[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.

Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Kevan Jones and Jim Murphy:

I write in response to Parliamentary Questions regarding the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years and information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Hon. Andrew Robathan MP, informed you that we would provide this information once the Permanent Secretary had reviewed the access that six named retired military officers maintain to Defence, the rules around such access, compliance with those rules, and the level of transparency adopted by the Department. Following my announcement in the House today, I am pleased to confirm the details of our review.

This review has taken some time to complete, as a central record, of meetings between MOD staff and retired personnel is not kept. The size of the Department and the natural turnover of staff would make this an impossible and disproportionate task to record routinely. However, the review exercise has gathered an extensive amount of information about the level of access that the six named individuals maintained to senior civilian and military staff. It found no evidence to indicate that retired or former employees have, or are able, to influence any MOD equipment contracts.

A rigorous process is used for the approval of all equipment projects which involves non-advocate scrutiny of all major investment decisions by an Investment Approvals Committee which provides advice to Ministers and the Accounting Officer.

The overall number of occasions the six named individuals have had contact with senior MOD civilian and military staff since their retirement is contained in the following table.

The review also addressed the nature of the contact that has been maintained by the six named individuals with senior civilian and military staff in the MOD, which is summarised in the following table.

The findings show that the vast majority of the contact that the six individuals maintained with the MOD contact was not to discuss procurement of equipment. The vast majority of the 39 occasions when the named individuals were identified as having discussed procurement were entirely within the rules and occurred beyond the period of any individual's lobbying ban. However, the review did find that one former General had breached the restrictions that related to his new employment - imposed on him by the Business Appointments process.

An audit of meetings shows that on 9 occasions Lt Gen Dick Applegate discussed defence equipment with the MOD which were considered in breach of the rules placed upon him since his retirement. None of these meetings resulted in any sales or influenced the MOD'S equipment plan and the MOD has reported this contact to the Cabinet Office - who have responsibility for the Advisory Committee for Business Appointments (ACOBA) - and made clear to the individual that such behaviour is not acceptable.

It is clear from enquiries made that this has been an issue at the MOD not only under this Government but also under the previous administration too. Enquiries have shown for example that under the previous Labour Government 7 former Chiefs continued to have security passes after they had retired, in some cases for a number of years.

In answer to your specific questions, the following tables provide details of meetings and other encounters between Ministers, General Sir David Richards, General Sir Peter Wall and Air Marshal Stephen Hillier with any of Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszley, Lieutenant General Richard Applegate, General Lord Dannatt, Lord Stirrup and General Sir Mike Jackson.

Ministers

Since May 2010, Lord Astor of Hever has held around 20 routine defence briefings for Peers. Lord Dannatt (and, since retirement, Lord Stirrup) have been invited to these. These have not been included in the return.

General Sir David Richards (Chief of Defence Staff)

General Sir Peter Wall (Chief of General Staff)

Air Vice Marshal (now Air Marshal) Stephen Hillier (Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Military Capability) (meetings held when he was Director of Information Superiority)

There are no records of any meetings between General Sir Nick Parker and the six listed individuals during the period in question. I can also confirm Andrew Robathan has never stayed as a guest with Sir John Kiszely. Details of meetings between the six named individuals and any other military or civilian members of the MOD could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The MOD does not hold information about visits to other Government departments.

In light of the findings the Defence Secretary has taken steps to tighten up access and ensure that there cannot be any perception that former employees can exert influence on contracts awarded by the Department.

