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Northern Ireland

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 June 2000, Official Report, column 15W, concerning the mission statement of the Army in Northern Ireland, what his definition is of the normality to be restored; and on how many occasions the mission objective has been reviewed since the Belfast Agreement. [126221]

Mr. Hoon: Normality, in the context of the Army's mission statement, is the ability of the RUC to carry out their duties without support from the armed forces.

There has been no requirement to review the mission statement since the Belfast Agreement. However, the level of support provided to the RUC to fulfil that mission is regularly reviewed and has reduced substantially since the Belfast Agreement.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the use of informants by military intelligence officers operating in Northern Ireland is governed by Home Office guidelines. [126222]

Mr. Spellar: I am withholding this information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

BAe 146

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the airworthiness directives his Department has issued relating to BAe 146 aircraft operated by No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron of the RAF about (a) engine icing and (b) the ingestion of fumes from the engines into the cabin. [125987]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 14 June 2000]: RAF BAe 146 flight crew, including those of 32 (The Royal) Squadron, adhere strictly to the limitations imposed by the manufacturer on flight above 26,000 feet in known or forecast icing conditions. They are also fully aware of the advice offered by BAe Systems on action to take in the event of ingestion of engine fumes into the cabin. There have been no reported problems of either kind on RAF BAe 146 aircraft.

Service Personnel (Medical History)

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the project to issue every serviceman and women with an ID tag which will record on the chip current medical history including inoculations and current medication. [126052]

19 Jun 2000 : Column: 35W

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The possible development of an ID tag or card to store medical information electronically is being considered in the context of plans to provide the Defence Medical Services with a comprehensive and integrated information system.

Service Accommodation

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the Army Families Federation regarding the quality of housing available to service families. [126508]

Dr. Moonie: The Chair of the Army Families Federation wrote to the Secretary of State for Defence at the beginning of November 1999 on the importance of investment in housing. The Chairs of the Service family associations raised this with my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces in the Families Forum of the Service Families Task Force on 15 November 1999. My hon. Friend reiterated the MOD's commitment to the upgrade programme for Service families accommodation, recognising its importance to Service families. The issue was also raised at the Army Families Federation Conference on 26 May 2000 where my hon. Friend said that around 60 per cent. of Service Families Quarters were categorised as Standard 1 or close to it (this means that each property meets a series of strict criteria covering factors such as energy efficiency, double glazing and modern bathroom facilities); that approximately 2,400 properties had been upgraded or rebuilt during the financial year 1999-2000 (630 above target); that by the end of that year some £200 million had already been spent on Service family accommodation; and that a minimum of over £60 million would be invested in the programme in the current year.

Service Families (Anti-depressants)

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the quantities of anti-depressants prescribed to members of service families by MOD medical facilities in each of the last five years. [126510]

Dr. Moonie: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Bilateral Defence Relations (Czech Republic

and Poland)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on joint working with (a) Poland and (b) the Czech Republic on military matters; and how many United Kingdom personnel are working in (i) Poland and (ii) the Czech Republic on training and related matters. [125379]

Mr. Spellar: The UK has developed strong bilateral defence relationships with the Czech Republic and Poland. We co-operate on a range of activities designed to support what they themselves are doing to achieve full integration with NATO. This includes provision of places for both nationalities at the Royal College of Defence Studies, as well as providing English language training and organising other staff exchanges and visits. Another example is the development of links between the Czech and British Army units assigned to the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps.

19 Jun 2000 : Column: 36W

We place great value on the practical co-operation we have enjoyed with the forces of the Czech Republic in operations in the Balkans. We are also proud of our involvement with the Poland-Ukraine Peacekeeping Battalion which has included joint exercising taking place successively in all three countries over the last few years.

The number of UK military personnel in either the Czech Republic or Poland at any given time is not held centrally.

Internet Access

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when all military personnel will have access to the internet in (a) Bosnia, (b) Cyprus, (c) Incirlik (Turkey), (d) Kuwait, (e) Saudi Arabia, (f) Sierra Leone, (g) the Falkland Islands, (h) Brunei, (i) Germany and (j) Gibraltar. [125785]

Mr. Spellar: Personnel in Cyprus, Brunei, Germany and Gibraltar have access to internet facilities via local service providers, as do the majority of personnel in the Falkland Islands. Personnel serving in Incirlik, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia also have access to e-mail and internet facilities via the US forces NIPRNET service.

Currently, internet access is available only for approximately 800 personnel deployed in the Banja Luka area of Bosnia. Full internet access is planned to be available to all personnel, except those serving in dispersed locations such as the hilltop sites (approximately 200 individuals), by the end of August 2000.

We have no plans to provide internet facilities for personnel serving in Sierra Leone.

Anglo-Irish Meeting

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the name and rank were of the person who arranged the meeting on 30 July 1974 in the Republic of Ireland, described in his answer of 19 July 1999, Official Report, column 424W; and what were the name, rank and unit of each person who accompanied Major Peter Maynard. [126223]

Mr. Spellar: I understand that this informal meeting was arranged and attended by a mutual acquaintance. I am withholding further details in accordance with exemptions 4, 12 and 14 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Naval Procurement Contracts

Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many naval procurement contacts for military vessels were made with Scottish yards in each of the last 10 years. [125573]

19 Jun 2000 : Column: 37W

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 14 June 2000]: In the last 10 years the following contracts for new RN or RFA vessels have been placed where the construction is being/has been undertaken in Scottish yards:

Vessel	Order date	Prime contractor	Ship yard location
Royal Naval Vessels
3 x Type 23 Frigates	January 1992	Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd.	Scotstoun
Landing Platform Helicopter--HMS Ocean(9)	May 1993	Kvaerner Govan	Govan
3 x Type 23 Frigates	February 1996	Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd.	Scotstoun
10 x Landing Craft Utilities Mk10	May 1998	BAe SEMA	Ailsa Troon
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessels
Auxiliary Oiler(10)	March 1997	Marconi Marine (VSEL) Ltd.	Govan

(9) The order for HMS Ocean was for the construction of the Hull, propulsion and Domestic systems and excluded the fitting of the weapon systems

(10) Following conflicting demands at their Barrow yard Marconi Marine (VSEL) Ltd. transferred the construction to the Govan yard in summer 1999

RAF Feltwell

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2000, Official Report, column 559W, on RAF Feltwell, how many visits, during each of the last five years, were made to RAF Feltwell by (a) hon. Members, (b) Members of the House of Lords, (c) members of the US House of Representatives, (d) members of the US Senate and (e) representatives of the US Government. [126601]

Mr. Spellar: The Ministry of Defence has no record of any visits by hon. Members or by Members of the House of Lords. The Ministry of Defence does not maintain records of visits by representatives of the US Government or members of the US House of Representatives or US Senate.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2000, Official Report, column 559W, on RAF Feltwell, on how many days in each of the last 12 months RAF personnel visited RAF Feltwell; and what was the last date on which RAF personnel were stationed at RAF Feltwell. [126600]

Mr. Spellar: RAF Feltwell falls within the administrative responsibility of the RAF Commander Lakenheath who regularly visits the base in the course of his day to day duties. The last RAF personnel to be based at RAF Feltwell were members of the 204th Signals Unit, which disbanded on 17 March 1975.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2000, Official Report, column 22W, on RAF Feltwell, what was the costs to the RAF of the administration of RAF Feltwell for each of the last five years. [126602]

19 Jun 2000 : Column: 38W

Mr. Spellar: RAF Feltwell is administered as part of RAF Lakenheath and as such the cost of its administration cannot be separately quantified.

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