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Defence Export Sales Organisation
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the Defence Export Sales Organisation has in co-ordinating defence sales promotions with the Defence Military Assistance Fund. [63862]
Mr. Spellar: I will write to the hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Defence Diplomacy Mission
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget is for the Defence Diplomacy Mission. [63863]
Mr. George Robertson: The Defence Diplomacy Mission is funded either by those Top Level Budget Holders responsible for specific activities or from the Defence Military Assistance Fund (DMAF). Figures on the former are not separately identified. The DMAF budget for 1998-99 is some £11 million, of which about £7 million is allocated to activities which now fall within the Defence Diplomacy Mission.
The increases we intend to make to the DMAF of around £5 million next year and up to £15 million in the two subsequent years, will also be used largely for Defence Diplomacy-related activities.
Bosnia
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Christmas season entertainment he is arranging for the troops in Bosnia. [63909]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The principal Christmas entertainment provided for troops in Bosnia this year was a Combined Services Entertainment show which ran from 27 November to 4 December. It played at all major sites and all troops had the opportunity to see it. In addition to this, the British Forces Broadcasting Service will be broadcasting Christmas messages and conducting a radio link with families. There will also be a Christmas delivery of library books and the Service Sound and Vision Corporation are donating videos.
Units will also be arranging their own activities such as Christmas lunches and carol services. In addition, all troops will be given extra telephone time free of charge over the holiday period.
Services Personnel
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) men and (b) women are currently serving in the (i) Army, (ii) Royal Airforce and (iii) Royal Navy. [64391]
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 530
Mr. Spellar:
The number of men and women serving in the UK Regular Armed Forces on 1 November 1998, were:
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naval Service | 40,668 | 3,302 | 43,970 |
| Army | 102,174 | 7,673 | 109,847 |
| Royal Air Force | 50,351 | 5,073 | 55,424 |
| Total | 193,193 | 16,048 | 209,241 |
These figures do not include the 4,512 personnel serving in the Royal Irish Regiment (men 4,072, women 440), or the number of Gurkhas totalling 3,578.
Iraq
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what conclusions his Department has drawn from the consequences of the explosion at Bhopal as regards the results of bombing chemical and biological weapons facilities. [62662]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The accidental explosion at a chemical factory in Bhopal, India in 1984 provided a large amount of information on the dangers in the storage of very large quantities of toxic chemicals, and on the possible consequences of the destruction, by accident or otherwise, of such storage facilities.
We advise caution, however, before this information is directly applied to other scenarios. In particular, we do not consider the information on Bhopal forms a suitable basis from which to construct predictions of the consequences of bombing of chemical or biological weapons facilities.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely target accuracy in possible bombing campaigns in Iraq. [62656]
Mr. George Robertson:
I am not prepared to discuss detailed operational issues under exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. However, I can say that only precision guided weaponry would be used.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to ensure the safety of those with diplomatic status in Baghdad in the event of a bombing campaign. [62657]
Mr. George Robertson:
I am not prepared to discuss detailed operational issues under exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I can say, however, that all relevant factors are taken into account in selecting targets.
Ministerial Visits
12. Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to make an official visit to East Anglia. [62734]
The Prime Minister:
I have no immediate plans to do so, but I hope to be able to pay a visit in the future.
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 531
14. Mrs. Ann Winterton:
To ask the Prime Minister when he next intends to pay an official visit to the Congleton constituency. [62736]
The Prime Minister:
I have no immediate plans to do so.
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 16 December. [63664]
The Prime Minister:
This morning I attended a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party and had meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I will have further such meetings later today.
Mr. Donald Anderson:
To ask the Prime Minister how many letters he has received since 2 May 1997 (a) in favour of and (b) opposed to lowering the age of consent for homosexual acts to 16 years; and how many replies have been sent in a standard form. [64278]
The Prime Minister:
Since 2 May 1997 I have received over 3,500 letters on this subject, the large majority of which were opposed to lowering the age of consent for homosexual acts to 16 years. All would have been acknowledged by No. 10 and almost all would have received a reply from the relevant Department which made clear the Government's position on this matter.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the political consequences in Iraq of removing Saddam Hussein from power, with particular reference to possible fragmentation. [62658]
The Prime Minister:
I am aware of my hon. Friend's concerns about the possibility of fragmentation if the Iraqi regime should fall.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the likely impact of a bombing campaign in Iraq on the strength of Saddam Hussein's support in (a) Iraq, (b) the rest of the Arab world and (c) the rest of the Islamic world. [62659]
The Prime Minister:
I am not prepared to speculate about the possibility of military action or its possible consequences. The statement on 12 November by the Damascus Declaration countries made clear that the Arab world holds Saddam Hussein responsible for the consequences of his actions and the Gulf Co-operation Council summit earlier this month reinforced the message that the Government of Iraq were responsible for the suffering of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people would no doubt express similar views, if they were allowed to do so.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the reasons for the length of time so far taken by UNSCOM to fulfil its mission. [62663]
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 532
The Prime Minister:
UNSCOM is mandated under United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 to ensure that Iraq gives up its weapons of mass destruction (WMD). With full co-operation from Iraq, UNSCOM's work could have been completed very quickly. Instead, Iraq has chosen to attempt to retain its WMD capability at all costs. Its behaviour towards UNSCOM has been marked by persistent duplicity, evasion and confrontation.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the current officials of UNSCOM, indicating their (a) nationality, (b) salaries and (c) dates of appointment. [62664]
The Prime Minister:
We do not keep this information. This is a matter for UNSCOM.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Prime Minister what steps the Government will take to ensure that documents requested by UNSCOM exist before using the Iraqi Government's refusal to provide them as the reason for a military attack. [62665]
The Prime Minister:
I am satisfied that UNSCOM would not have requested these documents without good grounds to believe they existed. I will not speculate on when and if military action will be necessary. I have made clear that I am watching Iraq's behaviour closely against a range of criteria. Iraq's response to UNSCOM's requested for documents is not a good start.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the observations by Mr. Denis Halliday, the UN's former humanitarian co-ordinator, in Middle East International on 13 November, concerning the deaths of children as a result of the UN sanctions against Iraq. [62668]
The Prime Minister:
Like Mr. Halliday, we deeply regret the suffering of the Iraqi people and we agree with him that it is unfortunate that the UN has been obliged to sustain a sanctions regime against Iraq for so long. But we reject claims that the Iraqi people are suffering because of sanctions.
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