MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
05 Nov 07. Cut in funding for defence homes. The Ministry of Defence’s housing budget in Scotland has dropped by almost £8m in the last year, according to documents obtained by BBC Scotland. Some families said they have had to endure poor married quarters. Documents which revealed a major fall in spending on housing were obtained under freedom of information rules. MoD officials insisted that they have continued to invest in housing stock and have received a relatively small number of complaints each year. In 2006/7, the MoD spent £20.7m on service families’ accommodation compared with more than £28m the year before. Over the same period, there was also a rise in the number of complaints about the housing stock. The Churchill housing estate, near Helensburgh, is one of a number of sites around the country with homes built for MoD staff. It contains houses which were constructed for Royal Navy staff serving at the nearby Faslane base. Some Navy wives there said the area’s decline was all too apparent in the smashed windows and graffiti on derelict buildings. (Source: BBC)
29 Oct 07. The Fleet: Destroyers and Frigates. On 6 Aug 07, the Defence Equipment Minister reiterated that the number of destroyers and frigates had been reduced from the 1998 requirement for 32 to the 2004 total of 25. The Minister also pledged that: “No further reductions to the Fleet are planned.”.
Comment: The 25 escorts are currently accounted for by eight Type 42 destroyers, four Type 22 frigates and 13 Type 23 frigates. An irresponsible article in ‘The Sunday Telegraph’ (28 Oct 07) stated: “The Navy has already been forced to ‘mothball’ all Type 42 destroyers and several Type 22 frigates to save money.”. It is difficult to understand what is achieved by publishing this sort of nonsense. A quick check would have shown that all Type 42 and Type 22 were either at sea or were being maintained and that none of the 12 had been ‘mothballed’. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0743, 06 Nov 07)
29 Oct 07. Astute Class: Dates and a Dive. The Armed Forces’ Minister confirmed (29 Oct 07) the in-service dates of the four Astute Class SSN which have been ordered as: 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015. The Minister acknowledged that the number of SSN in the Fleet would reduce from nine to eight in 2008 and would be down to seven from 2011 to 2016. The Defence Equipment Minister announced (31 Oct 07) that First of Class ASTUTE had completed her first dive during underwater testing on 30/31 Oct 07.
Comment: ‘Delivering Security in a Changing World’ (Command 6269 of 21 Jul 04) announced a reduction in the number of SSN to eight (having previously been reduced from 12 to 10). Due to mismanagement of the Astute programme, the actual number of SSN is forecast to be only seven for at least six years. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0743, 06 Nov 07)
01 Nov 07. EADS is opening a sourcing office in India, a part of its commitment to invest $600m in various projects in the country. The office will be based in New Delhi and Bangalore, it said. “Since our first procurement marketing initiatives in India two years ago, the importance of India as a sourcing destination has increased in the field of aerospace and defence,” Hans Mundt, chief procurement officer for EADS said in a statement. EADS is also expanding its engineering centre in Bangalore and will have an integrated technology park in the city by 2010. The EADS investments are a part of the offset for an order of 43 Airbus aircraft by state carrier Indian [IA.UL] in 2006. EADS expects the various projects will generate revenue of $1bn. (Source: Reuters)
Nov 07. FAC, the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium is pleased to announce the launch of its first overseas office in Dubai. This important expansion for FAC comes at exciting stage in the development of the UK’s leading Aerospace Group representing over 400 members across south east of England.
JOB LOSSES AND STRI