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Service Men (Northern Ireland)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service-men who served in Northern Ireland have subsequently been discharged on compassionate grounds in each of the last 15 years. [83384]
Mr. Doug Henderson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Service Men (Absence without Leave)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what proportion of soldiers reported absent without leave in each of the past five years were subsequently arrested; what was the average length of time taken to effect an arrest; and what action was taken against offenders; [83386]
- (2) how many service men have been reported absent without leave in each of the last 15 years while stationed in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Germany; and what were the figures for the services as a whole. [83385]
11 May 1999 : Column: 126
Mr. Doug Henderson: I will write to my hon. Friend, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Glassdrummond Barracks
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what building work at what cost is being carried out at Glassdrummond Barracks; what (a) types and (b) weights of building materials and (c) how many pallets were flown onto the site in April; and at what level of command authorisation was given to issue public statements concerning the building works which were reported in the Press. [83387]
Mr. Doug Henderson: Apart from some routine repair and maintenance tasks, (such as repair of a barbed wire fence) no building work has been carried out at the Glassdrummond base during April 1999. No building materials were flown into the base during that month. However, several septic tanks and around 500 kg of rations were flown in, and these same septic tanks and some empty pallets were flown out.
The Army Information Service at Headquarters Northern Ireland is authorised by the General Officer Commanding to make statements to the media.
Green Transport Plans
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the introduction of a green transport plan for his Department. [82836]
Mr. Spellar: The turbulence associated with the refurbishment of the Ministry of Defence's main building in Whitehall has made it impracticable to introduce green transport plans for MoD buildings in London. Work involved in their production would inevitably be largely nugatory.
In view of these practical difficulties and the fact that the majority of staff working London buildings use public transport to commute to work, we have decided that the Department's most immediate contribution to reducing vehicle emissions and energy consumption would be achieved by concentrating on more efficient fleet management. This particular emphasis is also more consistent with our approach to green transport plans as part of wider Environmental Management Systems. A switch to ultra-low sulphur diesel for all our wheeled vehicles is already underway and should reduce exhaust emissions in the utility fleet by up to 30 per cent.
Outside London, a draft green transport action plan has been prepared for MoD's Abbey Wood site. Work on green transport plans for other sites is due to start once analysis has been completed of pilot surveys on commuting and duty travel which were recently conducted at three representative MoD sites.
In conclusion, I must emphasis that MoD is not only a department of state but, as demonstrated by the events in Kosovo, also an operational headquarters which must be able to function around the clock and at times when public transport is not an option. Undoubtedly, this adds a further layer of difficulty to the production of green transport plans.
11 May 1999 : Column: 127
Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what information was used to identify those higher rate Disability Living Allowance claimants who qualified for exemption under the Benefit Integrity Project; [82457]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of exempt claimants who were contacted in error under the Benefit Integrity Project; [82486]
(4) what categories of higher rate Disability Living Allowance claimants were exempt from assessment under the Benefit Integrity Project. [82487]
Mr. Bayley:
The Benefit Integrity Project (BIP) came to an end on the 31 March 1999. During the period of its operation various groups were exempted from the scope of the Project as information became available to show that for some categories of award there was a low rate of change on review. A complete list of those groups exempted from the operation of the Project is listed. No estimate has been made of the number who may have been contacted in error by the Project, however, safeguards were put in place to reduce such a possibility to a minimum. There is a statutory definition of Severe Mental Impairment which is set out. This applies to all Disability Living Allowance (DLA) cases.
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Mr. O'Hara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the most recent estimates of pensioners' average incomes in EU countries. [83726]
Mr. Timms:
The information is not available.
Mr. Sayeed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to improve the methods of illustrating retirement pensions for members of defined contribution occupation pension schemes in order to make it easier to assess their level of income after retirement. [83703]
Mr. Timms:
The consultation document "Strengthening the Pensions Framework", which was issued in December 1998, included proposals to give members of defined contribution pension schemes better and more understandable information about the level of income they are likely to receive in retirement.
We are considering the responses, and will make detailed recommendations in due course.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the introduction of a green transport plan for his Department. [82830]
Angela Eagle:
Since last July's Integrated Transport White Paper, which set targets for the introduction of green transport plans for Government Departments, we have completed 27 plans covering all our headquarters and main buildings.
We are developing plans for all other key buildings in line with the target for March 2000 set in the Integrated Transport White Paper.
11 May 1999 : Column: 129
Mr. Nicholls:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to publish the findings of the MAFF Inspectors who visited Thailand to inspect the welfare and hygiene standards of locally raised poultry. [82931]
(2) what definition of severe mental impairment was used to exempt claimants from assessment under the Benefit Integrity Project; [82458]
Claimants in receipt of higher rate mobility component and either the highest or middle rate care component who were shown to be:
paraplegic
quadriplegic
double amputees
those who are both deaf and blind
those who are defined as being severely mentally impaired or
those paid under special rules
claimants who are aged 65 or over
Claimants in receipt of higher rate mobility component and the highest rate care component who were shown to have:
cystic fibrosis
dementia
haemodialysis
hyperkinetic syndrome
motor neurone disease
multiple allergy syndrome
total parenteral nutrition
a learning difficulty
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Parkinsons Disease or
severe and progressive neurological or muscle wasting disease
All claimants who were in receipt of Attendance Allowance or Mobility Allowance and were converted to DLA in April 1992.
Definition of Severe Mental Impairment (SMI)
A person can satisfy the SMI provisions for the higher rate mobility component of DLA if:
1. they are severely mentally impaired, Sec 73(3)(a) Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act ie they suffer from an arrested development of the brain, which results in severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning, Reg 12(5) Social Security DLA Regs,
and
2. they display severe behavioural problems, Sec 73(3)(b) SS C & B Act ie they exhibit disruptive behaviour which;
(a) is extreme, Reg 12(6)(a) SS DLA Regs
(b) regularly requires another person to intervene and physically restrain them in order to prevent them causing physical injury to themselves or another, or damage to property, Reg 12(6)(b) SS DLA Regs,
and
(c) is so unpredictable that they require another person to be present and watching over them whenever they are awake, Reg 12(6)(c) SS DLA Regs,
and
3. they satisfy both the conditions in Sec 72 (1)(b) and (c) SS C & B Act ie satisfies the conditions for the highest rate care component.
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