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Defence Procurement Questions

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Minister in his Department is responsible for answering defence procurement questions. [1988]

Mr. George Robertson: Day-to-day responsibility for defence procurement matters lies with the Minister of State for Defence Procurement. In this House,

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responsibility for answering questions on his behalf on these matters will normally fall to my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State.

Working Week Directive

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the EU's 48 Hour Working Week directive on the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces. [1989]

Dr. Reid: Our current assessment is that Article 1.3 of the Working Time Directive excludes from its scope most of the activities of the Armed Forces by virtue of its reference to Article 2 of the Health and Safety Framework Directive. We are continuing to assess the precise impact of the Directive and my officials are in consultation with the Department of Trade and Industry, the lead department for this subject.

Court Martial Cases Inquiry

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his inquiry into British court martial cases resulting in the death penalty will extend beyond First World War cases. [1990]

Dr. Reid: The boundaries for the forthcoming reassessment of British court martial cases resulting in the death penalty have yet to be determined. In setting these boundaries however, it will be important to take care that in addressing one perceived injustice, we do not create another.

Departmental Spending

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely level of underspending or overspending by his Department in the current financial year. [1991]

Dr. Reid: My Department aims to deliver the Defence Programme for the current year within the available resources granted by Parliament.

Land Mines

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what exceptional military circumstances the use of land mines will be permitted; and what steps he intends to take to limit and monitor this exceptional use. [3404]

Dr. Reid: We have introduced a complete moratorium on the use of anti-personnel land mines. That moratorium would be suspended only if Ministers judged that, for a specific operation, the security of our Armed Forces would be jeopardised without the possibility of the use of anti-personnel land mines. It is impossible to predict what such exceptional circumstances might be, but Ministers would wish to be satisfied that it was not feasible to provide adequate protection for our Armed Forces using other means. We have made clear that we would report any such decision to Parliament at the earliest possible opportunity.

Any use of anti-personnel land mines by UK Armed Forces would be strictly in accordance with international humanitarian law.

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Mr. Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the HB876 area-denial submunition complies with internationally agreed requirements for the reliability of anti-personnel land mines. [4232]

Dr. Reid: The HB876 area-denial submunition is an integral component of the JP233 Airfield Attack Weapon, and is therefore quite different from the types of land mine which have raised justifiable humanitarian concerns. HB876 nevertheless is an anti-personnel land mine under the meaning of the amended Protocol II to the United Nations Weaponry Convention. We will therefore withdraw JP233 from service no later than 2005, in accordance with the policy announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 May, Official Report, column 708. Until withdrawal, we have introduced a complete moratorium on the operational use of JP233, which would be suspended only if we judge that for a specific operation the security of our Armed Forces would be jeopardised without the possibility of its use. Any such exceptional decision, and the circumstances which led to it, would be reported to Parliament.

Under the terms of the amended Protocol II to the UN Weaponry Convention, all remotely-delivery anti-personnel land mines must comply with certain criteria on the reliability of their self-destruct and deactivation capabilities. In conjunction with the manufacturer, Hunting Engineering Limited (HEL), my Department has carried out a detailed assessment of HB876 and we are satisfied that it complies with these criteria. Copies of unclassified versions of the HEL report into HB876, and a further report by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency validating HEL's tests, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Armed Forces (Civilian Staff)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list each British Army establishment employing civilian staff, indicating (a) the number of staff at each establishment and (b) the role of that establishment; [3277]

Mr. Spellar: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Naval Deployments (NATO)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to deploy a Royal Navy task group outside the NATO area. [3266]

Dr. Reid: Royal Navy units in small Groups regularly operate outside the NATO area. On current plans, the next major, carrier-led Task Group out of area would be in the year 2000.

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British Army of the Rhine

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual running cost of the British Army of the Rhine; and what were the figures for (a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c) 1988 at current prices. [3267]

Dr. Reid: The British Army of the Rhine ceased to exist as a formation from 1 April 1994 when 1(UK) Armoured division and the United Kingdom Support Command (Germany) became fully operational under Headquarters Land Command. The estimated running costs for Financial Year 1997-98 for the Army in Germany is £1,163 million. I regret that I am unable to provide comparable costs for 1974, 1979 and 1988 as these were compiled on a different basis.

Service Personnel (Electoral Registration)

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what special arrangements are currently in force to enable service personnel posted at short notice to vote in local, parliamentary and European elections. [3202]

Mr. Spellar: Service personnel and their spouses may decide to become Service voters by making a Service declaration. This declaration must be made no later than 10 October in any given year for qualifying addresses in England, Scotland and Wales, or 15 September in Northern Ireland. Should a Serviceman be posted overseas he may vote by proxy in the constituency in which he is registered. If he is posted elsewhere in the UK he may vote either by proxy or post.

Should a Service person be posted at very short notice, i.e. after 5pm 11 working days prior to an election, they would be unable to vote as their method of voting could not be changed in time.

In cases of illness however, the time permitted for changing a person's voting procedure is reduced to six working days. The deadlines above apply to all voters are not only to Service personnel.

Pension Schemes

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to examine the operation of private occupational pension schemes in respect of interrupted service resulting from national service; and if he will make a statement. [3750]

Mr. Spellar: There are no plans. The operation of occupational pension schemes is not a matter for the Ministry of Defence. The treatment, for pension purposes, of any break in career due to national service will be dependant upon the member's scheme's rules and the effect of the application of Inland Revenue limits on financial retirement benefits.

CS Mist Sprayer

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which British military or special forces have been issued with the Manroy L80 Manpack CS Mist Backpack Sprayer. [3589]

Dr. Reid: I understand that the Manroy L80 Manpack CS Mist Backpack Sprayer has never been issued to any British Forces and that it has never been purchased by my Department.

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Foreign Military Personnel (Training)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training places have been offered to foreign military personnel over the last 10 years; and which countries were involved. [3268]

Dr. Reid: Records of the number of training places offered to overseas students are not maintained. According to our records, the numbers of overseas students attending courses in the UK in the last 10 years are:


These figures may include some non-military personnel including police and customs officials. Details of these are not held separately.

These figures cover students from the following countries and Dependent Territories:


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