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War Crimes (Former Yugoslavia)
23. Mr. Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance has been provided by British troops to those responsible for arresting people indicted for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. [90222]
Mr. George Robertson: In Bosnia, SFOR has detained 14 persons indicted by the ICTY. Nine of these detentions have taken place in the British-commanded sector and involved British forces, either directly or in support. Most recently, Radislav Brdjanin was detained by British SFOR forces on 6 July.
In Kosovo, British troops have helped to secure sites which may contain evidence of crimes, and British military personnel have assisted in obtaining witness statements and in supporting the ICTY's forensic investigations.
National Audit Office Report
26. Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the report of the National Audit Office on the cost of overruns and delays in his Department's projects. [90225]
Mr. Spellar: It is open to the Committee of Public Accounts to decide to take evidence on the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report on the Major Projects Report 1998 (HC 519 Sessions 1998-99). In accordance with the usual convention on committee business I cannot offer any comment which might pre-empt the Committee's consideration. However, the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report makes clear that the cost overruns and time delays in question have accumulated over a number of years and acknowledges that the Smart Procurement initiative has been launched to tackle these problems.
Armed Forces (Reductions)
27. Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his policy to retain the immediate post-cold war reductions in the armed forces. [90226]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The complete force structure inherited from the previous Government was examined in the Strategic Defence Review. Increases against previous plans were agreed in a number of areas, notably the overall size of the Army to make the armed forces more flexible, usable and deployable. The Strategic Defence Review force structure is now being implemented.
Defence Manufacturing (North-west)
28. Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next intends to visit BAe Samlesbury-Warton to discuss defence manufacturing capacity in the north-west. [90227]
Mr. Spellar:
The importance of BAe Samlesbury and Warton to defence manufacturing in the north west is well appreciated by this Department. However, there are no immediate plans for Defence Ministers to visit BAe Samlesbury/Warton.
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29. Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of applying the ILO convention on child labour to the British armed forces. [90228]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The new ILO Convention concerns the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. This includes the
30. Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Army does not hold depleted uranium munitions. [90229]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The Army does hold stocks of depleted uranium based ammunition.
Helen Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals (a) in or formerly with the armed forces and (b) in Southern Iraq have been tested specifically for evidence of depleted uranium contamination. [90363]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
There is no central record of any health tests conducted for those still serving or for those who have left the armed forces.
The Ministry of Defence is aware of the suggestion that exposure to depleted uranium (DU) is a cause of ill-health among some veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict. Any Gulf veteran who is concerned that their health has been adversely affected by service during that conflict is entitled to seek a referral to the Ministry of Defence's Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) for a full medical assessment. During assessment, the patient receives a set of standard tests. If the examining physician considers it clinically appropriate for a patient to receive tests to detect DU, these would be arranged. Between one and five people so far examined by MAP physicians, have exhibited symptoms that, in the judgment of the examining physicians, have indicated a clinical requirement for testing to detect DU, and have been tested.
However, a very small number of UK troops, who expressed concern that they might have inhaled DU dust during preparatory training in Saudi Arabia before the state of hostilities, were subjected to Whole Body Monitoring in February 1991. They showed no detectable contamination.
The Ministry of Defence is also aware of reports of DU testing undertaken by Professor Sharma of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and Dr. Durakovic of Georgetown University, Washington. Dr. Durakovic discussed their work in general terms with Ministry of Defence officials in February 1999, when he explained that they are carrying out a study into uranium levels among veterans of the Gulf conflict, in which it is understood a small
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number of UK Gulf veterans and Iraqi nationals are participating. Dr. Durakovic indicated that they plan to publish their findings, including details of the methodology they are using and the results obtained, later this year. Their work is not being undertaken at the request of the Ministry of Defence and any UK Gulf veterans who choose to participate do so on a voluntary basis.
The healthcare of Iraqi nationals, including any testing for the presence of DU, is a matter for the Iraqi Government.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 June 1999, Official Report, column 148, on Kosovo, what measures have been taken to identify targets hit by depleted uranium ammunition; and whether non-standard issue NBC kit has been issued for troops in proximity to such locations. [90950]
Mr. George Robertson:
Although British Forces did not fire depleted uranium ammunition in Kosovo, we await information through NATO channels as to whether any such ammunition was used in the British led sector.
Service personnel deployed in Kosovo have been given appropriate guidance, and provided with standard NBC equipment, including protective gloves and respiratory equipment, which they should wear if contact with targets damaged by DU ammunition is unavoidable.
Dr. Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what investigations he is undertaking into the environmental impact of the use of weapons containing depleted uranium during the conflict in Kosovo and Serbia; [91764]
Mr. George Robertson:
No decontamination work is currently taking place in Kosovo. A joint task force has been set up by the UN Environment Programme and the UN Commission on Settlements to assess the environmental and health aspects of the conflict. The UK stands ready to co-operate with that task force.
31. Mr. Rapson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in his Department's plans to procure two new aircraft carriers. [90230]
Mr. George Robertson:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline, West (Ms Squire), Official Report, column 778.
Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current state of officer recruiting and retention. [90219]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Officer recruitment to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force is encouraging. Officer recruitment to the Royal Navy was 3 per cent.
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higher in the year 1998-99 than in the previous year, and was 8 per cent. higher for the RAF. Officer recruitment to the Army, however, fell 23 per cent. during the same period, and addressing this is an important priority. As part of this work, we have introduced enhanced bursary and sponsorship schemes to increase the attraction of an Army career to potential officers.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the procurement projects in category C or above whose in-service dates have been postponed or notified to industry during 1999, indicating the (i) original and (ii) new in-service dates. [82897]
Mr. Spellar:
The In-service dates, ISD, of equipment may be revised during procurement for a number of reasons: to reflect project changes; to reflect a more realistic assessment of delivery dates; or because of adjustments to our wider defence programme priorities. Contractors are notified of revised dates when there may be contractual implications.
"forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict"
which is clearly an unacceptable form of child labour. The recruitment of genuine volunteers, as undertaken here in the UK, is entirely different from the abusive, exploitative, forced or coercive involvement of children in armed conflict as members of militia or para-military forces. The new Convention will not, therefore, have an effect on our armed forces.
(2) what decontamination work is taking place in Kosovo as a result of the use by US forces of weapons containing depleted uranium; what responsibility the US is taking for the cost of this work, and if (i) UK and (ii) other EU personnel are involved. [91765]
| Project | ISD as at 31 December 1998 | 1999 ISD |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar 2193 for Hunt Class | October 2001 | October 2003 |
| Survey Vessel 1 | July 2001 | July 2002 |
| Alternative Landing Ship Logistic 1 | September 2002 | February 2004 |
| Stingray Life Extension | May 2004 | May 2005 |
| Royal Navy Joint Tactical Information Distribution System--ship fit | December 2001 | December 2002 |
| Sonar 2087 | August 2004 | December 2004 |
| Radar Type 996 Availability Improvements | January 2002 | May 2002 |
| Radar Type 996 Track Extractor | September 2001 | January 2002 |
| All Terrain Vehicle (Protected) | December 2002 | June 2003 |
| Medium Range Third Generation Anti-Tank Guided Weapon | August 2003 | June 2005 |
| Heavy Equipment Transporter | December 2002 | May 2003 |
| Joint Tactical Information Distribution System for third Tornado Squadron | December 1998 | December 1999 |
| Nimrod MRA4 | April 2003 | March 2005 |
Two further projects have similarly been postponed, the Cooperative Outboard Logistic Update, with a delay of 12 months, and Project Botanical, with a delay of 37 months. Publication of the precise ISDs of these projects could give potential enemy an insight into a sensitive operational capability and I am, therefore, withholding this information under exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
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