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Type 42s
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the expected in-service date is for the Type 42 replacement ships; and if he will make a statement. [94781]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 20 October 1999]: The requirement to replace the Royal Navy's Type 42 Destroyers will now be met by the Type 45 destroyer programme. On current plans, the first of the Type 45 destroyers will enter service in 2007.
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Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the practicability of the Principal Anti-Air Missile system to surplus Batch 2 Type 22 frigates pending the introduction of the Type 45 destroyer; and if he will make a statement. [96034]
Mr. Spellar:
No assessment has been conducted into the practicality of integrating the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) into Type 22 Batch 2 frigates. The timescale of the PAAMS procurement programme means that it could not be ready for service on a type 22 (or any other vessel) before the Type 45's entry into service.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the practicability of incorporating the US Mk 41 vertical launcher in the Type 45 destroyer; and if he will make a statement. [96033]
Mr. Spellar:
An assessment was made of both the French SYLVER Vertical Launch System (VLS) and the Lockheed Martin Mk41 (Tactical length) VLS for the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) requirement. The French SYLVER was competitively selected, in preference to the Lockheed Martin Mk41. While the assessment concluded that both options would meet the PAAMS requirement and technically could be incorporated into the Type 45, the PAAMS package which offered the SYLVER launcher was chosen on the grounds of overall affordability and value for money.
Maria Eagle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances his Department will pay the legal costs of armed forces personnel in divorce proceedings; and for what ranks. [96431]
Mr. Spellar:
Divorce is considered to be a personal and private issue between the individuals concerned. It is not considered appropriate, therefore, that such costs should be borne by the public purse. However, Armed Forces personnel serving in Northern Ireland or overseas can obtain free legal advice on procedure from the Army Legal Service. Similarly, their spouses can receive free advice from the RAF Legal Service.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the value of the missiles being loaned to Turkey; and how long the missiles are being loaned for. [96472]
Mr. Spellar:
The value of the missiles that the MOD plans to loan to Turkey is approximately £1.2 million; the missiles are being loaned for a period of approximately three years.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Governments of countries which possess nuclear weapons about management of weapons systems in relation to millennium compliance. [96549]
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Mr. Hoon:
We have been assured by all the other Nuclear Weapon States (US, Russia, France and China) that their nuclear weapons will be unaffected by the Year 2000 problem, and that robust command and control arrangements are in place. We have provided similar assurances in respect of our own nuclear deterrent.
Mr. Clapham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will institute a full public inquiry into the health and safety, environmental and pollution aspects of the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston and Burghfield; [96671]
Mr. Hoon
[holding answer 1 November 1999]: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Clapham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the amount of uranium dust in Kosovo from depleted uranium rounds; and what action he proposes to take to manage the risk to public health. [96668]
Mr. Hoon
[holding answer 1 November 1999]: Depleted uranium based munitions have not been used by British forces in Kosovo and the Government have not commissioned any assessment of the amount of uranium dust in Kosovo. I am, however, very much aware of the concerns that have been expressed about the use of depleted uranium in ammunition and have commissioned advice from officials within the MOD on how we might improve our knowledge of how depleted uranium in ammunition behaves in the natural environment. I have also asked for a review of any health effects of depleted uranium.
The joint UN Environment Programme/UN Commission on Human Settlements issued its report "The Kosovo Conflict: Consequences for the Environment" on 5 October 1999. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if legislation would be required in order to lift the ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces. [96891]
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the percentage serviceability target in 1999 for equipment being required to be available within 12 hours for (a) RAF aircraft, (b) army tanks and (c) other battle vehicles. [95965]
Mr. Spellar:
The Army do not set serviceability targets for equipment being required to be available within 12 hours. The percentage serviceability target in 1999 for
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equipment being required to be available within 24 hours is 90 per cent. for main battle tanks and an average of 80 per cent. across the range of other armoured vehicles.
The information requested on RAF aircraft is not held centrally but is being collated. I will write to the right hon. and learned Member when it is available and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the establishment strength of (a) Tornado GR1/4, (b) Tornado F3, (c) Harrier, (d) Jaguar, (e) Nimrod, (f) Sentry, (g) Tristar, (h) Puma, (i) Sea King and (j) Chinook; how many were (i) allocated to front-line units, (ii) fully serviceable, (iii) unserviceable 1 line, (iv) unserviceable 2 line, (v) unserviceable 3 line, (vi) unserviceable 4 line and (vii) held in reserve use on 1 October; and what percentage of the establishment strength this represents for each category. [95967]
Mr. Spellar:
I will write to the right hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the establishment strength of (a) Warrior variants, (b) Challenger 1, (c) Challenger 2, (d) Saxon variants, (e) AVF 430 variants, (f) Sabre, (g) Striker, (h) Scimitar, (i) Spartan, (j) Sultan, (k) Samaritan and (l) Samson; how many were (i) allocated to front-line units, (ii) fully operational, (iii) unserviceable- fully operational in 24 hours, (iv) unserviceable-fully operational in seven days and (v) unserviceable-fully operational in more than seven days on 1 October; and what percentage of the establishment strength this represents for each category. [95966]
Mr. Spellar:
Information on the availability state of armoured vehicles in the form requested, specifically the numbers of vehicles held by frontline units together with the numbers that are operational, is classified. I am therefore withholding this information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Defence, Security and International Relations). Information on availability of armoured vehicles allocated to frontline Army units by percentage of establishment strength is however, unclassified. The following table shows availability in this form on 30 September 1999, the most recent date for which figures are available.
(2) what action in the past year he has caused to be taken to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident at Aldermaston. [96670]
Notes:
1. AVF 430 has been taken to include all 430 variants;
2. All six Warrior variants have been included under the term "Warrior",
3. All five Saxon variants have been included under the term "Saxon",
4. Frontline Army units have been taken to mean those of 1(UK) Armoured Division, 3(UK) Division (under Operational Command), and Regular Units of the Reconnaissance Brigade.
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