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Future Carrier-Borne Aircraft

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the result of the Future Carrier-Borne Aircraft down selection; and if he will make a statement. [133837]

Dr. Moonie: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Robert Walmsley to Mr. Robert Key, dated 23 October 2000:

I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the down-selection of the Future Carrier Borne Aircraft (FCBA). This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.

No decision has yet been made on how best to meet the FCBA requirement. A number of options remain under consideration of which the US-led Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a strong contender.

Under US plans, the down selection decision on which of the two competing JSF designs will enter the next phase of the programme, Engineering and Manufacturing Development, will not be taken until the latter part of next year.

I hope that this explains the position.

OCCAR Convention

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he and his European counterparts have made in implementing the OCCAR Convention; and if he will list the projects that organisation will be overseeing. [133840]

Mr. Hoon: The OCCAR Convention was signed by the Defence Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in September 1998. Following the passage of the relevant legislation through Parliament earlier this year, the United Kingdom ratified the Convention on 3 May and deposited its instrument of ratification on 11 May. France and Germany have also completed the ratification process, and Italy has presented

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the Convention to its Parliament. We expect Italy to complete the ratification process by the end of this year, after which OCCAR will have its own legal identity.

OCCAR is already responsible for the management of seven European collaborative defence equipment programmes under existing administrative arrangements. Two of these involve the UK: the Counter Battery Radar (COBRA) programme; and the Multi Role Armoured Vehicle (MRAV) programme. Other programmes will be integrated into OCCAR in due course, as appropriate.

Gurkhas

Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has to recruit another battalion of Gurkhas; and if he will make a statement; [133880]

(2) how many Gurkha troops are serving in the Army; what percentage that is of British infantry; and if he will make a statement. [133875]

Mr. Spellar: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen) on 1 December 1999, Official Report, column 191W, which stated that we have extended the Gurkha Reinforcement Companies and introduced a second Gurkha Engineer Squadron and Gurkha Signal Squadron. We have no current plans to recruit another Battalion of Gurkhas.

There are 3,357 Gurkhas currently serving with the British Army, of whom approximately 2,100 serve in an infantry role. This represents 7.7 per cent. of the whole Army infantry strength.

Ulster Defence Regiment

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment whose claims for the Accumulated Service Medal were reviewed because of insufficient evidence were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful in claiming the medal. [134152]

Dr. Moonie: A total of 327 such cases have been considered by the Army Medal Board to date. Of these, 256 have been successful, 54 proved to have no entitlement and were rejected, and 17 have been returned to the Regimental Headquarters of The Royal Irish Regiment for further investigation. An additional 821 applications, for the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal, have still to be prepared for Army Medal Board Consideration.

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedure was followed by the Honours and Distinction Committee to ascertain the eligibility of former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment claiming Accumulated Service Medals, but for whom the necessary records were not available. [134151]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces gave him on 18 April 2000, Official Report, column 425W.

Ro-ro Vessels

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on (a) the management, technical and financial innovation, (b) the cost and quality,

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(c) the value for money and (d) the competitiveness of the Cammell Laird component of the Maersk bid for ro-ro vessels. [133973]

Mr. Hoon: No decision on the strategic sealift competition has as yet been made and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the bids at this stage of the competition.

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the relationship between the partnership agreement between BAe systems and his Department on maintenance and repair work and orders for ro-ro vessels. [133942]

Dr. Moonie: There is no relationship between the orders for ro-ro vessels and the partnership agreements between the Department and BAe Systems for maintenance and repair work.

The vessels that provide the ro-ro service will be owned by a private company, who will also be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the vessels.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to announce the winner of the roll-on roll-off vessel competition; and if he will give the in-service date of the vessels. [133838]

Mr. Hoon: No decision on the strategic sealift competition has as yet been made. I hope to make an announcement shortly. All six vessels are currently planned to be available by 2005.

Intrusive Diving

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what legal advice he has had from counsel on the activities of sport divers, in relation to the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986; and if he will make a statement on his policy on intrusive diving. [134179]

Dr. Moonie: A review of policy on wrecked military vessels is being undertaken at present. As part of this review we have looked at legal issues but it has not been necessary to seek advice from counsel as I had previously indicated. I will write to my hon. Friend when the review is complete and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

MK8 Gun System

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of development of the Mk 8 MOD 14.5 inch gun system; if the programme is running to schedule; what the original estimated cost and in-service date was; and if he will make a statement. [134142]

Dr. Moonie: Following initial development work at a cost of some £800,000, further development of the 4.5 inch Mk 8 MOD1 gun system is being conducted as part of a firm priced contract covering full development, initial update of eight units and support. The cost of this contract is commercially confidential and I am therefore withholding it in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which relates to Third Party's commercial confidences. The original estimated total development cost was in the order of £13 million. The development and initial

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production programme is running to schedule and is on target to meet the first planned ship fitting of the modified gun system to HMS Norfolk in November 2000.

Maverick Programme

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost was of developing the AGM-6562 Maverick Medium Range air to surface missile for RAF use; how long this process has taken; and if he will make a statement; [134140]

(2) what the total cost is of the procurement of the AGM-6552 Maverick Programme; when deployment will take place; how long this programme is scheduled to last; how long the development programme was; and if he will make a statement. [134141]

Dr. Moonie: The AGM-65G2 Maverick Medium Range missile is a proven "off the shelf" missile. No development costs were incurred by the RAF. However, some £1.5 million was spent on aircraft integration and proof of concept work. The whole life cost of the Maverick programme is approximately £55 million, inclusive of VAT. This includes the cost of procurement, integration, training, and a Contractor Logistic Support package. The programme will last some five years, with the first missiles being deployed by the end of the year.

NATO Peace Shield 2000

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK forces took part in the NATO Peace Shield 2000 exercise; how many personnel were involved; and if he will make a statement. [134139]

Mr. Spellar: The UK participated in NATO exercise Peace Shield 2000 by sending two Reservist officers: one a member of the Education and Training Support branch of the Adjutant General Corps, and a Captain in the Intelligence Corps. Both officers operated in the brigade headquarters, in the logistics and the intelligence and operations divisions respectively. Both are high-grade linguists and were widely used as interpreters. Approximately 2,000 personnel from 21 nations took part.

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