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Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserves
Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost per year to his Department of each member of (a) the Territorial Army and (b) the volunteer reserves. [13092]
Dr. Reid: The information requested is set out in the table rounded to the nearest £100. The figures are calculated from the overall cost of the reserve force concerned for the financial year 1996-97 and its average membership for that year. They exclude provision for items whose costs cannot be identified separately from those incurred for the regular services.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Territorial Army | 6,100 |
| Royal Naval Reserve | 6,700 |
| Royal Marines Reserve | 7,300 |
| Royal Auxiliary Air Force(3) | 7,400 |
(3)Figures relate to those personnel who could be called out to perform an operational role: they do not include RAF volunteer reserve (civilian component), RAF volunteer reserve (training) or RAF volunteer reserve (university air squadrons).
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the current cost of the reserve forces, by type. [11023]
Dr. Reid [pursuant to his reply, 29 July 1997, c. 183]: I regret that my previous answer was incorrect because further information has been brought to light. The revised information for financial year 1996-97 is in the table. These figures exclude provision for those items whose costs cannot be identified separately from those incurred for the regular forces.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Royal Fleet Reserve | 0.04 |
| Royal Naval Reserve | 17.5 |
| Royal Marines Reserve | 6.6 |
| Territorial Army Commando Units | 1.8 |
| Army Reserve | 0.6 |
| Territorial Army | 341.3 |
| Royal Air Force Reserve | 0.4 |
| Royal Auxiliary Air Force | 9.5 |
Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money is allocated to maintaining the Territorial Army in the current financial year; what is this sum as a percentage of the defence budget; and what the
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allocation will be in (a) cash and (b) as a percentage of the defence budget in the next three financial years.[8183]
Dr. Reid
[pursuant to his reply, 16 July 1997, c. 234]: I regret that my previous answer was incorrect because further information on the costs of the Territorial Army has been brought to light. When this additional expenditure is taken into account it shows that the overall cost of the Territorial Army for financial year 1997-98 now stands at some £340.4 million (not £334 million) which still represents about 1.6 per cent. of the defence budget. This figure excludes provision for those items whose costs cannot be identified separately from those incurred for the regular Army.
The allocation of funds for the Territorial Army in the next three financial years will be determined as part of the MOD's long term costing, which is the process by which the Department recosts and adjusts its internal plans. The Department's internal plans represent projections and assumptions, which inform advice to Ministers on the affordability of particular elements of the defence programme, and it has been the policy of successive Governments not to publish detailed information arising from this. Accordingly, I am withholding the information requested in the second part of the question which constitutes internal discussion and advice, under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Ms Shipley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future management of the Army's equipment support. [13093]
Dr. Reid:
I have instigated a formal review of the Army's Equipment Support in order to determine whether agency status or other options for equipment support, including privatisation, contractorisation or partnering arrangements with Industry would best meet the Army's requirements.
Comments and contributions from those with an interest in the equipment support services provided by the Director General Equipment Support (Army) on behalf of the Quartermaster General Army will be welcomed and should be sent by 7 November to:
Mr. Touhig:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has received the report of the inspection of the Ministry of Defence Police by Her Majesty's inspector of constabulary; and if he will make a statement. [13095]
Dr. Reid:
My right hon. Friend has received the report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary on the Ministry of Defence Police. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.
28 Oct 1997 : Column: 795
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses in England and Wales were recruited from (a) the Irish Republic and (b) Northern Ireland in each of the past five years. [12608]
Mr. Milburn:
The information requested is not collected centrally. I refer my hon. Friend to the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for statistics about nurses registered to practice in England and Wales.
Major General P. V. R. Besgrove CBE
Director General Equipment Support (Army)
HQ QMG
Monxton Road
Andover
Hants SP11 8HT.
Quota Hopping
16. Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the agreement reached on quota hopping was not included in the Amsterdam treaty. [12129]
Mr. Doug Henderson: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 18 June, Official Report, columns 331-44, at Amsterdam. Not a single member state was willing to support the protocol to the treaty proposed by the previous Administration.
EU Enlargement
18. Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what practical measures will be taken to ensue that new countries are helped to join the European Community. [12131]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The European Commission has proposed reinforcing the pre-accession strategy for Central European applicants to the European Union. This should lead to better targeted financial and technical assistance to help the applicants prepare for EU membership. The European Council will adopt a position on these proposals at Luxembourg in December.
30. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the expansion of the European Union. [12145]
Mr. Doug Henderson: I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer that I gave today to the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Mr. Pickthall).
Kashmir
19. Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards Kashmir.[12132]
22. Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards Kashmir.[12135]
Mr. Fatchett:
We are deeply concerned by the continuing conflict in Kashmir and support the search for a just and lasting solution. We condemn the acts of
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terrorism and the abuses of human rights which bring suffering to the population. We call for an end to all external support for violence in Kashmir. We welcome the dialogue between India and Pakistan and urge them to pursue meaningful talks on Kashmir and the other issues that divide them.
20. Mr. Laurence Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what he expects will be Britain's (a) gross and (b) net contribution to the European Union's budget for common foreign and security policy matters for the year 1998-99. [12133]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The EC Preliminary Draft Budget (PDB) for calendar year 1998 makes provision for commitments of up to 30 Mecu (i.e. about £22.1 million) for CFSP actions. Britain's gross contribution is approximately 15 per cent. of the total budget, i.e. up to £3.32 million depending on the prevailing exchange rate. Britain does not benefit directly from CFSP expenditure.
21. Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the areas in which the European Court of Justice has gained jurisdiction under the terms of the Amsterdam treaty. [12134]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
We believe that if the European Union is to work properly, the Court of Justice must have strong, if carefully circumscribed, powers. The new Treaty involves a limited extension of ECJ jurisdiction in a way which respects this balance.
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