In order to prevent future occurrences, the Defence Secretary has implemented a comprehensive set of measures to ensure that both former and current employees are clear about the rules and restrictions in place. Under the new approach:

For the first time a list of all ex MOD personnel who are subject to lobbying restrictions under ACOBA will be available for all MOD staff to see;

All staff who leave the Department will now be required to sign a declaration as part of their application if they wish to take up industry posts;

The MOD Permanent Secretary has written to all former MOD personnel subject to business appointment restrictions to remind them of their duties under ACOBA;

The Permanent Secretary has also written to the Association of Defence suppliers to ensure industry members are aware of the Cabinet Office rules;

Transparency measures have been drastically increased - the Permanent Secretary, Chief of Defence Materiel and the Service Chiefs will now be required to publish details of any meetings with external organisations or individuals and of hospitality received. Additionally, selected senior civil servants and military personnel with a commercial aspect to their role will also have to comply with this new transparency agenda;

All MOD staff, both military and civilian, have been reminded by the Permanent Secretary and Chief of Defence Staff of the rules that limit contact with individuals and companies and directed that they need to seek guidance and clearance before any contact is made.

Since the Review the Permanent Secretary has removed almost 2,500 passes allowing access to the MOD'S Main Building to ensure that since Christmas only those members of staff who require regular access to the MOD are granted it. Passes that have not been used for sixty days have been disabled and there will be an ongoing audit of those being granted visitor passes.

[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.

Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Kevan Jones and Jim Murphy:

I write in response to Parliamentary Questions regarding the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years and information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Hon. Andrew Robathan MP, informed you that we would provide this information once the Permanent Secretary had reviewed the access that six named retired military officers maintain to Defence, the rules around such access, compliance with those rules, and the level of transparency adopted by the Department. Following my announcement in the House today, I am pleased to confirm the details of our review.

This review has taken some time to complete, as a central record, of meetings between MOD staff and retired personnel is not kept. The size of the Department and the natural turnover of staff would make this an impossible and disproportionate task to record routinely. However, the review exercise has gathered an extensive amount of information about the level of access that the six named individuals maintained to senior civilian and military staff. It found no evidence to indicate that retired or former employees have, or are able, to influence any MOD equipment contracts.

A rigorous process is used for the approval of all equipment projects which involves non-advocate scrutiny of all major investment decisions by an Investment Approvals Committee which provides advice to Ministers and the Accounting Officer.

The overall number of occasions the six named individuals have had contact with senior MOD civilian and military staff since their retirement is contained in the following table.

The review also addressed the nature of the contact that has been maintained by the six named individuals with senior civilian and military staff in the MOD, which is summarised in the following table.

The findings show that the vast majority of the contact that the six individuals maintained with the MOD contact was not to discuss procurement of equipment. The vast majority of the 39 occasions when the named individuals were identified as having discussed procurement were entirely within the rules and occurred beyond the period of any individual's lobbying ban. However, the review did find that one former General had breached the restrictions that related to his new employment - imposed on him by the Business Appointments process.

An audit of meetings shows that on 9 occasions Lt Gen Dick Applegate discussed defence equipment with the MOD which were considered in breach of the rules placed upon him since his retirement. None of these meetings resulted in any sales or influenced the MOD'S equipment plan and the MOD has reported this contact to the Cabinet Office - who have responsibility for the Advisory Committee for Business Appointments (ACOBA) - and made clear to the individual that such behaviour is not acceptable.

It is clear from enquiries made that this has been an issue at the MOD not only under this Government but also under the previous administration too. Enquiries have shown for example that under the previous Labour Government 7 former Chiefs continued to have security passes after they had retired, in some cases for a number of years.

In answer to your specific questions, the following tables provide details of meetings and other encounters between Ministers, General Sir David Richards, General Sir Peter Wall and Air Marshal Stephen Hillier with any of Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszley, Lieutenant General Richard Applegate, General Lord Dannatt, Lord Stirrup and General Sir Mike Jackson.

Ministers

Since May 2010, Lord Astor of Hever has held around 20 routine defence briefings for Peers. Lord Dannatt (and, since retirement, Lord Stirrup) have been invited to these. These have not been included in the return.

