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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 14 March 1996
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Legal Aid Board
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the members of the Legal Aid Board were last appointed or reappointed; and how many complaints he has had about the boards or their individual members since the start of 1995. [19645]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: The current members of the Legal Aid Board, with their most recent dates of appointment or reappointment, are as follows:
Sir Tim Chessels (Chairman): 4 May 1995
Fred Collins: 1 April 1995
John Crosby: 5 April 1994
Jean Dunkley: 2 May 1994
Colin George: 3 May 1994
Kate Markus: 1 March 1993
Steve Orchard: 1 January 1994
Diana Payne: 2 May 1994
Penelope Pearce: 1 July 1993
George Pulman: 1 March 1993
David Sinker: 2 May 1994
Andrew Thomas 1 April 1993
In addition, there are 1,183 lawyers serving on the 13 Legal Aid Board area committees, which hear appeals on various legal aid matters. The appointment or reappointment of their members is the responsibility of the Legal Aid Board.
Court of Protection
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the practice rules relating to the Court of Protection were last revised; and if he will make a statement. [20073]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: The question concerns a specific operational matter on which the chief executive of the Public Trust Office is best placed to provide an answer. I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.
Letter from Julia Lomas to Mr. Elfyn Llwyd, dated 14 March 1996:
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The Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to reply to you as part of the Lord Chancellor's Department's response to your Parliamentary Question, listed on 7 March 1996, asking when the practice rules relating to the Court of Protection were last revised.
The Court of Protection Rules and the Court of Protection [Enduring Powers of Attorney Rules] were last revised in 1994. They were made on 29 November 1994, laid before Parliament on 1 December 1994 and came into effect on 22 December 1994.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Commonwealth Scholarships
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Commonwealth scholarships were funded by the Government in (a) 1994-95 and (b) 1995-96; and what is the planned number for 1996-97. [20045]
Mr. Hanley: A total of 7,144 Commonwealth students were given awards to study and train in the UK in 1994-95. Figures for 1995-96 are not yet available but are likely to be broadly similar.
The number of scholarships is likely to fall in 1996-97 due to reductions in the various budgets from which awards are funded and policy changes to improve the effectiveness of training within the UK's bilateral country aid projects.
DEFENCE
Works of Art
Dr. John Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made since the start of the National Audit Office inquiry into the management of works of art with the recovery of those works of art reported to be missing or stolen. [20566]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Since the start of the National Audit Office study in January 1995, one work of art has been recovered, in addition to the 15 that had been found before the study began. Two works of art listed as missing by the Government art collection were found to be duplicate records of works that were not missing. Four works recorded as missing by the Government art collection were found to have been returned to their lender.
Dr. Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list the works of art belonging to the departmental art collection which are considered missing or stolen; [20561]
- (2) if he will list the works of art on loan from the Government art collection that are considered missing or stolen. [20565]
Mr. Arbuthnot: I am placing the information requested in the Library of the House.
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what actions he has taken to safeguard works of art loaned to his Department. [20755]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Works of art are safeguarded by securing the rooms in which they hang, asking the staff who occupy those rooms to verify that the works are safe and by inspections by staff responsible for works of art.
Royal Navy (Female Members)
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many female members of the Royal Navy,
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having served one tour on a ship at sea, have volunteered for a second tour. [20516]
Mr. Soames: Female members of the Royal Navy--in common with their male counterparts--do not volunteer for tours on a ship at sea; they are required to go to sea according to the exigencies of the service. To determine how many women have served at sea for two or more tours is not possible without incurring disproportionate costs.
Army Medical Staff
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of medical staff required by the Army in conflict are reservists; and how many of these posts are manned. [20517]
Mr. Soames: The proportion of medical personnel required by the Army in conflict, who are ex-Regular reservists or members of the Territorial Army, and the number of posts to be filled by them, will depend on the nature of the operations at the time.
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the number of medical staff required for each brigade in a conflict. [20518]
Mr. Soames: Depending on the size of a brigade, the number of medical personnel required varies between 199 and 206.
Female Soldiers (Bosnia)
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many female soldiers have returned early from service in Bosnia because of pregnancy; and what this figure is as a percentage of the female soldiers serving in Bosnia. [20519]
Mr. Soames: My Department has no record of any female soldier returning early from service in Bosnia because of pregnancy.
Air Training Corps
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the Air Training Corps concerning the availability of surplus uniforms for its use; and what is his policy on the provision of surplus uniforms for use by the Air Training Corps. [20749]
Mr. Soames: No representations on this matter have been made by the Air Training Corps. It is the policy of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency that any part-worn or superseded items of uniform clothing are made available to cadet organisations before disposal. In addition, those Royal Air Force units which parent Air Training Corps squadrons are required to consider the needs of these squadrons before disposing of surplus uniform items.
Armed Forces (Manpower)
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the (a) trained and (b) untrained strength of (i) the Army, (ii) the RAF and (iii) the Royal Navy at (1) 1 April 1996 and (2) 1 April 1997 under his Department's current plans. [20751]
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Mr. Soames: The forecast trained and untrained strengths for the services at the specified dates are as follows:
| Trained | Untrained | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1996 | 104,000 | 8,000 |
| 1 April 1997 | 101,000 | 10,000 |
These figures include forecast Gurkha strengths, but exclude the Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service Force).
| Trained | Untrained | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1996 | 62,700 | 2,250 |
| 1 April 1997 | 54,700 | 2,700 |
| Trained | Untrained | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1996 | 45,000 | 3,000 |
| 1 April 1997 | 42,000 | 4,000 |
These figures include the Royal Marines and Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.
Dr. Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current shortfall in manpower for the Army; what action he has taken to reduce this shortfall; and if he will make a statement. [20752]
Mr. Soames:
The trained strength of the Army is expected to be below its establishment by around 3,000 personnel as at 1 April 1996. The shortfall is primarily due to poor recruitment and retention.
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