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Armed Forces (Criminal Convictions)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of Her Majesty's armed forces have been convicted and sentenced in a criminal court in each of the last 10 years; how many have consequently been dismissed for misconduct; how many have remained in the armed forces under Queen's Regulations provision to take exceptional reasons into account; and if he will list the conviction and length of sentence in each case where exceptional reasons were taken into account and the nature of the exceptional reason cited. [75019]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, information relating to convictions of Service personnel by criminal courts will in future be held centrally.
Armed Forces (Textiles)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase the proportion of United Kingdom manufactured textiles used by the armed forces. [77467]
Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 18 March 1999]: The Ministry of Defence has a policy of international procurement whenever possible. We are however, concerned to ensure that British defence industry remains healthy and competitive in world markets, and procurement decisions are taken in the light of this. My Department's Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency currently places 76 per cent. by value of contracts for clothing for the Armed Forces with UK companies.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries of origin of the fabrics manufactured for the production of garments under his Department's contracts in each of the last five years. [79868]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
My Department does not hold the information requested. The great majority of purchases of textile based products are made-up garments, and my Department does not require contractors to specify the country of origin of the textiles used to make the items. The only contractural stipulation over the
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country of manufacture is that 10 per cent. of garments must be made at the main contractor's accredited facilities.
Mr. Wilshire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the restrictions imposed by him on British (a) forces, (b) aircraft and (c) vessels travelling (i) to and (ii) from Gibraltar. [78349]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
My Department imposes no restrictions on the movement of UK personnel or aircraft to and from Gibraltar. The normal UK rules on dress and status apply for Service personnel travelling to, from and within Spain. RAF aircraft and RN vessels are obliged to abide by Spanish restrictions placed on movements of NATO ships and aircraft to and from Gibraltar.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women were dismissed from Her Majesty's forces on account of pregnancy in each of the past 10 years. [76956]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The policy of compulsorily discharging women from the Armed Forces on grounds of pregnancy ceased in August 1990. Three hundred and thirty three women were discharged from the Army and the Royal Air Force on grounds of pregnancy in 1990-91 1 and 433 from the Navy Service, Army and the Royal Air Force during 1989-90.
1 The figures represent compulsory discharges up to 1 August 1990 and voluntary exits thereafter until March 1991. No data are available for the Naval Service for the year 1990-91.
European Court of Human Rights
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list decisions of the European Court of Human Rights over the past 10 years which relate to the responsibilities of his Department. [76954]
Mr. Doug Henderson: There have been seven judgments by the European Court of Human Rights during this period that relate to the responsibilities of my Department:
McCann and others (27 September 1995)
Findlay (25 February 1997)
Coyne (23 September 1997)
Cable and others (18 February 1999)
Hood (18 February 1999)
McGinley & Egan (9 June 1998)
LCB (9 June 1998).
Belloch Recommendation
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he has taken on the recommendation for a single MOD Police source document for terms and conditions of service contained in paragraph 5.10 of the 1994 Belloch report into the MOD police. [78809]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Terms and Conditions of Service for the MOD Police are at an advanced stage of preparation. Chapters will be published as soon as consultation with the Defence Police Federation is
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completed. In due course, they will form part of the proposed MDP Policy Procedures Manual currently under preparation.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings on nuclear safety have been held with local authorities, police forces, the Home Office and fire services over the past two years; and what future meetings are planned. [79513]
Mr. Doug Henderson
[holding answer 30 March 1999]: In the context of local liaison committees and multi-agency groups maintaining or exercising nuclear accident response plans, meetings broadly encompassing nuclear safety issues are regularly held with representatives of local authorities, police forces and fire services in many parts of the country and with the Home Office. They will continue to be held as required.
Mr. Blunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list of TA units and their establishment of regular permanent staff before the TA reforms in November 1998; and if he will list proposed TA units and their proposed establishment of regular permanent staff. [79702]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
As a result of our reforms of the TA, there has been a slight increase in the ratio of Permanent Staff to TA members across the TA. I have placed a copy of this list in the Library of the House.
Mr. Truswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what environmental appraisals of policy his Department has (a) completed, (b) started and (c) planned. [79626]
Mr. Spellar:
I will write to my hon. Friend, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the reduction in capacity in (a) general freight carriage and (b) carriage of post when Tristar flights to the Falklands are reduced. [79808]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The reduction in the number of RAF Tristar flights to the Falkland Islands from 7 to 6 per lunar month is likely to have some impact on freight capacity, but the precise details have yet to be determined. The greater payload of the improved Tristar aircraft and the take up of spare capacity on other air and sea movements should help offset any reduction in total freight capacity between the UK and Falklands. We do not expect there to be any reduction in capacity to carry mail or other high priority freight.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the total cost to his Department of the defence of Lee Clegg, breaking down the cost under different heads. [78736]
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Mr. Doug Henderson
[holding answer 31 March 1999]: The payments made by my Department to date for the defence of Lee Clegg total £1,044,401.14. This figure does not include the cost of his first trial in 1993, the costs of which were met by the Northern Ireland Office. Nor does it cover his retrial, which began in November 1998 and lasted until February 1999 for which we have so far received bills for the costs up to the end of January 1999, but these have yet to be approved for payment.
Valerie Davey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if depleted uranium weapons are being used by NATO in its current operations in Yugoslavia. [79859]
Mr. George Robertson:
No depleted uranium based ammunition has been used by UK forces during Operation Allied Force. I cannot comment on behalf of other NATO nations.
Valerie Davey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what scientific research was commissioned by his Department following the use of depleted uranium weapons in Iraq in 1991 to assess (a) the short and (b) the long-term effects on people and the environment; and to whom the result of the research has been made available. [79858]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The Ministry of Defence has not commissioned any scientific research to investigate the health and environmental effects of using DU-based ammunition during the 1990-91 Gulf conflict. However, the potential hazards of DU are well understood and are well documented in the scientific literature. In 1993, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency's Radiation Protection Service (then the Defence Radiological Protection Service (DRPS)) published a summary report of its assessment of the potential hazards posed by DU. The report, copies of which have already been placed in the Library of the House, explained that there are two types of hazard posed by the use of DU: a radiation hazard, although DU is a low specific activity material (as defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency); and a chemical toxicity hazard, which is similar to that posed by other heavy metals, such as lead.
DU-based ammunition is currently fired by the MOD at two ranges in the UK--Kirkcudbright in southern Scotland and Eskmeals in Cumbria--for test and evaluation purposes. In December 1993, the MOD commissioned independent environmental consultants, W. S. Atkins, to conduct a detailed review of the environmental impact of this test-firing. The consultants' resulting report, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library of the House, was published in 1995. It concluded that the radiation doses to members of the public, and the associated risks from exposure to DU released into the environment were extremely low. These conclusions were, and continue to be, substantiated by comprehensive monitoring programmes at both sites.
The Ministry of Defence is, of course, well aware of suggestions, particularly in the Press, that the use of DU-based ammunition during the Gulf conflict has caused an increase in ill-health, including deformities, cancers and birth defects, in Iraq (particularly around Basra, Az Zubayr and Um Qasr). However, we have not seen any peer-reviewed epidemiological research data which
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support these claims. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the illnesses of the types highlighted in Press articles are uniquely associated with exposure to DU. The Government would, of course, consider carefully any reliable medical or scientific data which may emerge concerning the incidence of ill-health in Iraq.
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