General Sir David Richards (Chief of Defence Staff)

General Sir Peter Wall (Chief of General Staff)

Air Vice Marshal (now Air Marshal) Stephen Hillier (Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Military Capability) (meetings held when he was Director of Information Superiority)

There are no records of any meetings between General Sir Nick Parker and the six listed individuals during the period in question. I can also confirm Andrew Robathan has never stayed as a guest with Sir John Kiszely. Details of meetings between the six named individuals and any other military or civilian members of the MOD could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The MOD does not hold information about visits to other Government departments.

In light of the findings the Defence Secretary has taken steps to tighten up access and ensure that there cannot be any perception that former employees can exert influence on contracts awarded by the Department.

In order to prevent future occurrences, the Defence Secretary has implemented a comprehensive set of measures to ensure that both former and current employees are clear about the rules and restrictions in place. Under the new approach:

For the first time a list of all ex MOD personnel who are subject to lobbying restrictions under ACOBA will be available for all MOD staff to see;

All staff who leave the Department will now be required to sign a declaration as part of their application if they wish to take up industry posts;

The MOD Permanent Secretary has written to all former MOD personnel subject to business appointment restrictions to remind them of their duties under ACOBA;

The Permanent Secretary has also written to the Association of Defence suppliers to ensure industry members are aware of the Cabinet Office rules;

Transparency measures have been drastically increased - the Permanent Secretary, Chief of Defence Materiel and the Service Chiefs will now be required to publish details of any meetings with external organisations or individuals and of hospitality received. Additionally, selected senior civil servants and military personnel with a commercial aspect to their role will also have to comply with this new transparency agenda;

All MOD staff, both military and civilian, have been reminded by the Permanent Secretary and Chief of Defence Staff of the rules that limit contact with individuals and companies and directed that they need to seek guidance and clearance before any contact is made.

Since the Review the Permanent Secretary has removed almost 2,500 passes allowing access to the MOD'S Main Building to ensure that since Christmas only those members of staff who require regular access to the MOD are granted it. Passes that have not been used for sixty days have been disabled and there will be an ongoing audit of those being granted visitor passes.

[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.

Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Kevan Jones and Jim Murphy:

I write in response to Parliamentary Questions regarding the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years and information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Hon. Andrew Robathan MP, informed you that we would provide this information once the Permanent Secretary had reviewed the access that six named retired military officers maintain to Defence, the rules around such access, compliance with those rules, and the level of transparency adopted by the Department. Following my announcement in the House today, I am pleased to confirm the details of our review.

This review has taken some time to complete, as a central record, of meetings between MOD staff and retired personnel is not kept. The size of the Department and the natural turnover of staff would make this an impossible and disproportionate task to record routinely. However, the review exercise has gathered an extensive amount of information about the level of access that the six named individuals maintained to senior civilian and military staff. It found no evidence to indicate that retired or former employees have, or are able, to influence any MOD equipment contracts.

A rigorous process is used for the approval of all equipment projects which involves non-advocate scrutiny of all major investment decisions by an Investment Approvals Committee which provides advice to Ministers and the Accounting Officer.

The overall number of occasions the six named individuals have had contact with senior MOD civilian and military staff since their retirement is contained in the following table.

The review also addressed the nature of the contact that has been maintained by the six named individuals with senior civilian and military staff in the MOD, which is summarised in the following table.

The findings show that the vast majority of the contact that the six individuals maintained with the MOD contact was not to discuss procurement of equipment. The vast majority of the 39 occasions when the named individuals were identified as having discussed procurement were entirely within the rules and occurred beyond the period of any individual's lobbying ban. However, the review did find that one former General had breached the restrictions that related to his new employment - imposed on him by the Business Appointments process.

An audit of meetings shows that on 9 occasions Lt Gen Dick Applegate discussed defence equipment with the MOD which were considered in breach of the rules placed upon him since his retirement. None of these meetings resulted in any sales or influenced the MOD'S equipment plan and the MOD has reported this contact to the Cabinet Office - who have responsibility for the Advisory Committee for Business Appointments (ACOBA) - and made clear to the individual that such behaviour is not acceptable.

