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Kosovo
18. Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Bosnia. [104552]
Mr. Hoon: British forces continue to make an outstanding contribution to the international community's peace-keeping operations in Kosovo and Bosnia. In Kosovo, we contribute 3,500 troops to KFOR, while in Bosnia we intend to bring our contribution down from around 3,300 now to some 2,000 during the course of this year.
The United Kingdom remains fully committed to long-term peace and stability in the Balkans as a whole.
30. Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the weapons and equipment used by British armed forces during the Kosovo operations; and if he will make a statement. [104566]
Mr. Hoon:
My Department constantly monitors the effectiveness of the weapons and equipment used by British armed forces, and we have learned valuable lessons from our experiences in Kosovo. Remedial action is being taken forward as appropriate and a report on lessons learned will be published later this year.
Mr. Duncan Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations about the SA 80 weapon system were made to Ministers by the Chiefs of Staff during the Kosovo campaign. [106170]
19. Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he has taken as a result of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on lesbians and gay men in the armed forces. [104553]
Mr. Hoon:
I made a statement to the House on 12 January 2000, Official Report, columns 287-88, about implementation of the legal judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. Homosexuals are no longer excluded from service in the armed forces. All personnel, regardless of their sexual orientation, are subject to a new code of social conduct that sets out what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. The code is concerned with the effect of personal conduct and behaviour on operational effectiveness. I have placed a copy of the code in the Library of the House.
34. Dr. Harris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he is making in settling compensation claims for those service men and women discharged from the armed forces in breach of their rights under the European convention on human rights. [104570]
Mr. Spellar:
In light of the ECHR's judgment on 27 September 1999, the Secretary of State for Defence authorised that settlement negotiations be entered into with those individuals discharged as a result of their homosexuality who had Employment Tribunal applications already in train and whose account is accepted as being substantially factually true. Over 60 offers of settlement have been made and, to date, three individuals have accepted those offers, and payments have been made.
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20. Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action is being taken to harmonise Future Transport Aircraft requirements with those of the French and German Ministries of Defence. [104554]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
The competition for the Royal Air Force's Future Transport Aircraft is being conducted on the basis of a common European Staff Requirement agreed between several European partners, including France and Germany.
22. Dr. Godman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when contracts will be signed with United Kingdom shipyards for the construction of Type 45 destroyers and other vessels for the Royal Navy. [104556]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
We plan to place the order for the First-of-Class Type 45 destroyer with the Prime Contractor by the end of this year with the intention that it be built at the Marconi Marine (YSL) Ltd. yard on the Clyde. Decisions have still to be taken on the timing for follow-on Type 45 vessels but current planning assumptions are for a class of 12 ships to enter service between 2007 and 2014.
Contracts for other RN shipbuilding programmes, of which there are many over the next 10-15 years, will be signed at the appropriate point of the procurement process.
24. Mr. Miller:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to visit the United States to discuss defence matters. [104558]
Mr. Hoon:
I am going to the United States later today to discuss defence matters.
25. Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the Army, Air and Sea Cadets of paying fees to the Criminal Records Office for criminal records searches in respect of adult leaders and helpers. [104559]
Mr. Spellar:
The Sea Cadet Association estimates that its use of the Criminal Records Bureau will cost around £15,000 per year. The Army Cadet Force estimates that it will spend about £20,000 per year, while the Air Training Corps has allocated £6,000 per year in future budgets for the cost of inquiries.
26. Mr. Colman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to improve access to schools for service families. [104560]
27. Dr. George Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve access to schools for service families. [104561]
Mr. Spellar:
The inter departmental Service Families Task Force has achieved considerable success in improving access to schools for Service families. The Department for Education and Employment has, for the
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first time, made specific reference to Service children in their Code of Practice on Schools Admission. The Code directs local education authorities and school admission authorities to ensure that the needs of Service children are taken into account by considering inviting Service Children's Education, an MOD agency, to their Admission Forum. The Service Children's Education agency is now either a formal member, or is in attendance, on 16 Admission Forums for areas in England where there are large numbers of Service children. The Code of Practice also requires admission authorities to be sensitive to the position of children of parents returning from working abroad, such as Service personnel.
28. Mr. Hopkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the restrictions on posts available to women in the armed forces. [104563]
Mr. Spellar:
Women cannot currently serve in the Royal Marines General Service, cap-badged posts in the Infantry and Royal Armoured Corps (including the Household Cavalry) and the RAF Regiment on the grounds of combat effectiveness. The Army is currently conducting a study into the effects of gender upon combat effectiveness that is due to report to Ministers in 2001.
Additionally in the Royal Navy women cannot serve in submarines or as mine clearance divers for medical reasons. The position will be kept under review.
29. Dr. Naysmith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made since the St. Malo agreement in promoting Anglo-French co-operation in defence. [104564]
Mr. Hoon:
The Letter of Intent on co-operation in crisis management and operations signed at St. Malo in December 1998 has allowed work to be taken forward on planning for non-combatant evacuation operations; joint exercises; improved links between operational headquarters; co-ordination of naval deployments; information exchanges on peacekeeping activities; Year 2000 computer problems; logistics; and arrangements for dealing with the media.
Specific examples of co-operation are: the posting of liaison officers into operational headquarters; the attachment of HMS Somerset, and later HMS Grafton, to the French FOCH Carrier Task Group in the Adriatic during the Kosovo conflict; the joint signing ceremony in New York on 25 June of Memoranda of Understanding between our respective Governments and the UN on troop availability for UN peacekeeping operations; and co-operation on media handling during the Kosovo conflict. We also signed a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement at the UK/France Summit held in November 1999.
31. Mr. Olner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase spending on the Defence Medical Services over the next three years. [104567]
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Mr. Spellar:
Following the Strategic Defence Review, an additional £140 million was made available for enhancement of the operational capability of the Defence Medical Services over the four years from 1998-99 to 2001-02. We plan to maintain increased expenditure in subsequent years.
33. Mrs. Laing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the threat of a ballistic missile attack on the United Kingdom. [104569]
Mr. Hoon:
Our current assessment is that there is no significant ballistic missile threat to the UK at present, but developments continue to be monitored closely.
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