Enhancing Training for Royal Engineers

Enhancing Training for Royal Engineers (NSI News Source Info) September 2, 2008: The MoD has signed a major new deal to enhance training for the Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) at sites in Kent, Hampshire and Oxfordshire. A 30-year Public Private Partnership, worth some £3 billion pounds, will improve essential training and provide significant investment for new and refurbished soldier accommodation, delivering around 1700 soldier bedspaces. The sites affected are the RSME Headquarters and Construction Engineer School in Medway, Kent, the Combat Engineer School in Minley, Hampshire and the relocation of the Defence Explosives Ordnance Disposal School and National Search Centre from sites in Medway, to Bicester in Oxfordshire. From January 2009, military trainers will oversee private sector experts who will teach Royal Engineers skills such as bricklaying, construction and plumbing. This arrangement will free up 300 military personnel to the Field Army from the Training Division. The RSME Contract has been awarded to Holdfast Training Services, a consortium led by Babcock and Carillion. The consortium will be responsible for the delivery of training support, including equipment support, transport, retail, catering and leisure facilities across all sites. Defence Minister, Bob Ainsworth, said: "This is a landmark deal for the Royal School of Military Engineering, which secures the future delivery of world class training for the Army's engineers. "It also provides significant investment in soldier's accommodation, which is part of the overall transformation programme underway across the defence estate. These sites will now transform into efficient centres of excellence, with brand new facilities." Lt Gen Nick Parker, Commander of Regional Forces for the Army, said: "The RSME PPP contract combines our best military engineering training with best practise in the commercial sector. This will deliver improved training, for the Royal Engineers in particular, that will feed directly into front-line support." Mr John McDonough, Chief Executive, Carillion, said: "We look forward to delivering improved facilities to meet the existing and future requirements of the RSME. This builds on the excellent relationship we have developed with the MoD across a range of contracts, the most notable of which is the £12 billion Allenby Connaught project. " Mr Peter Rogers, Chief Executive, Babcock International Group said: "We have worked in close partnership with the Ministry of Defence for a number of years to bring this major project to a successful conclusion. We look forward to working with our partners to provide world-class training and facilities management services for the RSME. "This contract significantly strengthens our order book, which now stands at over £5 billion, and underpins the long term performance of our business." The changes also include the relocation of two units - the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal School (DEODS) and the National Search Centre (NSC). The units will move from their current location at Lodge Hill and Chattenden in Medway, to Bicester in Oxfordshire. The land released in Medway will allow the development of a new, sustainable community as part of the Thames Gateway Regeneration Initiative. BACKGROUND NOTES: 1. The RSME PPP contract brings together the very best in military engineering training with best practise from the commercial sector to deliver modernisation and improvements to training over the longer term, together with better Single Living Accommodation for Service personnel, coupled with improved value for Defence. 2. Although in excess of 400 civilians will transfer to the contractor these will be handled in accordance with existing legislation; we do not envisage any redundancies arising out of this transfer. 3. The breakdown of new and refurbished bedspaces at each of the sites is as follows: Medway 400; Minley 1000; Bicester 300. The capital spend figure on Single Living Accommodation new build and refurbishment with the RSME PPP Project is some £152.5 million. This sum does not include the lifecycle cost over the 30 years. 4. The mission of the Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) is to provide well-trained and motivated Military Engineers to meet the operational requirements of the Armed Forces. (The RSME mission also includes the delivery of military working animals and their handlers, but this activity is outside the Project). The RSME is an operating division within the Army Recruiting & Training Division, which is responsible for the recruitment and individual training of all officers and soldiers in the Army. 5. The RSME PPP Project is a 30 year partnering arrangement - with Holdfast Training Services - which will involve rationalisation of the RSME estate, with significant new build and refurbishment of the existing soldier accommodation. There is therefore, significant capital investment within the proposed solution. 6. The RSME comprises a headquarters and a number of schools. HQ RSME and the Construction Engineer School are based in Medway, Kent, and the Combat Engineer School at Minley, Hampshire. The RSME occupies 12 sites in Medway and 2 sites at Minley. The Defence Explosives Ordnance Disposal School (DEODS) and the National Search Centre (NSC), under the command of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration (DCLPA), are included within the scope of the project. 7. DEODS and NSC will relocate to St Georges Barracks, Bicester, Oxfordshire. 8. The site at Bicester allows for additional expansion if operational demand requires it. Bicester is also close to the Army School of Ammunition at Kineton which forms the third element of the Defence Explosives Munitions and Search School of which DEODS and NSC are a part. Bicester is also closer to some of the Army's operational EOD units and the link between training and operations should be strengthened by the move.