Written questions by Francois.

What the salary band is of the Chief Operating Officer of the NHS East of England.

The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:Executive Senior Manager (ESM) Grade 3 for the Regional Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Finance Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Strategy Director; andESM Grade 2 for the Chief Operating Officer.These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.

What information his Department holds on when the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust plans to publish it's 2024-25 Annual Report.

The Annual Report and Accounts of the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust for 2024/2025 will be published ahead of the trust’s Annual General Meeting, which is usually held at the end of September. Publication can only take place after the Annual Report and Accounts have been laid before Parliament, in line with NHS England guidance.

What the salary band is for the Finance Director of the NHS East of England.

The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:Executive Senior Manager (ESM) Grade 3 for the Regional Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Finance Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Strategy Director; andESM Grade 2 for the Chief Operating Officer.These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.

What the salary band is for the Regional Director of the NHS East of England.

The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:Executive Senior Manager (ESM) Grade 3 for the Regional Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Finance Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Strategy Director; andESM Grade 2 for the Chief Operating Officer.These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.

How many full-time equivalent staff are employed by the NHS East of England headquarters.

The NHS England East of England regional whole time equivalent for this establishment is 637. This is the number of posts, rather than the number of staff currently employed. The data for the total number of full-time equivalent staff employed is unvalidated and is subject to change, so it is not routinely published.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 25649 on Boeing E-7, what recent estimate she has made of when the E-7 Wedgetail will enter operational service.

The modification of the three E-7 Wedgetail aircraft continues at STS Aviation, Birmingham Airport, targeting an In-Service Date with the RAF in late 2025.

What the salary band is of the Regional Director of Strategy and Integration for the NHS East of England.

The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:Executive Senior Manager (ESM) Grade 3 for the Regional Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Finance Director;ESM Grade 2 for the Strategy Director; andESM Grade 2 for the Chief Operating Officer.These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.

Whether his Department held consultations with (a) navy stakeholders and (b) Royal Navy representatives on the decision to rename the new attack submarine HMS Achilles.

Potential ship names are proposed by the Royal Navy's Ships Names and Badges Committee who make suggestions based on historical information and civic affiliations. The seventh boat in the Astute class is to be called “Achilles”. The name was proposed by the Royal Navy Ships Names and Badges Committee, shared with Ministers and approved by His Majesty the King. As Minister for the Armed Forces, following approval by his Majesty the King, I issued Official Direction to implement the change. There will be a small cost (less than £1000) for the renewing of the Achilles badge. No other costs have been identified for the name change.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 25651 on Boeing E-7, when he plans to complete the approval of the full business case for E7 Wedgetail.

The E-7 Full Business Case is being considered and a decision on approval will be made in due course.

What the potential cost to the public purse was of renaming the new attack submarine from HMS Agincourt to HMS Achilles.

Potential ship names are proposed by the Royal Navy's Ships Names and Badges Committee who make suggestions based on historical information and civic affiliations. The seventh boat in the Astute class is to be called “Achilles”. The name was proposed by the Royal Navy Ships Names and Badges Committee, shared with Ministers and approved by His Majesty the King. As Minister for the Armed Forces, following approval by his Majesty the King, I issued Official Direction to implement the change. There will be a small cost (less than £1000) for the renewing of the Achilles badge. No other costs have been identified for the name change.

Whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department were involved in discussions to rename HMS Agincourt.

Potential ship names are proposed by the Royal Navy's Ships Names and Badges Committee who make suggestions based on historical information and civic affiliations. The seventh boat in the Astute class is to be called “Achilles”. The name was proposed by the Royal Navy Ships Names and Badges Committee, shared with Ministers and approved by His Majesty the King. As Minister for the Armed Forces, following approval by his Majesty the King, I issued Official Direction to implement the change. There will be a small cost (less than £1000) for the renewing of the Achilles badge. No other costs have been identified for the name change.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse is of negotiations with the Government of Mauritius over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands since 5 July 2024.

Costs, including those of staffing, legal counsel, travel and accommodation and other expenses arising from the negotiations have been incorporated into the budgets of those Departments involved in the negotiations. There has been no central aggregation of those costs.

Whether her Department has made an impact assessment of the potential financial implications of (a) the direct costs of negotiations, (b) the potential costs of implementing any resulting agreement and (c) other costs of negotiations with Mauritius on the Chagos islands.

The direct costs of negotiation are owned and monitored by the FCDO and MOD, and have all been met from within their budgets. Policy impact assessments are similarly owned by the FCDO and MOD. Any financial obligations arising from the finalised agreement will be managed responsibly within the government’s fiscal framework, including through the upcoming Spending Review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost of (a) travel and (b) accommodation was for the Special Envoy for the Chagos negotiations during those negotiations.

It remains our intention to decide on publication of costs associated with Jonathan Powell's role as the Prime Minister's BIOT Envoy at a later date.

How many radar units for the E-7 Wedgetail have been delivered to (a) Boeing and (b) the RAF by Northrop Grumman.

Three Multi-Role-Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radars have been delivered to the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the UK production facility.The remaining two MESA radars are in production with Northrop Grumman and will be delivered to the RAF in Summer 2025.

What the planned out of service date for the Royal Navy's Crowsnest AEW helicopter system is.

The CROWSNEST programme delivers the Royal Navy's Merlin Mark2 helicopter Airborne Surveillance and Control capability, which includes Airborne Early Warning. There has been no change to the current out of service date, and the planned retirement date remains 31 December 2029, as the capability was not extended in the 2021 Integrated Review.

With reference to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority's annual report 2023-24, last updated 17 January 2025, for what reason the E-7 Wedgetail programme has received a Red rating.

Compared to the end of financial year 22/23, in the final quarter of 23/24 the Infrastructure and Project Authority's (IPA) Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating for E-7 Wedgetail decreased from Amber to Red. This was primarily due to affordability and equipment delivery schedule risks and issues. The programme was seeking a revision to its scheduled end date as challenges within the global supply chain, retention of an appropriately skilled workforce at the modification facility and an increase in certification complexity in the aviation sector had caused delays to the expected in service date.DCAs are not a comprehensive reflection of project performance, but reflect a project’s likelihood of success at a specific snapshot in time if issues and risks are left unaddressed. The 23/24 IPA Annual Report reflects the situation in March 2024. A revised assessment will be provided in the next Annual Report, which will set out the situation as at the end of the current financial year.

What the estimated whole-life cost is of the E-7 Wedgetail programme.

The estimated whole life cost of the E-7 Wedgetail remains subject to approval of the Full Business Case.

Whether the E-7 Wedgetail is in operational service with the RAF.

The Wedgetail aircraft has yet to enter operational service.

What the salary bands are for the Managing Director of (a) Southend Hospital, (b) Basildon Hospital and (c) Broomfield hospital; and when the people in these roles were appointed.

The Department does not hold the information requested. Information on the renumeration and biographies of senior staff are published by hospital trusts as part of their annual report and accounts. This information for the Mid and South Essex Hospitals Trust, including biographies of senior staff, is available at the following link:https://www.mse.nhs.uk/trust-publications-and-reports?smbfolder=150