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DEFENCE
Plastic Baton Rounds (Northern Ireland)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many plastic baton rounds have been fired by military personnel in Northern Ireland; and what percentage of the total number of plastic baton round firings this represents. [17751]
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Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the then Minister for the Armed Forces on 13 March 2001, Official Report, column 507W, which lists the number of baton rounds fired by the military since 1991. Up until 22 November, 16 baton rounds have been fired in 2001. Since 1991 the Army have fired 2,110 baton rounds compared with 12,158 by the Royal Ulster Constabulary/ Police Service of Northern Ireland representing 15 per cent. of the total number of baton rounds fired.
Armed Forces (Drugs)
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each of the armed forces tested positive for the use of controlled substances in each of the years since testing began, expressed as (a) a proportion of those tested and (b) by substance. [18411]
Mr. Ingram: The percentage of armed forces personnel testing positive for the use of controlled substances in each year since testing began, and the types of substances detected is given in the table.
(1) Testing introduced 1 April 1997
(2) To 30 October 2001
(3) To 30 September 2001
(4) Testing introduced 1 November 1998
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It should be noted that individuals may test positive for more than one substance. Individual statistics may not therefore equate directly to total positive test results (i.e. one person may be recorded as a positive in two or three of the individual drug statistics).
Recruitment
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what new measures he has introduced to recruit into the armed forces since 11 September. [18061]
Mr. Ingram: The Army recruiting initiative 'Operation London Soldier' took place from 16 to 24 September 2001. This operation had been planned for some months before. All other initiatives, for all three services, have been introduced prior to 11 September.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the opening of Army careers offices and armed forces careers offices on Saturday mornings. [18062]
Mr. Ingram: The core opening hours for the tri-service armed forces careers offices (AFCOs) and their satellite recruiting offices are from 09.00 to 17.00 Monday to Friday. Trials of Saturday opening were carried out in 1988, 1993, 1996 and 2000. During the 2000 trial the level of recruiting activity was monitored but the result from many areas was found to be disappointing. From autumn 2000 the AFCO staffs were authorised to open or close offices on Saturdays based on local conditions, resources and priorities.
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Challenger
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average life expectancy of air filters used in those Challenger 2 tanks which participated in Operation Saif Sareea 2 was. [18462]
Mr. Ingram: During the first phase of Exercise Saif Sareea 2, the life of the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank air filter reported from theatre was in the region of four hours. Information is currently being collected for the second phase of the exercise, which was held in a different part of Oman.
Spain (Officers Exchange)
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers on exchange between the UK and Spain are serving in (a) UK armed forces and (b) Spanish armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [17976]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 26 November 2001]: One Royal Navy exchange officer is attached to the Spanish navy and is reciprocated by a Spanish navy officer serving with the Royal Navy. In addition, we have a RAF liaison officer based in Spain and a Spanish liaison officer attached to the British Army.
Active Service
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) armoured regiments, (b) infantry battalions, (c) artillery regiments, (d) signals regiments and (e) RAF squadrons have seen active service in conflicts over the last 15 years; and if he will make a statement. [18753]
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Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Civil Affairs Group
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the composition and capabilities of the Civil Affairs Group. [18869]
Mr. Ingram: Currently, the Civil Affairs Group comprises seven Regular Army Officers, a small administrative team and some 80 Territorial Army personnel. The group can deliver staff planning teams, tactical support teams and functional specialists as required.
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to change the departmental expenditure limits for 2001–02. [19571]
Mr. Hoon: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Ministry of Defence departmental expenditure limit will be increased by £107,080,000 from £23,769,498,000 to £23,876,578,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on the resources and capital components is set out in the following table.
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| Resources | |
| Change | 106,780 |
| New DEL | 18,371,338 |
| Of which: | |
| Voted | 18,144,740 |
| Non-voted | 226,598 |
| Capital | |
| Change | 300 |
| New DEL | 5,505,240 |
| Of which: | |
| Voted | 5,407,470 |
| Non-voted | 97,770 |
The change in the resource element of the DEL arises principally from:
- The take-up of the end-of-year flexibility carried forward from 2000–01 of £72,917,000.
A net resource DEL transfer of £35,299,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions for the transfer of the running costs of the War Pensions Agency.
A transfer of £1,328,000 to the Cabinet Office for BBC World Monitoring expenses.
A transfer of £432,000 to the Cabinet Office for fast stream recruitment expenses.
A transfer of £176,000 to the Lord Chancellor's Department for legal aid expenses on human rights.
The increases will be offset by transfers or charged to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
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