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Project Allenby Scoping Study

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Project Allenby Scoping Study Executive Summary. [121942]

Mr. Spellar: Yes. I have arranged for a copy of the Project ALLENBY Scoping Study Executive Summary to be placed in the Library of the House.

Anti-personnel Mines

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many joint operations which took place outside the UK in the last three years involved the use of anti-personnel mines. [122092]

Mr. Spellar: UK armed forces were involved in 15 joint operations involving the use of anti-personnel landmines over the last three years, primarily involving operations in the Balkans. However, in no instances were UK armed forces responsible for their use.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ranger anti-personnel mines are being used for training purposes. [122091]

Mr. Spellar: The UK has retained 2,088 Ranger Anti-Personnel Mines for training purposes in accordance with Article 3 of the Ottawa Convention. The retention of these mines is included in the UK's annual return to the UN Secretary General, in the UK Article 7 report for the period 1 August 1999 to April 2000.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries retain stocks of Ranger anti-personnel mines. [122090]

Mr. Spellar: It is not for the Government to provide information on other countries' mine holdings. Details of APL stocks held by parties to the Ottawa convention can be found, however, on the UN website www.un.org.

Regional Brigades

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the terms of reference for the Scott review of regional brigades; when it will be complete; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [121941]

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Mr. Spellar: The Regional Brigade Study is due to report in June 2000 following which proposals will be put in the CinC LAND and Ministers. I have arranged for a copy of the Terms of Reference to be placed in the Library of the House.

Type 22 Frigate

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual running cost of a Type 22 frigate. [121705]

Mr. Spellar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith) on 12 May 2000, Official Report, columns 511-12W.

Naval Vessels

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the two new LPD class ships to enter service with the Royal Navy. [121703]

Dr. Moonie: HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, the two Landing Platform Dock (Replacements), are planned to enter service with the Royal Navy in 2003.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid were commissioned. [121701]

Mr. Spellar: HMS Fearless was commissioned on 25 November 1965. HMS Intrepid was commissioned on 11 March 1967.

Eurofighter

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost of one (a) Mauser 27mm shell, (b) Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile and (c) Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile. [121681]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 11 May 2000]: The unit cost of a 27mm Mauser High Explosive round is estimated to be in the region of £63. Based on prices in the most recent MOD contracts, the unit price of an Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) is in the order of £380,000 and that of an Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) in the order of £200,000. All figures include VAT and are at September 1999 prices. Unit prices will vary depending on batch sizes, including orders from other customers.

Departmental Building Costs

Mr. Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the projected costs of reconstructing his Department's building in Whitehall; and if he will make a statement. [122310]

Dr. Moonie: A contract to carry out the long overdue modernisation of the MOD's London headquarters was signed with Modus Services plc earlier this month. Main Building falls well short of modern standards. The redevelopment will result in the modern flexible working environment needed to provide effective direction and support to the armed forces. The costs to the Ministry of Defence will be some £55 million per annum at March 2000 prices over the 30 years of the Public Private Partnership contract. This encompasses the short-term decant arrangements as well as the long-term provision of

17 May 2000 : Column: 165W

a wide variety of services to both the redeveloped Main Building and the Old War Office Building. These two buildings will then be the only buildings containing headquarters staff in the central London area, allowing five other buildings to be disposed of.

Fishery Protection and Patrol Vessels

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) Castle class and (b) Island class fishery protection and patrol vessels by (i) completion date and (ii) lay off date; and what plans he has for their replacement. [122464]

{**con**}{**/con**}

Mr. Spellar: (i) The Castle and Island Class patrol vessels were commissioned as follows:

	Commissioned
Castle Class
Leeds Castle	1981
Dumbarton Castle	1982
Island Class
Shetland	1977
Guernsey	1977
Lindisfarne	1978
Anglesey	1979
Alderney	1979

(ii) On current plans these vessels are intended to have ship life of about 30 years and, as part of the normal planning process, the ordering of replacements will be considered as they reach the end of their lives.

Sea Patrol

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many days from 1 January 1999 to date the patrol ship Atlantic (North) has been on patrol at sea. [122463]

Mr. Spellar: A ship is allocated to the Atlantic Patrol Task (North) for 365 days of the year. From 1 January 1999 to 30 April 2000, a ship was actually on patrol in the area on this task for 224 days. This does not include days in transit by ships to or from the area.

HMS Endurance

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS 'Endurance' (a) left the United Kingdom and (b) will return to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement about the length of this deployment. [122466]

Mr. Spellar: HMS Endurance left the United Kingdom on 5 January 2000 and returned on 2 May. The length of this deployment was shorter than normal due to an extended refit period.

Ballistic Missile Defence Research

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the UK Government has spent per year since 1991 on ballistic missile defence research; and how much of each year's expenditure was on pre-feasibility programmes. [121793]

Mr. Hoon [holding answer 15 May 2000]: The cost of the Pre-feasibility Programme, undertaken in 1994-96, was approximately £4.5 million. The Technology Readiness and Risk Assessment Programme (TRRAP), which

17 May 2000 : Column: 166W

emerged from the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and which is scheduled to run for three years from July 1998, has approved funding of £12 million within MOD's Corporate Research Programme. In addition approximately £500K per annum has been expended since 1991 on technical studies and experiments in collaboration with the US.

Fleet Air Arms

Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flying hours were flown by the Fleet Air Arms in (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97, (c) 1997-98, (d) 1998-99 and (e) 1999-2000; and what is the (i) budget and (ii) planning assumption for 2000-01. [122114]

Mr. Spellar: The answer is as follows:

Fleet Air Arm flying hours	Total hours flown
1995-96	57,593
1996-97	54,065
1997-98	56,679
1998-99	53,532
1999-2000	55,346

On current planning, in Financial Year 2000-01, some 63,000 flying hours are expected to be flown by Fleet Air Arm aircraft which now come under Commodore Naval Aviation, Joint Helicopter Command and Joint Harrier Force. The total estimated fuel budget for these aircraft for this year is in the order of £8.8 million. This will of course be subject to adjustment in the light of operational and other considerations.

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