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