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Depleted Uranium

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish an annual report on (a) future

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DU test firing proposals and (b) environmental testing results from the previous 12 months at the DERA testing facility at Dundrennan, Kirkcudbrightshire. [6506]

Dr. Moonie: Under current practice, reports on annual monitoring surveys of the marine and terrestrial environment are provided to Dumfries and Galloway Council, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and placed in the Library of the House. On 28 March 2001, the Ministry of Defence produced reports containing results from the 1999 marine and terrestrial environment monitoring surveys—copies are held in the Library of the House under reference DEP01–872. Reports for the 2000 monitoring surveys are being prepared and will be published shortly. This practice will continue. In addition to the routine marine and terrestrial environmental surveys, a more general survey to try to find any previously undetected depleted uranium (DU) fragments is currently being conducted at the range and results will be published next year.

MOD has no plans to produce an annual report outlining future DU firing at the Kirkcudbright Training Area range. Further firings may be required while the ammunition remains in service, and I will publicise the details when plans are agreed.

Aircraft Carriers

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected cost is of building the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers; where the assembly plant is; and if he will make a statement. [7324]

Dr. Moonie: The Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers will be built at an estimated cost of up to £2.9 billion. The vessels will be built in the UK and no decisions have been made on construction or assembly sites.

Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the upgrade of the British Army's Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter is projected to be completed; and if he will make a statement. [7317]

Dr. Moonie: The Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter is not an upgrade programme but will replace the capability provided by the Army Lynx Mks 7 and 9. It is planned to enter service from the middle of this decade and to have replaced the current Lynx by the early years of the next.

Weapon Modification Programme

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies bidded for the individual weapon and light support weapon modification programme; and if he will make a statement. [7320]

Dr. Moonie: The modification programme for the SA80 Weapon System is being undertaken by Heckler & Koch GmbH, Oberndorf, Germany. H&K are wholly owned by a British company, BAE Systems Royal Ordnance (Weapons and Munitions). No other companies were invited to bid for the programme as H&K are the Design Authority for the modifications.

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The contract for up to 200,000 weapons is on schedule with some 10,000 modified weapons available in the UK for issue to the armed services.

A400M Project

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many jobs Airbus UK's wing design development role in the A400M project is expected to create; and if he will make a statement. [7321]

Dr. Moonie: Airbus UK have estimated that work associated with A400M wing design and manufacture will create or secure over 2,500 long-term high-skill jobs. They have also calculated that indirect employment could bring this figure up to 7,500. The proportion of these jobs attributable specifically to the design development role has not been disclosed.

Although there is no direct relationship between offtake and workshare, we are confident that the number of jobs estimated by Airbus UK is commensurate with our investment in this programme.

Ordnance Board Project

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Ordnance Board report Board Project G/220A dated 23 February 1982. [7114]

Dr. Moonie: The document is currently withheld under exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

A review is being conducted to determine whether some or all of the information can be released into the public domain.

I will write to my hon. Friend when this review is complete, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Wessex Helicopter

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the job losses at RAF Shrewsbury in connection with work on the Wessex helicopter. [7136]

Dr. Moonie: The Wessex servicing work at RAF Shawbury, new Shrewsbury, is to come to an end due to the withdrawal of the Wessex helicopter from service.

The helicopter maintenance personnel that undertake this work are employed by FB Heliservices Limited.

FB Heliservices advise that as a result of the end of the Wessex element of the RAF Shawbury maintenance contact they are facing a redundancy situation for up to 39 employees. The company has advised us that it is actively pursuing alternative employment for the staff involved and is in consultation with both the recognised Trade Unions and individual employees. As part of its efforts to find alternative work, the company has made a proposal to place some other Ministry of Defence helicopter servicing work at RAF Shawbury. This proposal is being considered.

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Aircraft Manufacture

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the United Kingdom's ability to continue to manufacture aircraft. [6505]

Dr. Moonie: The UK aerospace industry is involved in a number of current and future military aircraft projects such as Eurofighter, A400M and the US Joint Strike Fighter programme. This demonstrates the UK's continuing technical and engineering ability to play a major role in the manufacture of military aircraft.

Future Offensive Aircraft Capability

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to approve the development of the Future Offensive Aircraft Capability. [6504]

Dr. Moonie: The Future Offensive Air Capability study is an Operational Analysis-based study examining the deep strike capability that the UK will need in the 2015–20 timeframe. It will inform decisions that we expect to take in the next two to three years on a number of equipment projects, including for the Future Offensive Air System project.

Royal Navy

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies are developing technology capable of integrating the US Navy's co-operative engagement capability into the UK Royal Navy's surface fleet; what the projected cost of this system is; and if he will make a statement. [7319]

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. Michael Hancock, dated 16 October 2001:

I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence concerning integration of the US Navy's Co-operative Engagement Capability into the Royal Navy's surface fleet. This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I refer you to the answer given on 25 July 2000 (official record col 542).

Assessment studies to fit the Co-operative Engagement Capability (CEC) to Type 23 Frigates are being undertaken by Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems and Raytheon Systems Limited, with each company being supported by a number of potential sub-contractors. A competition has been conducted between them for the second phase of assessment work. Contract award is forecast for the first half of 2002.

A separate package of work, to assess fitting the capability to the Type 45 destroyer, is being undertaken by BAE Systems Electronics Limited, the Type 45 Prime Contractor.

The estimated procurement cost of integrating CEC into Type 23 and Type 45 is £255M and the latest estimate of the whole life cost is £415M. Both figures are at 2001 outturn prices. I regret that the figure of £250M for whole life costs, given in the answer of 25 July 2000, related to support costs alone and was intended to be additional to the quoted procurement costs. The correct whole life cost estimate at that time was therefore £424M.

The programme is still at an early stage; costs, performance and timing will be refined before the main investment decision at Main Gate.

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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Speakers' Corner

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received concerning the impact of pop concerts on activities at Speakers' Corner. [6061]

Tessa Jowell: Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its chief executive, William Weston. Mr. Weston wrote to the hon. Member in July.

Letter from William Weston to Mr. Peter Ainsworth, dated July 2001:

I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to reply to your Parliamentary Question about what representations have been received concerning the impact of pop concerts on activities at Speakers' Corner. I regret that it was not possible to answer your question before the Summer recess. However, the information you requested is as follows.

I received an e.mail on 19 July from Heiko Khoo of the Speakers' Corner Association who believes that the right to free speech at Speakers' Corner, enshrined in the 1872 Parks and Gardens Act, is encroached by the arrangements made to facilitate large concerts on the adjacent Parade Ground. Mr Khoo questioned the Agency's right to make any restrictions on access to the area, and asked why such concerts could not be held in one of the other Royal Parks instead.

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