It is clear from enquiries made that this has been an issue at the MOD not only under this Government but also under the previous administration too. Enquiries have shown for example that under the previous Labour Government 7 former Chiefs continued to have security passes after they had retired, in some cases for a number of years.

In answer to your specific questions, the following tables provide details of meetings and other encounters between Ministers, General Sir David Richards, General Sir Peter Wall and Air Marshal Stephen Hillier with any of Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszley, Lieutenant General Richard Applegate, General Lord Dannatt, Lord Stirrup and General Sir Mike Jackson.

Ministers

Since May 2010, Lord Astor of Hever has held around 20 routine defence briefings for Peers. Lord Dannatt (and, since retirement, Lord Stirrup) have been invited to these. These have not been included in the return.

General Sir David Richards (Chief of Defence Staff)

General Sir Peter Wall (Chief of General Staff)

Air Vice Marshal (now Air Marshal) Stephen Hillier (Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Military Capability) (meetings held when he was Director of Information Superiority)

There are no records of any meetings between General Sir Nick Parker and the six listed individuals during the period in question. I can also confirm Andrew Robathan has never stayed as a guest with Sir John Kiszely. Details of meetings between the six named individuals and any other military or civilian members of the MOD could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The MOD does not hold information about visits to other Government departments.

In light of the findings the Defence Secretary has taken steps to tighten up access and ensure that there cannot be any perception that former employees can exert influence on contracts awarded by the Department.

In order to prevent future occurrences, the Defence Secretary has implemented a comprehensive set of measures to ensure that both former and current employees are clear about the rules and restrictions in place. Under the new approach:

For the first time a list of all ex MOD personnel who are subject to lobbying restrictions under ACOBA will be available for all MOD staff to see;

All staff who leave the Department will now be required to sign a declaration as part of their application if they wish to take up industry posts;

The MOD Permanent Secretary has written to all former MOD personnel subject to business appointment restrictions to remind them of their duties under ACOBA;

The Permanent Secretary has also written to the Association of Defence suppliers to ensure industry members are aware of the Cabinet Office rules;

Transparency measures have been drastically increased - the Permanent Secretary, Chief of Defence Materiel and the Service Chiefs will now be required to publish details of any meetings with external organisations or individuals and of hospitality received. Additionally, selected senior civil servants and military personnel with a commercial aspect to their role will also have to comply with this new transparency agenda;

All MOD staff, both military and civilian, have been reminded by the Permanent Secretary and Chief of Defence Staff of the rules that limit contact with individuals and companies and directed that they need to seek guidance and clearance before any contact is made.

Since the Review the Permanent Secretary has removed almost 2,500 passes allowing access to the MOD'S Main Building to ensure that since Christmas only those members of staff who require regular access to the MOD are granted it. Passes that have not been used for sixty days have been disabled and there will be an ongoing audit of those being granted visitor passes.

[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.

Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Kevan Jones and Jim Murphy:

I write in response to Parliamentary Questions regarding the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years and information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Hon. Andrew Robathan MP, informed you that we would provide this information once the Permanent Secretary had reviewed the access that six named retired military officers maintain to Defence, the rules around such access, compliance with those rules, and the level of transparency adopted by the Department. Following my announcement in the House today, I am pleased to confirm the details of our review.

This review has taken some time to complete, as a central record, of meetings between MOD staff and retired personnel is not kept. The size of the Department and the natural turnover of staff would make this an impossible and disproportionate task to record routinely. However, the review exercise has gathered an extensive amount of information about the level of access that the six named individuals maintained to senior civilian and military staff. It found no evidence to indicate that retired or former employees have, or are able, to influence any MOD equipment contracts.

A rigorous process is used for the approval of all equipment projects which involves non-advocate scrutiny of all major investment decisions by an Investment Approvals Committee which provides advice to Ministers and the Accounting Officer.

The overall number of occasions the six named individuals have had contact with senior MOD civilian and military staff since their retirement is contained in the following table.

