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Harrier Pilots (Redundancies)

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 January, Official Report, column 311, how many Royal Navy Harrier pilots have applied for premature voluntary release in each of the last 12 months; how many were turned down in each month; and for what reasons. [13161]

Mr. Soames: There have been no applications for premature voluntary release from Royal Navy Harrier pilots in the last 12 months.

Service Personnel

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) men and (b) women are currently serving in each service of Her Majesty's armed forces. [13164]

Mr. Soames: I refer the hon. Member to tri-service personnel statistics 1 entitled "Strengths, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces" dated 1 December 1996 a copy of which is held in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces (Employment Rights)

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to implement section 31 of the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993. [13153]

Mr. Soames: The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 along with certain other employment legislation, has now been consolidated into the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the provisions of section 31 of TURERA are now contained in sections 191 and 192 of the 1996 Act. Section 26 of the Armed Forces Act 1996 amends the detailed provisions of section 192 of ERA. Once these amendments have been brought into force, an order will be made giving effect to section 192. Work is currently being undertaken on both these measures to ensure that section 192 is in force in the appropriate form as soon as practicable.

Private Lee Clegg

Mr. Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects his Department to complete its consideration of whether to pay Lee Clegg's legal costs for his Court of Appeal hearing. [12859]

Mr. Soames: My Department will pay all reasonable legal costs incurred by Lee Clegg in respect of his forthcoming Court of Appeal hearing. Should there be any subsequent legal proceedings, we would wish to consider the matter in the light of the circumstances at the time.

28 Jan 1997 : Column: 204

Cadet Scheme

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the cost of (a) the combined cadet force in schools, (b) the sea cadet force, (c) the army cadet force and (d) the air training corps, in each of the last 10 years at current prices; how many children served in each of these forces in each of the last 10 years; what plans he has to increase the numbers serving in each of the forces; and what discussions he has had with representatives from the cadet forces about future changes to the cadet scheme. [13159]

Mr. Soames: The cost of the cadet forces to the Ministry of Defence for the last 10 years is as follows. The figures are in millions of pounds at current prices;




    (c) Army cadet force
    1986-87: n/a
    1987-88: n/a
    1988-89: n/a
    1989-90: n/a
    1990-91: n/a
    1991-92: n/a
    1992-93: n/a
    1993-94: 20.9
    1994-95: 22.2
    1995-96: 23.4
    (d) Air training corps
    1986-87: n/a
    1987-88: n/a
    1988-89: n/a
    1989-90: n/a
    1990-91: n/a
    1991-92: 17.4
    1992-93: 17.8
    1993-94: 18.8
    1994-95: 19.2
    1995-96: 20.3

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The number of young people in the cadet forces at the end of the last 10 financial years is as follows:



    Combined cadet force
    1986-98: 42,318
    1987-88: 42,737
    1988-89: 41,796
    1989-90: 40,945
    1990-91: 39,825
    1991-92: 39,809
    1992-93: 39,565
    1993-94: 39,131
    1994-95: 39,061
    1995-96: 39,732
    Sea cadet corps
    1986-87: 16,663
    1987-88: 16,335
    1988-89: 15,943
    1989-90: 16,014
    1990-91: 16,036
    1991-92: 16,368
    1992-93: 16,464
    1993-94: 16,233
    1994-95: 15,531
    1995-96: 15,697
    Army cadet force
    1986-87: 43,617
    1987-88: 41,555
    1988-89: 39,209
    1989-90: 39,559
    1990-91: 39,423
    1991-92: 39,356
    1992-93: 39,975
    1993-94: 40,486
    1994-95: 39,778
    1995-96: 40,171
    Air training corps
    1986-87: n/a
    1987-88: 38,363
    1988-89: 37,577
    1989-90: 35,285
    1990-91: 34,201
    1991-92: 35,020
    1992-93: 35,381
    1993-94: 35,474
    1994-95: 35,343
    1995-96: 34,528

Air Training Corps costs During the preparation of this reply, it became clear that the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, North (Ms Walley) on 14 May 1996, Official Report, column 400 and to the hon. Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on 27 November 1996 Official Report, column 237 were misleading. Both sets of figures provided relate to the cost of the Air Cadet Organisation, and therefore include the cost of the Air Training Corps

28 Jan 1997 : Column: 206

plus the RAF element of the Combined Cadet Force. The relevant figures for the cost of the ATC, at in-year prices, should have been:



    1991-92: £15.1 million
    1992-93: £16.1 million
    1993-94: £17.6 million
    1994-95: £18.3 million
    1995-96: £19.8 million

The Government wish strongly to encourage wider voluntary participation in all the cadet organisations. We are considering ways of increasing the scope of the cadet forces so as to allow even more young people the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of membership. Discussions with representatives of the cadet forces will take place as soon as it is appropriate.

Gulf War (Dosimeters)

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British Army units were issued with personal dosimeters during the Gulf war; and if he will make a statement. [13160]

Mr. Soames: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Disciplinary Sentences (Salaries)

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rules govern the payment of salary to (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force personnel whilst they are awaiting confirmation of a disciplinary sentence. [13162]

Mr. Soames: The payment of salary in these circumstances is governed by (a) the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (b) the Army Act 1955 (c) the Air Force Act 1955, in conjunction with the single service pay regulations and Queen's Regulations. In the Royal Navy there is no confirmatory procedure: sentences, including those which affect pay, are effective immediately. At present, where individuals in Army and RAF cases are awaiting confirmation of a disciplinary sentence, all sentences, including those which affect pay, are also effective immediately. In the event of the sentences in Army and RAF cases being quashed, any sums deducted are of course, repaid. The Armed Forces Act 1996, however, provides for the abolition of confirmation procedures for the Army and RAF, thereby bringing arrangements in these services into line with those of the Royal Navy.

Food Supply Contract

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the outcome of the competition for the food supply contract for the armed forces. [13384]

Mr. Soames: The supply of food for the armed forces was contracted to the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes--NAAFI--in 1994 for a three-year period. The contract expires on the 30 September 1997 and the Department have been running a competition for the follow-on contract. After careful evaluation of the tenders received, the decision has been taken to award the new contract to Booker Foodservice Group, which was judged to offer the best overall value for money for the

28 Jan 1997 : Column: 207

Department. The contract will be for a five-year period commencing 1 October 1997 and is worth in excess of £400 million.

The recommendations of the recent NAO report on supply of food to the armed forces are fully reflected in this contract.

28 Jan 1997 : Column: 208

NAAFI will, of course, continue to provide its traditional range of retail and other services to the armed forces. My Department is in discussion with Booker Foodservice and NAAFI to ensure a smooth transition, and to assist NAAFI to achieve a successful outcome to the restructuring already under way following last year's independent review.