---

Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the responsibilities of the (a) Personnel Director, (b) Pay and Personnel Agency, (c) Defence Vetting Agency, (d) Defence Export Services Organisation, (e) Finance Director, (f) Defence Analytical Services Agency, (g) Defence Bills Agency, (h) Chief Constable MOD Police and (i) Chief Scientific Adviser management groups. [181745] Mr. Caplin: Most defence activity takes place outside the Ministry of Defence Head Office and is managed through 12 Top Level Budget (TLB) holders and five Trading Funds. The Permanent Secretary grants each TLB-holder extensive delegated powers over his/her resources of cash, personnel and infrastructure. Each TLB holder has a `contract' with the MOD head office, known as a Service Delivery Agreement, which specifies the outputs required of that TLB, the resources they are given to deliver these outputs, and the underpinning performance management regime. The responsibilities of the management groupings are listed as follows: (a) The Personnel Director is the budget holder for the Corporate Services Higher Level Budget and chairs its management board. The Personnel Director is responsible for a wide range of important management functions and related corporate services for the MOD as a whole. As the post title suggests, there is a particular responsibility for the Ministry's corporate HR strategy and management of its almost 90,000 civilian staff. (b) The Pay and Personnel Agency provides a pay and personnel information service to the MOD and other customers in the public sector. (c) The Defence Vetting Agency aims to provide an acceptable level of assurance as to the integrity of Defence employees and Defence industry staff who are given authorised access to sensitive Government information or valuable assets. (d) The Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) has an important role in implementing the Government's policy of supporting legitimate defence exports. DESO provides assistance to United Kingdom defence companies and to overseas customers interested in acquiring UK defence products. (e) The Finance Director is responsible for the Department's planning, finance and performance management processes. He also acts as `owner' of the Defence Analytical Services Agency and the Defence Bills Agency. (f) The Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) provides professional analytical and statistical services and advice to the Ministry of Defence and defence- related statistics to Parliament, other Government Departments and the public. DASA is responsible for publishing all National Statistics on defence and these can be found on our website www.dasa.mod.uk. (g) The Defence Bills Agency (DBA) carries out the following functions for the Ministry of Defence: Corporate bill payment and invoicing and debt management services, provision of accounting records for the MOD central ledger and associated financial management information for MOD customers. Further information can be found in the DBA annual report and accounts which is available in the Library of the House of Commons. (h) The Chief Constable and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency is responsible for the prevention of crime within the MOD estate. In addition the Force has special responsibility for the policing and security of key areas of Defence and other organisations, including the Crown. (i) The 3* Defence Science and Technology (S&T) Board, chaired by the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA), provides high level strategic guidance on the formulation of the S&T Research Programme, conducts Balance of Investment within the Programme and reviews its delivery. It also supports CSA in ensuring that the benefits arising from S&T expenditure are clearly understood across the Department, and focused on the Department's needs. A subset of the S&T Board is responsible for overseeing the in-year management of the Corporate Science, Innovation and Technology TLB, top-level performance assessment and consideration of audit reports. Day to day management of the TLB is delegated to the S&T Director, supported by a management group which meets on a monthly basis. Further information on individual defence agencies is available in the Library of the House.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

181745; 423 c1042-4W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Crime prevention Armed forces Defence Executive agencies Defence equipment Finance Exports Police Pay Ministry of Defence Statistics Vetting Technology Defence Export Services Organisation Pay and Personnel Agency Defence Vetting Agency Defence Bills Agency Defence Analytical Services Agency

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk