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Gaul
Mr. Alan Johnson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Marine Accident Investigation Branch report of their
16 Apr 1999 : Column: 370
survey of the 'Gaul' will be published; and what are his intentions regarding the reopening of the formal investigation into the loss of the vessel. [81161]
Mr. Prescott:
The Marine Accidents Investigation Branch report is published today. The Chief Inspector recommends that there is new and important evidence meriting the reopening of the Formal Investigation into the loss of the vessel. I have today ordered the reopening of the Formal Investigation in full before a Wreck Commissioner.
I have also decided that my Department will support an application to the Wreck Commissioner that the reasonable costs of a single legal team to represent the interests of the relatives of those lost with the vessel at the reopened investigation should be met from public funds.
Mr. Roger Clarke, a senior official from my Department, will investigate why no searches were made for the Gaul after she sank. His results will be published. Mr. Clarke, assisted by a forensic scientist and forensic pathologist, will undertake the location and examination of three unidentified bodies found in Northern Russia following the loss of the vessel.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times in each of the last five years his Department's personnel have been involved in counter-drugs operations; which units were involved; and what was the cost above normal expenditure for the operations. [80712]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary gave to him on 1 March 1999, Official Report, columns 504-05. The operational details of counter-drugs support to HM Customs and Excise are sensitive and I am withholding the identities of the units involved in accordance with exemptions 1 and 4 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The additional costs incurred by MOD in these operations are typically in the region of £70-140k, depending upon the duration of the task and the extent of military involvement. These costs are recovered from HM Customs and Excise. There are no additional costs incurred by the West Indies Guard Ship in carrying out counter-drugs tasks in the Caribbean.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the headings or fields of information under which his Department's databases record personal details of serving and former members of HM armed forces. [80614]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Personal details of serving and former members of the armed forces are held on a variety of databases which contain a large number of different headings or fields of information. In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1984, details of the Ministry of Defence's use of personal data are contained within the
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Data Protection Register. The Register entry shows the purposes for which data are held by the Department and for each purpose:
Our Register entry covers both civilian and Service personnel. A list of headings or fields of information particular to databases used for recording personal details of serving and former members of the armed forces is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Data Protection Register is publicly available from the Data Registrar's website on http://www.dpr.gov.uk. The Ministry of Defence's Register Entry is G0626166.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the cost of the air defence exercise in central Europe carried out between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 1998; [72788]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Exercise Central Enterprise was the major annual NATO exercise held in central Europe in the period specified. The countries that participated in the flying activity were Belgium, Turkey, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Denmark, the USA and the UK. The total number of personnel involved in Central Enterprise is not available, nor are the national costs to other participating nations. Twenty RAF personnel were detached to participate in the exercise, with an additional cost to the RAF in the order of £20K. I understand from NATO that the cost to NATO Exercise Funds was some £41K.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel were on sick leave when their service with the armed forces ended in each of the last three years. [80696]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Details of the number of Service personnel deemed to be on sick leave at any one time are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Technically, however, Service personnel are not deemed to be on sick leave at the time of discharge, as they qualify for "terminal leave", or "invalidity leave" if being discharged for medical reasons.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the amount of statutory sick pay which his Department would have been able to claim from the Department of Social Security in each of the last three years if service personnel were eligible for statutory sick pay. [80697]
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Mr. Doug Henderson:
My Department does not maintain records of the numbers of Service personnel deemed to be on sick leave at any one time and could only provide that information at disproportionate cost. However, under the Statutory Sick Pay Act 1994, payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) became the responsibility of employers and the ability for them to reclaim up to 80 per cent. of costs from the Department of Social Security ceased. Employers were compensated for the extra SSP costs by a reduction in employers' National Insurance Contributions. No estimate has therefore been made of any amount which would notionally have been recoverable.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Department of Social Security concerning the eligibility of service personnel for statutory sick pay. [80699]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
None. Service personnel are not covered by Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) regulations on the basis that they remain on full pay during periods of sickness, which would exceed any amount payable under the SSP scheme.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent in each of the last five years on nuclear accident response; and if he will list the incidents and the cost involved with each. [80709]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
There have been no incidents requiring nuclear accident response over the last five years and therefore no costs have been incurred. However, defence nuclear accident response capabilities are maintained in appropriate divisions within the Department and are regularly exercised. Costs associated are borne by those divisions and no central record is maintained. Such a record could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost in each of the last five years of his Department's search and rescue capability in the UK. [80713]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The figures requested for the search and rescue capability are as follows:
(a) the types of individuals about whom data are held;
(b) the classes of personal data held;
(c) where the data are obtained from;
(d) who the data may be disclosed to;
(e) any countries outside the UK where the personal data may be sent.
(2) how many personnel were deployed on the air defence exercise in central Europe carried out between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 1998; and which countries had armed forces involved in the exercise. [72798]
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 33.493 |
| 1996-97 | 34.058 |
| 1997-98 | 35.079 |
| 1998-99 | 36.066 |
Figures are not readily available for financial year 1994-95, although they are not expected to differ substantially from 1995-96 (appropriately reduced to take account of inflation).
Depleted Uranium
Mr. Steinberg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the link between
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exposure to depleted uranium and the development of cancer in Gulf War veterans; and if he will make a statement. [81048]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
I refer my hon. Friend to paragraphs 7-19 and 31 of the detailed paper "Testing for the presence of depleted uranium in UK veterans of the Gulf conflict: The Current Position", which I published on 19 March. A copy of the paper was sent to my hon. Friend on the date of its publication and copies were also placed in the Library of the House.
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