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Nancekuke Base, Cornwall

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what substances are currently stored at the Nancekuke military base in Cornwall. [103942]

Mr. Kilfoyle: Substances currently stored at the former Chemical Defence Establishment Nancekuke, now RAF Portreath, are limited to Petroleum Oils and Lubricants which support the RAF role, together with some agricultural chemicals owned and used by a tenant farmer.

Staff Recruitment

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy for agencies acting on behalf of his Department to recruit senior staff on the basis of open competition only; and if he will make a statement. [103902]

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Mr. Kilfoyle: My Department currently has 42 agencies. The Chief Executives of 28 of these have already been or will, next time around, be appointed following an open competition. The remaining 14 Chief Executives are all military officers.

In addition, a number of Chief Executives have chosen to recruit senior staff at Senior Civil Service, grade 6 and grade 7 levels by open competition on fixed term appointments, within the authority laid out in their Agency Framework Documents.

In line with Sir Richard Wilson's recent report to the Prime Minister on Civil Service Reform, my Department has a target over the next five years to achieve a 10 per cent. year-on-year increase in open competitions for middle and senior managers across the Department, particularly aimed at bringing in new thinking and people who have skills that are currently in short supply.

Territorial Army

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the total cost of full-time permanent staff instructors in each of the last three years in the Territorial Army; [103930]

(2) what the total cost is of full-time personnel commanding Territorial Army units in the current financial year. [103928]

Mr. Spellar: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Kosovo

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the Temporary Field Accommodation has been fully deployed in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [103763]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 21 December 1999]: It is currently envisaged that the Temporary Field Accommodation (TFA) project in Kosovo will be completed in February 2000.

Faslane Shiplift

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since 19 June the shiplift at Faslane has been used by (a) submarines and (b) surface ships; and if he will make a statement. [103411]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 21 December 1999]: Since 19 June 1999, the Shiplift at HM Naval Base Clyde has been used for the operational dockings of one surface ship (Minor War Vessel) from 22 June to 2 July, and one submarine (SSBN) from 7 July to 8 August. The facility has been non-operational since 1 September while essential Y2K compliance work was undertaken on the lift control and protection system. The replacement system completed the commissioning phase on 17 December.

Broadsword

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Salisbury of 29 November 1999, Official Report, column 4W, on

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the Territorial Army Joint Services Adventure Sail Training Vessel Broadsword, if he will list each repair and its cost since the refit in May 1998. [103406]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 21 December 1999]: The Joint Services Adventure Sail Training Vessel Broadsword returned from the Transglobe Inter-Service global yacht race on 10 December. The original estimate for likely repair work associated with this race was £14,000. Since its refit, including the period of the race, a total of £32,844 has been spent on repairs, as shown in the following table:

£

Country of repair/main areas of repair	Cost of repair
United Kingdom
Deck, generator and communication equipment	2,572
Antigua
Battery charger unit, electrical repairs, generator and main engine	2,224
Panama
Main engine	1,240
Acapulco
Minor Miscellaneous items	200
Honolulu
Mast, communication equipment, generator, water system and structural	6,714
Hong Kong
Sail	2,172
Singapore
Batteries, sails, electrics, general repairs	4,908
Capetown
Installation of gas system, sails, electrics, general repairs	6,691
Rio de Janeiro
Main engine, fresh water tanks	4,916
Antigua
Generator, main engine	507
Azores
Water tank, batter charger and generator	(17)700

(17) Estimated

Training Fleet

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of the Joint Services Adventure Sail Training Fleet (a) what have been the running costs in each of the past five years, (b) what is (i) the current market value and (ii) the replacement cost of each vessel in the fleet and (c) if he will consider replacing the fleet with a PPP arrangement with leased yachts and instructors. [103409]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 21 December 1999]: The running costs for the Joint Services Adventure Sail Training Fleet in each of the past five years are:

Year	£ million
1994-95	0.890
1995-96	0.920
1996-97	1.017
1997-98	0.996
1998-99	1.238

These costs include low level and routine maintenance and repair. Higher level upkeep (levels 3 and 4 maintenance) figures for the previous three years are:

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Year	£000
1996-97	(18)383
1997-98	(19)756
1998-99	(19)654

(18) Upkeep only

(19) Upkeep and repair

The figures for 1997-98 and 1998-99 include the cost of upkeep (major refit) work to comply with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Code of Practice for Sail Training Vessels. Costs for earlier years can be provided only at disproportionate effort since funding specific to JSASTC can be isolated only by examining all bills received for minor warship repair work in this period.

