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Departmental Spending (Scotland)

Mr. Galbraith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent in Scotland in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [87419]

Mr. Doug Henderson: Information on total defence expenditure is not generally held on a regional basis. However defence expenditure on equipment in UK regions is available. The latest available figures for equipment expenditure in Scotland (as published in "UK Defence Statistics 1998") are as follows:

Year£ millionPercentage
1990-91600(1)8
1993-945507.5
1994-955508.5
1995-966009
1996-975508

(1) Of total UK expenditure on equipment

Note:

These figures are VAT-exclusive and rounded to the nearest £50 million and 0.5 per cent. respectively. They relate to the locations of the defence equipment contractors and do not take account of those of sub-contractors. If the latter could be allowed for, the regional distribution might differ significantly from that shown.


Peacekeeping Force (Kosovo)

Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to follow the

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UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations' guidelines on the minimum age for peacekeepers in relation to the UK members of the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo. [88015]

Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 24 June 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Dr. Tonge) on 24 June 1999, Official Report, column 451.

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Infantry Battalions

Mr. DuncanSmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Army infantry battalions are currently deployed in (a) Kosovo, (b) Bosnia, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Germany. [88125]

Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 24 June 1999]: The information requested is as follows:

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Location/unitNotes
Kosovo
The 1st Battalion The Irish GuardsBattalion Headquarters, 2 companies, fire support company
The 1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers1 company
The 1st Battalion The Green Howards1 company
The 1st Battalion The Parachute RegimentIncludes a company from The 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment
The 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Regiment--
The 1st Battalion The Royal Irish RegimentIncludes a company from the 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
Bosnia
The 1st Battalion The Royal Highland FusiliersBattalion Headquarters, 2 companies, fire support company
The 2nd Battalion The Parachute RegimentIncludes a company of Gurkhas
Northern Ireland
The 1nd Battalion The Green HowardsIncludes a company from the 1st Battalion The Black Watch
The 1nd Battalion The Royal ScotsIncludes a company from The 1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment
The 1nd Battalion The Grenadier Guards--
The 1nd Battalion The Cheshire Regiment--
The Royal Dragoon GuardsArmour in the infantry role
32 Regiment Royal ArtilleryArtillery in the infantry role
The 1nd Battalion The Royal Welch FusiliersResident
The 1nd Battalion The Scots GuardsResident
The 1nd Battalion The Royal Anglian RegimentResident
The 1nd Battalion The Queen's Lancashire RegimentResident
The 1nd Battalion The Royal Green JacketsResident
The 1nd Battalion The King's Regiment--

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In addition, there are six Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, comprising both full-time and part-time members, which are wholly committed to Northern Ireland.

Units are not 'deployed' to Germany. The following infantry battalions are, however, currently in Germany:

Location/unitNotes
Germany
2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers--
2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets--
1nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Wales--

Kosovo

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the command structure of the KLA; what measures he is taking to ensure co-operation with KLA elements which are not part of the central structure; and if he will make a statement. [87301]

Mr. George Robertson: The KLA's command structure is presently based on military lines. It consists of the KLA Interim Government of Kosovo (IGOK) below which is the KLA's General Staff. The staff commands and controls the seven Operational Zones (OZ) found throughout the province. The OZs in turn command a number of KLA brigades and independent battalions.

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It is for General Jackson and his military commanders on the ground to determine how to deal with individual groups with whom they may have contact. They will be dealt with on an impartial basis but will be expected to act in accordance with the undertaking on demilitarisation given by the KLA to KFOR on 21 June.

Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which units now not deployed in Kosovo are warned to deploy to Kosovo; and where are these units now deployed. [88126]

Mr. George Robertson [holding answer 24 June 1999]: I am withholding this information on the future movement of units in accordance with exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information relating to Defence, Security and International Relations.

Submarine Spent Nuclear Fuel Cores

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many submarine spent nuclear fuel cores are currently held at (a) HMS Vulcan, (b) Rosyth, (c) Devonport and (d) Sellafield. [87707]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 22 June 1999]: The number of submarine spent fuel cores currently held is as follows:





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Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what day the new Used Core Transport Package for transporting submarine spent fuel cores entered into service. [87704]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 22 June 1999]: The first operational use of the new Used Fuel Flasks (UFFs) was Thursday 10 June 1999.

Nuclear Transfers (USA)

Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flights of special nuclear material from RAF Brize Norton to the United States and vice versa have occurred in each of the last five years. [88142]

Mr. Doug Henderson: The number of flights carrying special nuclear material each year between UK and US depends on programme requirements which are confidential between the two governments. I am therefore withholding the information requested under exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information relating to defence, security and international relations.

Sports Grounds

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sports grounds there are on MOD sites. [88494]

Mr. Spellar: The information sought is not held centrally and will have to be collected from various sources. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the information is available and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Veterans Advice Cell

Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the planned expenditure on the Veterans Advice Cell for each of the next five years. [88703]

Mr. Doug Henderson: Planned expenditure for the Ministry of Defence Veteran's Advice Unit is currently set at £172,000 per year until 2002-03, which is the duration of our current formal forward spending plans. It is anticipated that provision will continue at the same level in future years. This amount covers the employment costs for the three Warrant Officers operating the Unit and associated costs, including telecommunications, apportioned clerical support, training and publicity material.

Environmental Programmes

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reward those sectors of the armed forces that achieve higher levels of performance in environmental programmes, with particular reference to recycling. [88441]

Mr. Spellar: All sectors of the armed forces are required to comply with the Secretary of State's environmental policy statement and the environmental policies and practices set out in JSP 418, the Ministry of

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Defence's environmental manual. JSP 418 encourages all personnel to identify opportunities for recycling. The Secretary of State's environmental policy statement is incorporated into JSP 418, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to encourage all sections of the armed forces and their bases to participate fully in environmental joint programmes, with particular reference to re-cycling. [88442]

Mr. Spellar: All sections of the armed forces comply with the guidance provided in the MOD's environment manual, JSP 418, which provides detailed policy on waste reduction initiatives based on recycling.


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