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Small Business Service
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place a copy of the Small Business Service targets in the Library. [146505]
Mr. Byers: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Mr. Miller) on 11 July 2000, Official Report, columns 475-76W.
Post Offices
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in the Vale of York on (i) 1 February 1997, (ii) 1 February 1998, (iii) 1 February 1999, (iv) 1 February 2000 and (v) 1 February 2001. [149187]
Mr. Alan Johnson: I understand from the Post Office that the historic data requested are not available, and that the most recent data available for Vale of York constituency are as set out in the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) on 29 November 1999, Official Report, column 22W.
Ministerial Visits
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ministerial visits to non-European countries involved in the Barcelona Process have been made by Ministers from his Department since 1997; in which years; and to which countries. [147693]
Mr. Byers: Since 2 May 1997, DTI Ministers have undertaken ministerial visits to non-European countries involved in the Barcelona Process as follows:
| Country | Visits |
|---|---|
| Morocco | 1 |
| Algeria | -- |
| Tunisia | 1 |
| Egypt | 2 |
| Israel | 2 |
| Palestinian Authority | 1 |
| Jordan | -- |
| Lebanon | -- |
| Syria | -- |
| Turkey | 1 |
| Cyprus | -- |
| Malta | -- |
Coal Industry Pension Schemes
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to alter the rules on the treatment of surpluses in the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme. [148492]
Mr. Hain: I will carefully consider the present arrangements in the light of the results of detailed actuarial studies which are to be undertaken this year into the coal schemes' assets and liabilities.
8 Feb 2001 : Column: 631W
DEFENCE
Defence Diversification Agency
Ms Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the period of formal consultation with Stakeholders will begin for the Defence Diversification Agency. [149834]
Dr. Moonie: A Consultative Document outlining the options considered for the future of the Defence Diversification Agency and the proposed way forward is now available. Copies have been placed in the Library of both Houses and are being sent to key stakeholders. Additional copies are available on request from:
- Deputy Director Equipment Secretariat
- Room 2332
- MOD Main Building
- London SW1A 2HB.
An electronic version of the Consultative Document will also be made available through the MOD website. The period of consultation will end on 23 March 2001.
Tank Fleets
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the fleet size is of (a) Warrior variants, (b) Challenger 1, (c) Challenger 2, (d) Saxon variants, (f) AVF 430 variants, (g) Sabre, (h) Striker, (i) Scimitar, (j) Spartan, (k) Sultan, (l) Samaritan and (m) Samson; how many were (i) allocated to front-line units, (ii) fully operational, (iii) unserviceable-fully operational in 24 hours, (iv) unserviceable-fully operational in seven days and (v) unserviceable-fully operational in more than seven days on 12 December; what percentage of the fleet size this represents for each category; and if he will make a statement; [143192]
- (2) what the percentage serviceability target is in 2000-01 for equipment being required to be available within 24 hours for (a) RAF aircraft, (b) army tanks and (c) other battle vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [143194]
Mr. Spellar [holding answer 10 January 2001]: I will write to the right hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Joint Service Defence Council
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason JS DCI 88/00 was cancelled; who authorised its cancellation; what replaced it; and if he will make a statement. [147245]
Mr. Spellar: In October 2000 I authorised the temporary withdrawal of Joint Service Defence Council Instruction 88/00, dealing with the Ministry of Defence's policy towards membership of societies such as Freemasons, while we conducted a review which is currently under way.
8 Feb 2001 : Column: 632W
Self-mutilation
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deaths caused by self-inflicted wounds there were among serving armed forces personnel, broken down by (a) theatre of operations in which each occurred, (b) gender, (c) age and (d) ethnic group in each year from 1996. [149355]
Dr. Moonie: Between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2000 there have been 138 self-inflicted deaths among serving members in the armed forces. The tables provide details of these deaths by theatre of operation and age. To ensure that individual service personnel confidentiality is not compromised it has been necessary to group together certain categories in these tables. Of the 138 self-inflicted deaths only three were female. In respect of the breakdown by ethnic groups there have been: 118 deaths in the "white" category; nine deaths recorded in an "unspecified" category, and one Gurkha death. There were an additional 10 deaths for which ethnic origin is not available.
| Location | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Self inflicted deaths by theatre of operations: | ||||||
| UK Great Britain | 20 | 25 | 13 | 24 | 26 | |
| Northern Ireland | ||||||
| Germany (BAOR) | ||||||
| Other Europe | ||||||
| Cyprus | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | |
| Other Far East | ||||||
| Army and RAF Other Overseas | ||||||
| Total | 32 | 29 | 18 | 26 | 33 | |
| (b) Self inflicted deaths by age: | ||||||
| Under 25 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 12 | |
| 25 to 34 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 14 | |
| 35 and over | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| Total | 32 | 29 | 18 | 26 | 33 | |
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 January 2001, Official Report, column 66W, if he will break down by age those who died of self-inflicted injuries, indicating in each case their length of service. [149211]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 7 February 2001]: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
BAE Bids
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will complete his evaluation of the bids by BAE for the construction of Type 45 destroyers. [148672]
Mr. Hoon: The prime contract with BAE Systems Electronics for the Demonstration and First of Class (DFM) phase of the Type 45 programme (covering the design and build of the first three ships) was placed on 20 December 2000. The procurement strategy remains as I announced it on 11 July 2000, Official Report, column 701.
8 Feb 2001 : Column: 633W
Our evaluation of the unsolicited proposal from BAE Systems Marine for an alternative procurement strategy for this Programme is progressing separately and will include consultation with other interested Government Departments. We will reach a decision on this as soon as possible.
Malaria
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the companies and regiments of the Army and Royal Marines which have been deployed to Sierra Leone since 1 May 2000, indicating in each case (a) the number of personnel in each company and regiment, (b) the date and duration of deployment, (c) where the company and regiment were deployed in Sierra Leone, (d) how many members of each company and regiment were administered with anti-malarial treatment before deployment, (e) how long before deployment treatment was administered and (f) how many members of each company and regiment were routinely screened for malaria on return; and if he will make a statement. [149177]
Mr. Hoon: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Planning
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the projects promoted by his Department subject to the 18/84 planning procedure. [149352]
Dr. Moonie: My Department has put forward a large number of planning proposals under the 18/84 procedure in the years since it came into force, ranging from major developments to relatively minor works. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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