House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 17 Nov 1998 (pt 3)

Sport (Injury Insurance)

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what statistics are collected by, or reported to, his Department relating to minors sustaining personal injury while taking part in the activities of junior sports clubs. [59707]

Ms Jowell: I have been asked to reply.

The Department does not collect information on injuries from sporting activities at junior clubs. Although the hospital episode statistics data system has information on injuries and accidents, these relate only to events which require medical treatment at a hospital. These do not specify the location of the accident. The Department of Trade and Industry's Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System records treatment for injuries from sporting activities from a sample of accident and

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emergency departments in the United Kingdom. Under this system an estimated 215,000 children under 15 had sports injuries in 1996 in the UK. Although the database cannot identify whether they occurred in junior sports clubs, it can differentiate between organised and non-organised games.

CABINET OFFICE

Sickness Absence

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what are the figures for (a) the public sector, including local authorities, grant-maintained schools and NHS trusts and (b) the private sector for days lost due to absence from work through sickness, expressed as a number of days per employee in each sector in the most recent available year. [59584]

Mr. Kilfoyle: Information about the average number of days lost per employee due to absence through sickness in the public and private sectors is not collected centrally. However, the Office for National Statistics estimate from the Labour Force Survey that in the United Kingdom 5.5 per cent. of public sector employees and 4.4 per cent. of private sector employees were absent from work due to sickness or injury for at least one day in an average week between autumn 1997 and summer 1998.

Better Regulation Task Force

Mr. Cotter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his oral statement of 10 November 1998, Official Report, column 168, what the remit will be of the better regulation task force's assessment of SMEs; and when he expects them to report. [60150]

Mr. Kilfoyle: The statement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to which the question refers was a reference to a review of the role of regulation in relation to productivity which will be undertaken by the Better Regulation Task Force, for which this Department has responsibility. The review was first announced in the pre-Budget Statement on 3 November 1998, Official Report, columns 681-702.

I can confirm that the Task Force has established a sub-group to take this work forward. They are currently agreeing the details of their terms of reference, including the timetable for this work. The review will examine the degree to which regulation acts as a barrier to business start-up, survival and growth. The Task Force will consider existing material and seek further evidence from a wide range of interested parties.

I hope that the Task Force will present their first findings next Spring, and a final report as soon as practicable thereafter.

Relocation

Mr. Ainger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the decision was taken to relocate parts of the Cabinet Office to Admiralty Arch, Ripley Block and Kirkland House; and if he will make a statement. [60470]

Dr. Jack Cunningham: The relocation was announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 28 July 1998, Official Report, columns 132-33, in connection

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with the review of the Cabinet Office by the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Richard Wilson. The funding for the project was agreed as part of this Department's Comprehensive Spending Review, in collaboration with HM Treasury. The buildings will be occupied by civil servants. Although these decisions were taken before my appointment to the Cabinet Office, I fully support this initiative to create a focus for the drive to modernise Government and to tackle the new challenges it faces. Ministerial accommodation will remain at 70 Whitehall.

DEFENCE

Gulf War

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if British tanks fired depleted uranium shells during the Gulf War; and if he will make a statement. [59333]

Mr. Doug Henderson: The Main Battle Tank used by UK forces during the Gulf conflict in 1990-91 was the Challenger 1, armed with the 120mm rifled-barrel L11 gun. However, when planning Operation GRANBY, it was assessed that the existing tungsten-based armour-piercing rounds in use with Challenger 1 might not be sufficiently powerful to defeat the most modern Iraqi tanks--Soviet designed T72s. It was therefore decided that MOD should undertake the emergency development and deployment of a new armour-piercing round for Challenger 1.

This new round was based on a 120mm armour- piercing round, containing a solid depleted uranium (DU) penetrator core with a protective (non-DU) coating and known as CHARM 1, which was already being developed for use by the more powerful gun on the new Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank, also then under development. In fact, the CHARM 1 round needed only minor modifications in order to fit the existing gun on Challenger 1, but a totally new charge needed to be developed. The new charge and slightly modified round, known as Jericho I and Jericho II respectively, were deployed to the Gulf and issued to UK armoured formations just before the start of Coalition operations against Iraq.

The MOD's current assessment is that UK forces fired fewer than 100 Jericho II rounds against Iraqi military forces during hostilities, which equates to less than 1 metric tonne of DU overall, although additional rounds were fired during earlier work-up training to establish the round's Mean Point of Impact (MPI).

Territorial Army

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors were taken into account in deciding to reduce the size of the TA force; and if he will make a statement. [59695]

Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will announce his conclusions on the future of the Territorial Army. [60246]

Mr. George Robertson: I refer the hon. Member and my hon. Friend to the statement I made earlier today, Official Report, columns 749-70.

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future

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of the Territorial Army building, Surbiton Road, Kingston-Upon-Thames. [59865]

Mr. Doug Henderson: I refer the hon. Member to the document concerning the future of the Territorial Army, placed in the Library of the House today.

Training Review

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects his Department to complete its review of its training methods. [56348]

Mr. Doug Henderson: We have completed our initial review of my Department's training methods and now plan a further study involving representatives of the Royal College of Surgeons and other bodies to determine appropriate means of providing necessary training in surgical trauma skills. We intend that the study should be led by an independent figure and should be completed in the first part of next year. Meanwhile, UK military participation in the Danish Armed Forces medical exercises involving the use of pigs remains suspended.

Gulf War Illness

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those hon. Members who have made representations to him on behalf of constituents concerning Gulf War illness. [58808]

Mr. Doug Henderson: My Department's record show that, since 1 May 1997, the following hon. Members have made representations to Ministry of Defence Ministers on behalf of one or more constituents concerning Gulf veterans' illnesses:

Adams, Mrs. Irene (Paisley, North)

Anderson, Donald (Swansea, East)

Ashdown, Rt. Hon. Jeremy John Durham (Yeovil)

Ashton, Joseph William (Bassetlaw)

Atherton, Candy (Falmouth and Camborne)

Ballard, Jacqueline Margaret (Taunton)

Barnes, Harry (North-East Derbyshire)

Benn, Rt. Hon. Anthony Neil Wedgwood (Chesterfield)

Betts, Clive James Charles (Sheffield, Attercliffe)

Brazier, Julian William Hendy, TD (Canterbury)

Breed, Colin Edward (South-East Cornwall)

Bruce, Ian (South Dorset)