| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
South and West Asia Drought
Ms Kingham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the humanitarian impact is of the drought affecting south and west Asia; and how the Government are responding. [132627]
Clare Short: The drought is part of a regional system affecting a belt of countries across west and south Asia. Its effect on the population is particularly acute in southern Afghanistan, western India, southern and central Pakistan, and to a lesser extent parts of Iran and Iraq. Water shortages have been exacerbated in many areas by poor management of limited sources. The principal effects of the drought include reduced crop production, sharp drops in household income, death of livestock and weakening of remaining herds, and health problems associated with reduced food intake and scarcity of water.
We have committed over £3.2 million for relief projects in response to the drought regionally. This support has been channelled through the World Food Programme for food distribution and food for work programmes; and through NGOs for schemes that target the more remote and vulnerable communities unlikely to be benefiting from Government schemes. We have also seconded a five-person team of specialists to support the UN in their assessment of the drought in Pakistan. We are monitoring the situation carefully and currently considering what further assistance to provide.
Zimbabwe
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports she has received of delays in the payment of pensions to former civil servants in Zimbabwe; if she will make representations to the Government of Zimbabwe calling for the timely payment of such pensions; and if she will make a statement. [131971]
Mr. Hain: I have been asked to reply.
We are well aware of the delays in the payment of pensions by the Zimbabwe Government. We believe that the main cause for this has been a lack of foreign exchange. The British High Commission in Harare has lobbied the Pensions Department and the Reserve Bank. We will continue to press for timely payment.
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 336W
DEFENCE
Combat Gloves
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what complaints have been made by the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency to Feuchter in relation to the fitness for purpose of the Mark II combat gloves they have delivered; [129727]
(2) what experience Feuchter had in the manufacture of gloves prior to being awarded the contract for manufacture of the Mark II combat glove in 1998; [129726]
(3) how many Mark III combat gloves were manufactured in the UK by Feuchter; and how many Mark II combat gloves manufactured (a) by Feuchter and (b) by other companies have been (i) held to be unusable and (ii) rejected as unfit for their purpose; [129728]
(4) how many gloves were manufactured by Zova before expert glove cutting training was given to its staff; [129730]
(5) pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2000, Official Report, column 30W, on visits to Zova, what capabilities for glove making, as distinct from other leather working, this company demonstrated. [129729]
Mr. Spellar [holding answer 7 July 2000]: The pre-production sample of Mark II Combat Gloves provided by Feuchter was found to be unacceptable. Feuchter took the necessary action to improve their production process and, as a result, all gloves subsequently delivered under the terms of the contract proved to be acceptable. No gloves manufactured by Feuchter were therefore formally rejected under the terms of the contract. Following inspection by DCTA staff, a total of 3,260 pairs of Mark II Combat Gloves manufactured by other companies were, however, rejected as being unfit for purpose.
Feuchter held five other DCTA contracts for the manufacture of mittens (extreme cold weather--inners, outers and liners), prior to the award of the contact for the manufacture of Mark II Combat Gloves in 1998. For the duration of the contract for the manufacture of the Mark II Combat Gloves, Feuchter sub-contracted the manufacturing operation to Zova in Poland; no gloves were manufactured in the UK by Feuchter. During their visits to view the manufacturing operation, DCTA staff were satisfied that Zova possessed the necessary capabilities for the manufacture of leather gloves, although a requirement for some additional training on the table cutting operation was identified. Some 47,000 pairs of gloves had been manufactured by Zova before this additional training was provided. No other leather working was being undertaken at the time of the visits, as Zova's manufacturing capacity was fully committed to fulfilling DCTA contracts.
Army (Clothing Orders)
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral answer of 3 July 2000, Official Report, column 11, concerning the proportion of
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 337W
the Army's clothing orders which go to British firms, what percentage of these orders was made up by clothing manufactured in the United Kingdom. [130441]
Mr. Spellar [holding answer 13 July 2000]: The Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency (DCTA) procures clothing for all three Armed Services, with many items common to all three. To separate the cost of clothing destined specifically for the Army could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, during the financial year 1999-2000, of the 83 per cent. of clothing contracts placed by the DCTA with British-based companies, and referred to in my answer of 3 July 2000, Official Report, column 11, 48.9 per cent. by value will be manufactured in the United Kingdom.
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 338W
PFI Contracts
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the PFI contracts entered into by his Department, indicating (a) their dates of commencement, (b) their value, (c) if they have been subject to refinancing and (d) if his Department has a clawback entitlement to share in savings arising from refinancing. [129046]
Mr. Spellar: Details of the PFI deals signed by the Ministry of Defence up to 10 July 2000 are shown. To date one of these has involved refinancing. Nine of the contracts have provision for sharing benefits shown in the form of clawback. In other contracts, alternative means of protecting the Department's interests are available.
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 337W
| Signed deals (up to 10 July 2000) | Start date | Value (£ million) | Clawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support vehicles for the RAF | February 1996 | 35 | No |
| Support vehicles in Germany | February 1996 | 52 | No |
| Logistics Information Systems Army | March 1996 | 30 | No |
| Provision of storage facilities | April 1996 | 30 | No |
| TAFMIS (Army Training Management IS) | August 1996 | 14 | No |
| Materials Handling Services | September 1996 | 8 | No |
| Defence Helicopter Flying School | November 1996 | 118 | No |
| Hazardous Stores Information Systems | February 1997 | 1 | No |
| Armymail | April 1997 | 11 | No |
| Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service | July 1997 | 70 | No |
| Medium Support Helicopter Training Facility | October 1997 | 100 | Yes |
| Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency IT Systems | November 1997 | 150 | No |
| Hawk Aircraft Simulator Training Facility | December 1997 | 10 | Yes |
| Tidworth Garrison Water and Sewerage | February 1998 | 6 | No |
| Joint Services Command and Staff College | June 1998 | 68 | No |
| RAF Lossiemouth Family Quarters | June 1998 | 24 | No |
| Attack Helicopter Training Service | July 1998 | 165 | Yes |
| Yeovilton Family Quarters | July 1998 | 8 | No |
| RAF Lyneham Sewage Treatment | August 1998 | 5 | No |
| RAF Mail | November 1998 | 12 | No |
| Fylingdales Power Supply | December 1998 | 7 | No |
| Fire Fighting Training at NRTA | December 1998 | 35 | Yes |
| Light Aircraft Flying Task | January 1999 | 30 | No |
| RAF Cosford/Shawbury Family Quarters | March 1999 | 13 | Yes |
| Tornado GR4 Training Service | June 1999 | 65 | Yes |
| Central Scotland Family Quarters | August 1999 | 13 | No |
| Army Foundation College | February 2000 | 33 | Yes |
| Main Building Refurbishment | May 2000 | 350 | Yes |
| Tri-Service Materials Handling | May 2000 | 32 | No |
| Naval Communications | June 2000 | 55 | Yes |
Note:
Capital value based on the public sector option (Public Sector Comparator)
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 337W
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average period of time is between the completion of a full business case and signing of the final contracts for private finance initiative contracts in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [130276]
Mr. Spellar [holding answer 13 July 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 18 July 2000, Official Report, column 101W.
Foreign Military Personnel
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many foreign military personnel and from which countries have been involved in military training in the UK during the last 12 months. [131251]
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 338W
Mr. Spellar: The numbers of foreign military personnel who have been involved in military training in the UK in the year to 31 March 2000 are listed. This is the latest period for which statistics are available. They include all overseas military personnel trained by UK military personnel, or contracted civilian instructors, on UK military establishments or ships (or Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships). They also include some overseas military personnel studying at academic institutions in the UK.
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 340W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |