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Aircraft Carriers
36. Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value is of the contracts awarded so far for the design of the future generation of aircraft carriers. [127292]
Mr. Hoon: Two contracts, each worth up to £30 million, for work to investigate options for the design of the future aircraft carrier have been awarded to BAE Systems and Thomson-CSF Naval Systems.
Potential Recruits (Fitness)
38. Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to help young unemployed people who want to join the armed forces attain the necessary fitness levels. [127294]
Mr. Spellar: Fitness levels found in the average young person have been in decline for some time. On the other hand, the fitness standards required of armed forces' recruits by the end of their training have not been reduced. Consequently, in addition to tailored fitness training programmes during recruit training, the Services recognise the need to give guidance to initial applicants, who may include the young unemployed, on the issue of physical fitness to enable them to attain the high level of fitness required to pass recruit training. The Naval Service issues a pre-joining fitness programme booklet to all potential recruits. The length of the programme lasts four weeks for officers and ratings, and eight weeks for Royal Marine other ranks applicants. If an Army recruiter believes that a potential applicant should take action to improve his/her fitness, he/she is given a video and a pamphlet which describe the training that should be undertaken. Similarly, all RAF recruits are given a booklet on physical fitness training prior to commencement of Recruit Training.
Territorial Army (Balkans)
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the contribution of Territorial Army soldiers serving in the Balkans. [127274]
Mr. Spellar: Members of the TA have provided a vital contribution to operations in the Balkans. A total of 3,983 Territorial Army soldiers have been mobilised for duty in the Balkans since December 1995. Their role has been to provide individual reinforcements with a variety of skills to Regular Units on operational tours, and fill a number of staff appointments in the various headquarters in the Balkans.
Kosovo
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department plans to spend on operations in Kosovo this year. [127282]
Mr. Spellar: The 2000-01 estimate of additional expenditure likely to be incurred on operations in Kosovo is approximately £220 million.
Fuel Costs
Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Royal Navy's budgeted fuel allocation for 2000-01 is; and what the figure was for each of the previous five years. [127996]
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Mr. Spellar: The Commander-in-Chief Fleet's total fuel allocation for 2000-01, including fuel for ships, submarines, aircraft, the Royal Marines and domestic purposes, is £57 million.
The actual spend for the previous five years, again giving a total of all fuel used, was as follows:
| Financial Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 48.5 |
| 1996-97 | 44.5 |
| 1997-98 | 40 |
| 1998-99 | 31.5 |
| 1999-2000 | 43 |
Year on year variations are largely attributable to fluctuating fuel prices. In 1998-99 prices dropped very steeply, followed by sharp rises since then.
Flying Hours
Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flying hours were flown in (a) Tornado GR 1 or 4, (b) Tornado F3, (c) Jaguar and (d) RAF Harrier aircraft in each of the past five years; and what the planning assumption is for 2000-01. [127999]
Mr. Spellar: The information requested is in the tables.
| Year | Tornado GR1/4 | Tornado F3 | Jaguar | RAF Harrier GR7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 34,273 | 28,375 | 13,065 | 15,525 |
| 1996-97 | 31,511 | 25,634 | 11,916 | 16,003 |
| 1997-98 | 31,275 | 27,076 | 12,346 | 15,307 |
| 1998-99 | 28,780 | 22,769 | 12,417 | 15,246 |
| 1999-2000 | 24,934 | 20,870 | 12,388 | 13,811 |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| Tornado GR1/4 | 28,970 |
| Tornado F3 | 26,136 |
| Jaguar | 12,437 |
| RAF Harrier GR7 | 15,378 |
Note:
Figures include OCU, OEU and 1435 Flt
Western European Union
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the speech of the French Deputy Defence Minister to the Parliamentary Assembly of Western European Union on 8 June as part of his formulation of Her Majesty's Government's policy on the future of this body. [127473]
Mr. Hoon: The Government will take all relevant information, including the views of the other WEU member countries and associate countries into account in formulating its policy on the future of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union.
