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Iraq
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flights have been made by the RAF in the air exclusion zones in North and South Iraq since this military operation commenced. [64295]
Mr. George Robertson: Since patrolling of the northern and southern Iraqi No-Fly-Zones began (in 1991 and 1992 respectively), the RAF have flown a total of some 15,500 sorties in the zones.
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place a list of the 49 unclassified papers in the DERA reports series in the Library, specifying the title of each paper and the date on which it was produced. [63932]
Mr. Spellar: I have arranged for a list of the titles and dates to be placed in the Library of the House. The Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency regrets that unfortunately there was an error in his reply to my hon. Friend's previous question about these reports on 18 November 1998, Official Report, column 636. There are, in fact, 44 not 49 unclassified reports in the series.
Information Technology
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the abandonment of the IT system being prepared by Data Sciences for the Defence Intelligence Staff, indicating the reasons for the abandonment; what is the breakdown of the costs incurred; for what reasons an off-the-shelf system was not ordered at the time of the original decision; and what estimates were made at that time of the costs of an off-the-shelf system. [63717]
Mr. Spellar:
The IT system referred to was selected in July 1988 following a detailed requirements survey. No off-the-shelf system was available which could meet the requirement and the rigorous security standards which were necessary. The system was abandoned in November 1996 because delays in implementing the contract and rapid changes in IT technology meant that it no longer met either the developing business needs of the Department or current health and safety standards.
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 653
Many valuable lessons have been learned about the acquisition and development of such a demanding system and these align closely with the principles of the Smart Procurement Initiative.
As a result of these lessons, a follow-on-system has now been put into service at a fraction of the cost using up to date commercial-off-the-shelf technology and is successfully operating on a widespread basis.
A precise breakdown of the costs incurred is not easy to establish but was around £14 million for hardware with the remainder for software development. Some £2 million were recovered from the company concerned in liquidated damages.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the United Kingdom and France have reciprocal rights for their nuclear-powered submarines to use docking facilities in (a) either country and (b) their overseas dependent territories. [63901]
Mr. Spellar:
The UK and France do not have any reciprocal rights for their nuclear-powered submarines to use docking facilities in (a) either country and (b) their overseas dependent territories. We do, however, have berthing arrangements for nuclear-powered submarines with a number of countries, including France.
Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of occasions upon which the Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army has visited the United Kingdom since 1990, the duration of each visit, and the officers of the British armed forces and officials of his Department's Defence Sales Organisation whom he met on each occasion. [64023]
Mr. George Robertson
[holding answer 15 December 1998]: As far as we are able to ascertain from available records, no official visit to the United Kingdom has been made by the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army during the years in question. We are, however, aware that the then Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army, General Pinochet, made six private visits to the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1997. We can find no record of his meeting any Officers or officials of the Defence Export Services Organisations on these occasions.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of each Royal Navy vessel which has visited Chile in the last five years and the dates and duration of the visits; and what future visits to Chile by Royal Navy vessels are planned. [63409]
Mr. George Robertson
[pursuant to his reply, 14 December 1998, c. 331]: I regret that one visit by HMS Northumberland was inadvertently omitted from the list provided and the dates for the visit of HMS Brazen in 1994 were wrong.
| Year | Vessel | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | HMS Brazen | 28 September to 20 November 1994 |
| 1996 | HMS Northumberland | 27 June to 29 June 1996 |
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 654
General Pinochet
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the contacts which took place between his Department and the Embassy of Chile about the security of General Pinochet during his visit to Britain in the autumn. [64331]
Mr. George Robertson: My Department is not aware of any contacts with the Embassy of Chile concerning General Pinochet's security.
Scottish Infantry Battalions
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the (i) establishment and (ii) current strength of each of the regular Scottish infantry battalions; and if he will list each element of company strength or above currently serving in them. [62542]
Mr. Spellar [holding answer 8 December 1998]: The establishment and current strength of each of the six regular Scottish Infantry Battalions, as at 1 November, is as listed. The strength figures for individual companies within these Battalions is dependent, at any one time, on the operational or training needs of the Battalion. The individual company figures are, therefore, a snapshot of strength on 10 December 1998. The Battalion strength figures include personnel who bear the Battation's cap badge but are posted away from it.
| Battalion | Establishment | Strength | Surplus/Deficit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Royal Scots | |||
| Officers | 35 | 31 | -4 |
| Soldiers | 582 | 394 | -188 |
| 1 Royal Highland Fusiliers | |||
| Officers | 34 | 33 | -1 |
| Soldiers | 626 | 487 | -139 |
| 1 Kings Own Scottish Borderers | |||
| Officers | 31 | 32 | +1 |
| Soldiers | 520 | 439 | -81 |
| 1 Black Watch | |||
| Officers | 31 | 25 | -6 |
| Soldiers | 523 | 440 | -83 |
| 1 Highlanders | |||
| Officers | 32 | 33 | +1 |
| Soldiers | 583 | 438 | -145 |
| 1 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders | |||
| Officers | 31 | 32 | +1 |
| Soldiers | 558 | 518 | -40 |
| Total | 3,586 | 2,902 | -684 |
Note:
The Company figures include only those serving with that particular company on 10 December 1998 and may include personnel from other units.
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 655
Gulf War Veterans
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons Ministry of Defence Police forcibly entered the homes of Gulf War veterans at the beginning of December. [63911]
Mr. Spellar: This is a matter for the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Defence Police Agency. I have asked the Chief Constable to write to my hon. Friend.
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