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Courts Martial Centres
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the locations of courts martial centres. [105650]
Mr. Spellar:
The information requested is as follows.
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Naval Service
Portsmouth
Plymouth
Faslane
Yeovilton
Army
Aldershot
Bulford
Catterick
Colchester
Long Kesh, Northern Ireland
Hohne
Osnabruck
Gutersloh
RAF
The RAF does not have dedicated courts-martial centres. Individual courts-martial are normally held at the defendant's unit.
Territorial Army
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the change in the size of the Territorial Army was in each of the last six months. [103926]
Mr. Spellar: The change in size of the Territorial Army in each of the last six months for which figures are available was as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1 December 1999 | -314 |
| 1 November 1999 | 876 |
| 1 October 1999 | -505 |
| 1 September 1999 | -521 |
| 1 August 1999 | -1,177 |
| 1 July 1999 | -1,867 |
Note:
The above figures do not include non-regular permanent staff (NRPS).
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total intake of new recruits to the Territorial Army was in each of the last six months. [103927]
Mr. Spellar: The total intake of new recruits to the Territorial Army in each of the last six months for which figures are available was as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| June 1999 | 517 |
| July 1999 | 395 |
| August 1999 | 471 |
| September 1999 | 531 |
| October 1999 | 1,779 |
| November 1999 | 712 |
Note:
The above figures do not include non-regular permanent staff (NRPS).
MOD Hospital Units
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of (a) the value for money provided by Ministry of Defence hospital units and (b) their ability to meet future demands. [104416]
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Mr. Spellar:
A detailed study of the size and shape of the future operational requirements for medical support was carried out in 1995. This study endorsed the strategy of greater integration with the NHS mainly through the creation of Ministry of Defence Hospital Units. This integration has been shown to be more effective than previous arrangements, particularly in ensuring military medical staff receive the required training. A recent further review has endorsed the continuation of this policy to meet current and future demands for the delivery of secondary care.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr. Benn) of 14 December 1999, Official Report, column 93W, if he will publish those data on sub-critical nuclear test experiments and the exchange of details between the United States and the United Kingdom, which have been made publicly available in the United States of America. [104727]
Mr. Hoon:
We are not aware that US authorities have made public either the precise data obtained as a result of their sub-critical nuclear test experiments or details of any exchanges with the UK on the subject which are withheld here under the terms of Exemption Category 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. However, details of the intention to conduct such tests and a general description of their purpose have been published in the USA and on the Internet, for example at the US Department of Energy website http://www.doe.gov.
Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the areas in which British armed forces have been (a) deployed and (b) stationed since 1970 which (i) have and (ii) have not been designated as an operational area. [104812]
Mr. Spellar:
Information on the many areas throughout the world in which elements of the British Armed Forces have been deployed and stationed since 1970 is available in the annual Statements on the Defence Estimates publications. However there is no centrally collated list covering all these locations or which of those were at the time designated as an operational area, and such a list could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Dr. Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cluster bombs were used by United Kingdom forces during the Kosovo campaign; and what is his estimate of the number of (a) sub-munitions within the cluster bombs that did not detonate on impact and (b) locations where there are undetonated sub-munitions. [104863]
Mr. Hoon:
During Operation Allied Force, some 500 RBL 755 Cluster Bombs were dropped by the RAF against specific, identified, military targets.
The bomblets (sub-munitions) within cluster bombs are designed to detonate on impact, but as with any other similar munitions, a small percentage may fail to do so.
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The manufacturer's estimated failure rate for the RBL 755 cluster bombs used by the UK during the Kosovo campaign is approximately 5 per cent.
KFOR has now cleared over 7,400 cluster bomb munitions throughout Kosovo, in addition to some 6,100 Serbian anti-personnel mines and 3,400 anti-tank mines. All unexploded ordnance sites in the UK sector of Kosovo have now been marked and 90 per cent. of unexploded cluster bomb munitions cleared.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost since the closure of RAF Chilmark of (a) annual maintenance and (b) cleaning and preparing the site for disposal. [104801]
Mr. Spellar:
The total cost of annual maintenance at RAF Chilmark since closure of the site in 1995 is in the order of £490,000. The cost of cleaning and preparing the site for sale in accordance with MOD policy has amounted to £371,460.
8. Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the First Secretary to discuss farming in Wales. [103494]
Mr. Paul Murphy:
I meet the First Secretary on a weekly basis and we discuss a range of issues, including farming in Wales.
9. Mr. Livsey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the Government's proposals for greater access to the countryside. [103495]
Mr. Paul Murphy:
I have received letters on this issue and I met the Country Landowners Association in October and the Countryside Council for Wales in December to discuss this and other issues.
10. Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales on prospects for the Welsh livestock industry and their implications for the economy of cross-border areas. [103496]
Mr. Paul Murphy:
I meet the First Secretary on a weekly basis and we discuss a range of issues, including the Welsh livestock industry. I am acutely aware of the long-term problems facing Welsh agriculture, which is heavily dependent on livestock, and the current difficulties.
A number of steps have been taken to address the difficulties faced by the farming community such as the package announced last September by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and measures introduced by the Assembly. However our priority must be to restructure the industry
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to produce a stable, sustainable and prosperous future for Welsh farming and I know that this is something which the Assembly is working towards.
12. Mr. Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the opportunities through national lottery funding for promoting cultural exchanges between Wales and Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man. [103499]
Mr. Hanson:
The Secretary of State for Wales meets the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on a regular basis to discuss a number of issues, including cultural exchanges and the broad priorities for future distribution of lottery funding in Wales through the New Opportunities Fund.
He would welcome the development of cultural exchanges between Wales and Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man, but it would be for the promoters of those exchanges to explore appropriate sources of funding.
13. Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales to discuss the impact on pensioners in Wales of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's pre-Budget Statement. [103500]
Mr. Hanson:
The Secretary of State meets the First Secretary regularly, and was pleased to be able to inform him that the Chancellor's pre-Budget Statement guarantees the £100 fuel allowance every year for 585,000 Welsh pensioners, that the 230,000 Welsh pensioners who are over 75 will get free television licences, and that the Minimum Pension Guarantee will be up-rated in line with earnings instead of inflation.
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