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Warships (South Atlantic)
Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost of the deployment of warships in the South Atlantic in (a) the current financial year and (b) each of the next five years. [109864]
Mr. Spellar: The costs incurred by warships on manpower, fuel, port visits and associated minor costs, while deployed in the South Atlantic in the current financial year are approximately £10 million. Annual costs in future years are expected to be broadly similar.
Sierra Leone
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK military units are deployed in support of the UN force in Sierra Leone; what further units he will deploy to the operation; and when. [110516]
Mr. Hoon: None. The UK currently has 15 military observers and six logistics personnel deployed in support of UNAMSIL. There are no plans to deploy formed units.
Defence Medical Services
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the budget of the Defence Medical Services in 1998-99 and 1999-2000; what was the budget allocation to the (a) DSCA, (b) DDA, (c) DMTO and (d) MSA in the same period; and if he will make a statement. [109495]
Dr. Moonie: Information on budget allocations within the DMS is set out in the table.
| Allocation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Financial year 1998-99 | Financial year 1999-2000 | |
| DMS total, of which: | 276.5 | 301.7 |
| (a) DSCA | 113.4 | 117.0 |
| (b) DDA | 33.8 | 35.9 |
| (c) DMTO | 16.4 | 21.4 |
| (d) MSA | 37.2 | 48.6 |
Note:
The figures exclude devolved primary care costs, other than those for Germany, and various other posts filled by DMS personnel.
Army Tanks and Vehicles (Maintenance)
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average time spent in maintenance for (a) Warrior variants, (b) Challenger One, (c) Challenger Two, (d) Saxon variants, (f) AVF 430 variants, (g) Sabre, (h) Striker, (i) Scimitar, (j) Spartan,
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(k) Sultan, (l) Samaritan and (m) Samson in each of the last five years; what proportion was planned maintenance; what proportions was reactive repair maintenance; and if he will make a statement. [109498]
Mr. Spellar:
Maintenance of Army tanks and vehicles is carried out at four levels ranging from low level upkeep (eg tyres, batteries, lights) (Level 1) to major work conducted by the Army Base Repair Organisation or Industry (Level 4). This work, covering some 5,500 vehicles, is undertaken at over 150 locations both in the UK and overseas. Maintenance records are held by the Unit where the work is conducted and a networked information system is being developed to give greater overall visibility of the work undertaken. At present, however, the information is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the numbers of (a) officers and men and (b) civilian workers, there will be at Imphal Barracks, York, following the transfer of 2 Division HQ to Edinburgh. [109446]
Mr. Spellar:
The number of people working in Imphal Barracks is currently changing as the Headquarters of the 2nd Division departs and the Defence Vetting Agency and the Queen's Gurkha Signal Squadron build up in strength. It is estimated that there will be 430 civilian staff in the Barracks by early 2001 and 546 military personnel by 2003.
Education and Training (Deprived Areas)
15. Dr. George Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to raise the educational and training aspirations of young people from deprived areas. [109145]
Mr. Wicks: The new Connexions Service will raise the expectations and aspirations of all young people, wherever they live, by ensuring they receive the advice they need, when they need it, to make a success of their lives. In addition, we have introduced the £350 million Excellence in Cities programme and £60 million Neighbourhood Support Fund to focus specifically on the issues faced by young people in deprived areas.
Information and Learning Technology (Access)
16. Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans his Department has to extend access to information and learning technology among those who do not own computers. [109146]
Mr. Wills:
We are taking a number of initiatives to ensure that the benefits of information and communication technologies are made available as widely as possible. These include the development of City Learning Centres, community ICT Learning Centres and also a scheme to support job seekers and families on low incomes in getting ready access to computers.
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17. Mr. David Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the New Deal, specifying the total number of businesses that have participated to date. [109147]
Ms Jowell:
The New Deal is progressing well, with 179,000 people into work through the New Deal for Young People and over 32,850 into work through the New Deal for Long Term Unemployed People by the end of November. To date 64,900 employers have signed New Deal agreements.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reason information relating to whether employment is sustained is not provided in the Government's statistics concerning participants leaving the New Deal for Lone Parents to enter work; and if he will make a statement. [109275]
Ms Hodge:
At present we are unable to say how many of the people who left the New Deal for Lone Parents for work are still in employment. If a lone parent were to leave their employment they may claim Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (among other possible benefits). Legislation allowing the Employment Service access to DSS data on Income Support claimants has only recently been passed in the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill. Without this information it has been impossible for the Employment Service to know if a client has ceased employment and claimed Income Support. Work to measure the sustainability of jobs entered through New Deal for Lone Parents is under way as part of the continuous improvement strategy for New Deal.
This issues is also covered in the evaluation of NDLP where a survey of lone parents (both participants and non-participants in NDLP) will take place in 2001.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of those participants who had left the New Deal for Lone Parents for jobs were still in employment at the latest date for which information is available. [109278]
Ms Hodge:
At present we are unable to say how many of the people who left New Deal for Lone Parents for work are still in employment. If a lone parent were to leave their employment they may claim Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (among other possible benefits). Legislation allowing the Employment Service access to Department for Social Security data on Income Support claimants has only recently been passed in the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill. We are now looking into the possibility of tracking the employment status of clients after they leave New Deal for Lone Parents. We will also cover this issue through a separate evaluation survey in 2001.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total cost of issuing letters to lone parents inviting them to participate in the New Deal for Lone Parents. [109276]
Ms Hodge:
The total cost of issuing letters to lone parents inviting them to participate in the New Deal for Lone Parents to December 1999 is £196,498.15.
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| £ | |
|---|---|
| Print costs | 56,180 |
| Initial set up costs | 29,061 |
| Postage costs | 111,257.15 |
Learning and Skills Councils
18. Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the proposed learning and skills councils. [109148]
Mr. Wicks: We are making good progress in our plans to establish the Learning and Skills Council. We are on course to have the Council in place by April 2001. I will shortly be announcing the locations of the local arms of the Council.
Class Sizes
19. Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the average size of secondary school classes in (a) 1998 and (b) 1999. [109149]
Ms Estelle Morris: The most recent figures show that in January 1999 the average secondary class had 21.9 pupils. The corresponding figure for January 1998 was 21.7. January 1999 saw the first fall in overall average class size for 10 years, from 24.9 in January 1998 to 24.8.
35. Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on class sizes in primary and secondary schools since May 1997. [109166]
Ms Estelle Morris: Between January 1998 and January 1999 the size of the average primary school class in England fell from 27.7 to 27.4, the first fall in 10 years. Average classes in secondary schools are much lower than in primary schools. The most recent figures show that in January 1999 the average secondary class had 21.9 pupils. The corresponding figure for January 1998 was 21.7. January 1999 also saw the first fall in overall average class size for 10 years, from 24.9 in January 1998 to 24.8.
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