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Weapons Decommissioning
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the UK has paid in the last five years to (a) help destroy and (b) make safe (i) chemical weapons, and (ii) stocks of plutonium; how long current programmes are scheduled to run; what the total cost is and from which budget the money has come; and if he will make a statement. [134135]
Mr. Spellar: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Future Army Concept Paper
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Future Army Concept Paper. [132175]
Mr. Spellar: A declassified version of the Future Army Concept Paper 1999 has been placed in the Library of the House. This outlines the capabilities required by the Army in the 10-20 year time frame in the predicted future
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defence environment. It is underpinned by the principles and assumptions of the Strategic Defence Review and forms an important part of the Army's strategic planning process.
Link 16/JTIDS Terminals
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which UK military assets are equipped with Link 16/JTIDS terminals. [132180]
Dr. Moonie: Link 16/JTIDS terminals are currently fitted to the Tornado F3 and Sentry E3 aircraft and also to the UK Air Defence Ground Environment. Terminals were also fitted to a number of VC10 and Tristar Tanker aircraft in 1999 to meet an Urgent Operational Requirement in Kosovo.
We are planning to fit Link 16 terminals to a number of other Air, Naval and Army platforms, the primary ones being Sea Harrier FA2 aircraft, Sea King AEW Mk7 helicopter, Aircraft Carriers, Type 42 Destroyers, Type 45 Destroyers and Air Defence equipment. This will make a significant contribution to situational awareness for platform commanders. Other potential applications are also being studied.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the companies and organisations which have expressed interest in future purchase No. N/SUB1/64247, interim land storage of radioactive waste from de-commissioned nuclear submarines. [132475]
Dr. Moonie: The following companies have provided written expressions of interest, in response to future purchase number N/SUB1/64247, for the interim land storage of radioactive waste from decommissioned nuclear submarines:
- AEA Technology plc
WS Atkins Consultants Ltd.
Babtie Group Ltd.
BAE Systems Marine Ltd.
Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd.
British Nuclear Fuels plc
Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd.
European Nuclear Technologies Ltd.
Gibb Ltd.
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.
NNC Ltd.
Nuclear Technologies plc
NUKEM Nuclear Ltd.
Rolls Royce Power Engineering plc
Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd.
Smart Procurement Initiative
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what savings his Department has achieved so far under the Smart Procurement Initiative; and what savings he expects to achieve up to July 2008. [133841]
Dr. Moonie: Over the three successive annual planning rounds since the inception of the Smart Procurement Initiative, we have identified costing reductions
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attributable to Smart Procurement which total £2 billion over the 10-year period 1998 to 2008. We expect to improve on this in current and future planning rounds.
Armed Forces Voters
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to inform service personnel of the implications of section 7 of the Representation of the People Act 2000 for armed forces voters. [133730]
Mr. Spellar: A Joint Service Defence Council Instruction is being prepared to inform Service personnel and their dependants about the implications of the new electoral registration procedures. In addition, articles will be provided for Services' in-house news publications, appropriate families' and dependants' journals and single Service websites. A reference to section 7 of the RPA 2000 will be included, explaining to those with a Service qualification that they will have the option of either still registering annually to vote by means of a Service declaration, or registering in the same way as other voters if the appropriate residence criteria are met. The articles will complement the laying before Parliament of the regulations for electoral registration.
Marchwood Military Port
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security implications for Marchwood Military Port of the siting of a container port and access roads thereto in its close vicinity. [133808]
Mr. Spellar: The Ministry of Defence would have no objection in principle to any such development and indeed could see some operational advantages to the construction of such a container port. However, any such development would have to take careful account of the special requirements that would be associated with the construction of a civilian facility adjacent to a strategic military asset. In particular, we would need to review carefully the impact of security at the port, together with associated access and safety issues. If any such development were to be taken forward, the MOD would need to be involved at the earliest opportunity to ensure that the capability of this important military facility was not compromised. Necessarily, this would demand that the MOD's requirements were addressed fully within the planning process.
Submarine Reactor Fuel
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress made in extending the Wet Inlet Facility for storage of submarine reactor fuel at Sellafield. [134171]
Mr. Hoon: The new Wet Inlet Facility for the storage of spent submarine reactor fuel at Sellafield is on schedule to be fully operational by the original contract date of 1 December 2001.
Depleted Uranium
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department was represented at the meeting held in Paris at the beginning of September on the health implications for servicemen and medical auxiliaries of
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inhalation of depleted uranium during Operation Granby in Kuwait/Iraq in 1991; and if he will examine the evidence presented at the Conference of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine by Professor Durakovic, of Georgetown University, on depleted uranium. [134170]
Mr. Spellar: My Department was not represented at the Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine in Paris on 3 September 2000. However, officials from my Department have seen copies of the slides that they understand were used by Dr. Durakovic during his presentation. The slides need further explanation by Dr. Durakovic to permit proper evaluation of his work. Dr. Durakovic will be invited by my Department to provide additional information.
Post Traumatic Stress
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have left the armed forces as a result of post traumatic stress disorder brought on during service in the forces in each of the last five years; and what counselling services are available to service personnel involved in a traumatic situation. [134161]
Dr. Moonie: The numbers of personnel medically discharged from the Armed Forces in each of the last five years due solely or mainly to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are as follows:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 34 |
| 1996 | 27 |
| 1997 | 19 |
| 1998 | 18 |
| 1999 | 18 |
My Department fully recognises PTSD as a potentially serious and disabling medical condition. Personnel needing counselling or psychiatric treatment have access to the Community Psychiatric Service at units, out-patient care at the Royal Hospital Haslar and in or out-patient care at the Duchess of Kent's Psychiatric Hospital, Catterick. Measures are in place aimed at preventing PTSD occurring among Service personnel including briefings for personnel deployed on military operations and the availability of counselling during deployments.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Solicitor-General how many members of the Crown Prosecution Service have taken voluntary redundancy since the review of the Crown Prosecution Service; and for what reasons. [134003]
The Solicitor-General: Since the review of the Crown Prosecution Service, 20 members of that Department have taken voluntary redundancy. All have done so as a result of the organisational restructuring within the Department. By way of comparison, the Department currently has 6,383 members of staff in post.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Solicitor-General how many members of the Crown Prosecution Service have taken early retirement since the review of the Crown Prosecution Service; and for what reasons. [133943]
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The Solicitor-General: Since the review of the Crown Prosecution Service, five members of that Department have taken early retirement. Of those, two have done so as a result of the organisational restructuring within the Department, a further two retired for personal reasons and the fifth retired on grounds of ill health. By way of comparison, the Department currently has 6,383 members of staff in post.
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