Written question asked by Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party) on Monday, 7 February 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 March 2005. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Thursday, 24 March 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people worked for the Disposal Services Agency (a) in 2003-04 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available; how many were employed in Scotland in each case; and what the personnel costs of the agency (i) were in 2003-04 and (ii) are expected to be in 2004-05.

Answer: Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people worked for the Disposal Services Agency (a) in 2003-04 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available; how many were employed in Scotland in each case; and what the personnel costs of the agency (i) were in 2003-04 and (ii) are expected to be in 2004-05. [215944] Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the Disposal Service Agency's (DSA) Annual Report and Accounts 2003-04 that was laid before the House on 15 July 2004; less than five DSA staff members were employed in Scotland during this year. For the current Financial Year, 2004-05, the personnel costs for the agency are forecast to be in the region of £3 million. The latest personnel figures, as at March 2005, are 120 employed by the agency, of which again less than five are employed in Scotland. The increase in staff numbers this year resulted from the pre-merger process of the DSA with part of the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) following an "End-to-End Business Process Review of the disposal process within the MOD". The additional staff will not be funded by the agency until 1 April 2005, when it transfers ownership to the DLO.

Secondary information