To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many public consultations his Department has conducted in the last 12 months; how long each consultation was open for; how many responses were received in each case; and what the cost of conducting each consultation was. (259699)

There have been four Ministry of Defence public consultations (as listed on the MOD internet site) over the last 12 months. These consultations consist of:

Submarine Enterprise Collaborative Agreement (SECA), 12 February to 6 May, there were 47 responses;

UK Defence Spectrum Management 2008, 30 May to 5 September, there were 32 responses;

The Revised Welsh Language Scheme, 16 July to 10 October, there were 25 responses;

Transfer of Historic Service Personnel Records to the National Archives, July to September, there were 428 responses.

Information about the cost of conducting these consultations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.