The training fleet currently operates 14 X Victoria 34 and 8 X Nicholson 55 sail training craft. The market value of each vessel will vary according to individual condition and the availability of similar vessels also on the market. The current market value for the Victoria 34s is estimated at £60,000 and £100,000 for the Nicholson 55s.

Replacement costs are estimated to be £150,000 for a Victoria 34 and £800,000 for a Nicholson 55. These are current market prices (new) and include VAT. No replacements are included in the current procurement programme.

We have no plans at present to replace the fleet with a PPP arrangement.

Correspondence

Sir Peter Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he proposes to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Fareham to his predecessor, dated 24 February, about ensuring secure future supplies of ammunition for British forces. [104316]

Mr. Hoon: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Royal Navy Vessels (Asbestos)

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's annual budget is for removal of asbestos from Royal Navy vessels. [104319]

Mr. Spellar: There is no specific annual budget for the removal of asbestos from Royal Navy vessels as it is planned to undertake the majority of this work during scheduled maintenance periods and refits. However, it is estimated that the total cost of the programme to eliminate asbestos, wherever practicable, will be about £7.5 million. This includes the cost of replacement stocks.

Nuclear Weapons

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information senior officers on Trident submarines are given on the specific yields and likely targets of the missiles they are responsible for. [104077]

Mr. Hoon: The Trident missiles on which our nuclear deterrent is based have been de-targeted since 1994. In the circumstances of our having to use our nuclear weapons,

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members of the patrolling submarine crew would be provided with the information they need to discharge their duties. I am withholding the details of this information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information relating to defence, security and international relations.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had, and with whom, on the application of international humanitarian law to the use of Trident. [104072]

Mr. Hoon: I have had no specific discussions on the application of international humanitarian law to the use of Trident. The United Kingdom's minimum nuclear deterrent is consistent with international law.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the application of the Nuremberg Principles to military personnel ordered to use, or to threaten the use of, nuclear weapons; [104075]

(2) what measures he has taken to make military personnel who operate Trident aware of their obligations under international law since the International Court of Justice delivered its Advisory Opinion on nuclear weapons; [104076]

(3) how a member of the armed services would obtain an account of the Government's submission to the International Court of Justice on the legality of its nuclear deterrence policy; and if he will place a copy of the submission in the Library. [104078]

Mr. Hoon: The United Kingdom's minimum nuclear deterrent is consistent with international law. It follows that UK military personnel engaged in the operation or support of Trident are acting legally under the Nuremberg Principals. This has been made clear down the chain of command, and members of the Armed Services who seek further guidance on these issues can in the first instance do so through their chain of command.

Guidance on the Law of Armed Conflict for the Armed Services is set out in the draft Joint Service Manual on the Law of Armed Conflict (Joint Service Publication 383) currently under preparation. We aim to publish this later this year, as we pledged at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the International Red Cross in November 1999. When it is published a copy will be placed in the Library of the House. The relevant section on Nuclear Weapons was reconfirmed following the 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. It reads:

"There is no specific rule of international law, express or implied, which prohibits the use of nuclear weapons. The legality of their use depends upon the application of the general rules of international law, including those regulating the inherent right of self defence and the conduct of hostilities. Those rules cannot be applied in isolation from any factual context to imply a prohibition of a general nature. Whether the use, or threatened use, of nuclear weapons in a particular case is lawful depends on all the circumstances. Nuclear weapons fall to be dealt with by reference to the same general principles as apply to conventional weapons. However, the new rules introduced in Additional Protocol I [to the Geneva Conventions] are not intended to have any effect on and do not regulate or prohibit the use of nuclear weapons."

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Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment his Department has carried out of the long-term effects of a 100 kiloton Trident on a military target; [104074]

(2) what assessment his Department has carried out of the effects of a 100 kiloton Trident warhead detonation on the civilian population living near military targets. [104073]

Mr. Hoon: The Trident missiles on which our nuclear deterrent is based have been de-targeted since 1994. Our judgment of the minimum level of deterrence required is supported by comprehensive computer modelling which enables us to assess the effects of nuclear detonations. A number of factors are taken into account in this assessment. As Lord Robertson made clear to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 4 February 1998, Official Report, column 655W, these include the yield and design of the weapon used; the accuracy of the delivery system employed; the nature and construction of the target; the characteristics of the surrounding terrain; the height of the detonation; and geological and weather conditions. I am withholding information on UK nuclear warhead yield under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, relating to defence, security and international relations.

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