally, with which we are much engaged in Afghanistan at the moment.