The review also addressed the nature of the contact that has been maintained by the six named individuals with senior civilian and military staff in the MOD, which is summarised in the following table.

The findings show that the vast majority of the contact that the six individuals maintained with the MOD contact was not to discuss procurement of equipment. The vast majority of the 39 occasions when the named individuals were identified as having discussed procurement were entirely within the rules and occurred beyond the period of any individual's lobbying ban. However, the review did find that one former General had breached the restrictions that related to his new employment - imposed on him by the Business Appointments process.

An audit of meetings shows that on 9 occasions Lt Gen Dick Applegate discussed defence equipment with the MOD which were considered in breach of the rules placed upon him since his retirement. None of these meetings resulted in any sales or influenced the MOD'S equipment plan and the MOD has reported this contact to the Cabinet Office - who have responsibility for the Advisory Committee for Business Appointments (ACOBA) - and made clear to the individual that such behaviour is not acceptable.

It is clear from enquiries made that this has been an issue at the MOD not only under this Government but also under the previous administration too. Enquiries have shown for example that under the previous Labour Government 7 former Chiefs continued to have security passes after they had retired, in some cases for a number of years.

In answer to your specific questions, the following tables provide details of meetings and other encounters between Ministers, General Sir David Richards, General Sir Peter Wall and Air Marshal Stephen Hillier with any of Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszley, Lieutenant General Richard Applegate, General Lord Dannatt, Lord Stirrup and General Sir Mike Jackson.

Ministers

Since May 2010, Lord Astor of Hever has held around 20 routine defence briefings for Peers. Lord Dannatt (and, since retirement, Lord Stirrup) have been invited to these. These have not been included in the return.

General Sir David Richards (Chief of Defence Staff)

General Sir Peter Wall (Chief of General Staff)

Air Vice Marshal (now Air Marshal) Stephen Hillier (Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Military Capability) (meetings held when he was Director of Information Superiority)

There are no records of any meetings between General Sir Nick Parker and the six listed individuals during the period in question. I can also confirm Andrew Robathan has never stayed as a guest with Sir John Kiszely. Details of meetings between the six named individuals and any other military or civilian members of the MOD could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The MOD does not hold information about visits to other Government departments.

In light of the findings the Defence Secretary has taken steps to tighten up access and ensure that there cannot be any perception that former employees can exert influence on contracts awarded by the Department.

In order to prevent future occurrences, the Defence Secretary has implemented a comprehensive set of measures to ensure that both former and current employees are clear about the rules and restrictions in place. Under the new approach:

For the first time a list of all ex MOD personnel who are subject to lobbying restrictions under ACOBA will be available for all MOD staff to see;

All staff who leave the Department will now be required to sign a declaration as part of their application if they wish to take up industry posts;

The MOD Permanent Secretary has written to all former MOD personnel subject to business appointment restrictions to remind them of their duties under ACOBA;

The Permanent Secretary has also written to the Association of Defence suppliers to ensure industry members are aware of the Cabinet Office rules;

Transparency measures have been drastically increased - the Permanent Secretary, Chief of Defence Materiel and the Service Chiefs will now be required to publish details of any meetings with external organisations or individuals and of hospitality received. Additionally, selected senior civil servants and military personnel with a commercial aspect to their role will also have to comply with this new transparency agenda;

All MOD staff, both military and civilian, have been reminded by the Permanent Secretary and Chief of Defence Staff of the rules that limit contact with individuals and companies and directed that they need to seek guidance and clearance before any contact is made.

Since the Review the Permanent Secretary has removed almost 2,500 passes allowing access to the MOD'S Main Building to ensure that since Christmas only those members of staff who require regular access to the MOD are granted it. Passes that have not been used for sixty days have been disabled and there will be an ongoing audit of those being granted visitor passes.

[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.

[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.

[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.

[holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012]: Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Times about the access arrangements for retired personnel.

Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.

His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.