Service Personnel (Compensation)
Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the review of arrangements
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for compensating service personnel and their dependants, killed or injured while on service announced on 7 December 1997; and when he will publish a consultation document. [107439]
Mr. Spellar [holding answer 28 January 2000]: My right hon. Friend has been considering draft proposals from the Joint Compensation Review. He believes, however, that it will be possible to reach final conclusions about attributable benefits only in the context of proposals about the future of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as a whole, which will emerge from the parallel Review of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). That Review is still in progress. My right hon. Friend will therefore make an announcement once he has considered the draft recommendations of the AFPS Review. The announcement will be followed by a period of public consultation.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Home Detention Curfew Scheme
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for the period between the commencement of the home detention curfew scheme and 31 May (a) the number of prisoners who were released on the scheme, with a breakdown of the specific offences which they committed, (b) the average sentence (i) received and (ii) served, and the average period spent on the scheme, in respect of each specific offence, (c) the number of prisoners released on the scheme, with a breakdown of the offences committed, who (1) breached the conditions of the curfew, (2) disappeared and were recaptured, (3) disappeared and remain unlawfully at large, and (4) had their licences revoked, and for what reasons, (d) the specific offences committed by prisoners released on the scheme while on the scheme, including all offences committed by prisoners who committed more than one offence and (e) a breakdown of the specific offences committed by prisoners released on the scheme who committed a further offence while on the scheme that was similar in character to that for which they were originally convicted, including all offences committed by prisoners who committed more than one offence; and if he will make a statement. [126536]
Mr. Straw [holding answer 19 June 2000]: As of 31 May 2000, a total of 21,798 prisoners had been released on Home Detention Curfew since the scheme commenced on 28 January 1999.
The original offences committed by prisoners released under the scheme during the period, the number of prisoners convicted of each specific offence, the average sentence received and served for those offences, and the average period spent on the scheme in respect of the prisoners convicted of each specific offence are shown in Table 1. The data are taken from the Prison Service's inmate information system based on the data recorded by each prison. The table provides as detailed a breakdown of offences as is possible from central records.
A total of 764 prisoners released on the scheme during the period breached the conditions of their curfew. A breakdown of this number showing the original offences committed in shown in Table 2.
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Information on curfewees whose licences are revoked and who disappear before being recaptured is included within the information held on the number of curfewees unlawfully at large at any one time. On 31 May there were 36 curfewees who remained unlawfully at large. This represents fewer than four per cent. of the total number of revocations. In the vast majority of cases, when a curfewee's licence is revoked, he or she can expect to be apprehended quickly and returned to custody. While the priority to be given to pursuing individual cases will be an operational matter for local police forces, Home Office Circular 1/1999 made clear that Home Detention Curfew recalls should be regarded as "urgent" cases. In addition, the National Identification Service at New Scotland Yard issues "The Police Gazette" weekly to all police forces, including details of curfewees who are unlawfully at large. When curfewees are apprehended following a period unlawfully at large, they are required to serve the period of time outstanding at the point their licence was revoked.
Details of the offences originally committed by those 36 curfewees who remained unlawfully at large on 31 May 2000 can be found in Table 3.
As of 31 May 2000, 1,028 curfewees had their licences revoked, using the powers available to the Secretary of State under Sections 38A(1) and 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. The reasons for revocation were as follows:
- for breach of the curfew (Section 38A(1)a of the Criminal Justice Act 1991);
- because the curfewee's whereabouts could no longer be electronically monitored (Section 38A(1)b of the Criminal Justice Act 1991);
- because it was necessary to protect the public from serious harm (Section 38A(1)c of the Criminal Justice Act 1991); and
- because the curfewee had committed an offence or breached any requirement of probation supervision (Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991). Curfewees who are charged with new offences may also be recalled on any preceding grounds depending on the circumstances of the case.
Table 5 gives a breakdown of all offences committed by prisoners placed on Home Detention Curfew while on the scheme. Where a curfewee has been charged with more than one offence, these have been shown separately.
Table 6 gives a breakdown of the specific offences committed by prisoners placed on the scheme who committed a further offence while on the scheme which was similar in character to the most serious offence for which they were originally convicted.
The scheme is designed to ensure a better transition for short-term offenders between custody and the community. Prisoners are only placed on Home Detention Curfew after a careful risk assessment, and the safety of the public is paramount at all times.
Tables 1-6 have been placed in the Library.
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