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HMS Gannet
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost is of the HMS Gannet site, including rates and utilities. [23935]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 18 December 2001]: The total cost of the HMS Gannet site, including rents, rates, utilities and property management, is in the order of £1.736 million per year, inclusive of VAT.
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if serving personnel based at HMS Gannet are renting private accommodation to armed forces personnel based at HMS Gannet (a) as part of the Hambros scheme and (b) by other methods. [23936]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 18 December 2001]: Three Naval personnel, currently serving at HMS Gannet, are renting accommodation which they own to other armed forces personnel also based at HMS Gannet. The property involved is rented by Hambros Countrywide Mobility Service, who are the agents for Substitute Single Service Accommodation on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
We do not hold records on personnel based at HMS Gannet who are renting out private accommodation by means other than through the Hambros scheme, as that would be a private transaction.
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel who are in the Hambros scheme were previously accommodated at HMS Gannet. [23937]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 18 December 2001]: There are 78 Naval personnel and 21 RAF personnel currently living in Substitute Single Service Accommodation (the Hambros scheme), who were previously accommodated at HMS Gannet.
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the cost of the leases of HMS Gannet site are (a) detailed and (b) publicly available in the asset register of Defence Estates. [23938]
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Mr. Ingram [holding answer 18 December 2001]: HMS Gannet is occupied and held by Commander in Chief Fleet and therefore Defence Estates do not show the property in their annual accounts, but do show it within their property records, as per all other departmental properties.
Because the property is held at market rent there is no value in the land to the Department, however the Ministry of Defence buildings on site are shown on page 298 of the National Asset Register holdings of Commander in Chief Fleet under the heading "Royal Naval Air Station Prestwick".
While the actual cost of the leases of the property are detailed within departmental records, the precise details are commercial in confidence and I am therefore withholding details under exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Recruitment (Medical Rejections)
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of applicants to the (a) Army, (b) RAF, (c) Royal Navy and (d) Royal Marines turned down on medical grounds in each quarter of the last seven years. [21818]
Mr. Ingram: Information on the number of applicants rejected on medical grounds is not held centrally in the format or for the time period requested. Details which are available are as follows:
| Service/financial year | Officers | Other ranks |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Navy | ||
| 1996–97 | 32 | 544 |
| 1997–98 | 16 | 764 |
| 1998–99 | 32 | 813 |
| 1999–2000 | 39 | 821 |
| 2000–01 | 43 | 923 |
| 2001–02(2) | 35 | 626 |
| Royal Marines | ||
| 1996–97 | 3 | 52 |
| 1997–98 | 1 | 93 |
| 1998–99 | 3 | 103 |
| 1999–2000 | 18 | 215 |
| 2000–01 | 21 | 247 |
| 2001–02(2) | 7 | 187 |
| Army | ||
| 1995–96 | 30 | (3)— |
| 1996–97 | 38 | (3)— |
| 1997–98 | 41 | 1,880 |
| 1998–99 | 42 | 2,304 |
| 1999–2000 | 60 | 1,660 |
| 2000–01 | 33 | 1,132 |
| 2001–02(2) | 43 | (3)— |
| Royal Air Force | ||
| 1996–97 | (4)184 | 56 |
| 1997–98 | (4)183 | 88 |
| 1998–99 | (4)215 | 105 |
| 1999–2000 | (4)215 | 126 |
| 2000–01 | (4)255 | 193 |
| 2001–02(2) | (4)107 | 184 |
(2) The figures for 2001–02 are as at 7 December 2001
(3) Army Other Rank figures unavailable for these years
(4) These figures are for RAF Officers and Airmen Aircrew combined
19 Dec 2001 : Column: 340W
Royal Scots Regiment
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the (a) establishment and (b) current strength of the Royal Scots regiment. [23766]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December 2001, Official Report, columns 455–56W, to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch).
Afghanistan
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what his latest estimate is of (a) the deployment of United Kingdom military personnel in the Afghan theatre of war and (b) the total value of ordnance dropped in the conflict; [23639]
- (2) what the total number of United Kingdom military personnel serving in Afghanistan is; and under whose command they operate. [23644]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 18 December 2001]: There are approximately 3,800 involved in support of Operation Veritas, the UK element of Operating Enduring Freedom. This figure excludes the number of UK personnel operating within Afghanistan, and I am withholding this information in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
British troops operating in Afghanistan are under the overall command of the UK Chief of Joint Operations, and are available for specific tasks to the US Commander-in-Chief, Central Command.
We have not estimated the value of ordnance dropped in the operation.
Army HQ
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the final cost was of moving the army's northern headquarters from York to Edinburgh; what estimates he has made of the economic consequences for York of this move; and what estimates he has made of the economic benefit to the area around Craigiehall. [24021]
Mr. Ingram: A final assessment of the cost of moving the Army's northern headquarters from York to Edinburgh will be made shortly, now that the organisation is fully established in its new location. It is already clear, however, that the increase in the number of people working both at Craigiehall and in York continues to benefit both locations.
Military Training Grounds
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are being taken to ensure that Kenyan civilians are not killed, disabled and injured by unexploded munitions on military training grounds used by the British Army in the central part of Kenya. [23130]
Mr. Ingram: The British Army takes every precaution to minimise danger to the Kenyan people and follows the same infantry training regulations in Kenya for live firing as it does in the UK. These are laid down in Infantry Training Volume 4, Pamphlet Number 21, and Artillery Training Volume 3, Pamphlet 19. Details of ammunition used are recorded and units are required to submit a
19 Dec 2001 : Column: 341W
certificate to state that the range has been cleared of ammunition fired during that exercise. In addition, we have a continuing programme of activity, which we carry out in conjunction with the Kenyan authorities. This includes the provision of training for Kenyan range staff; the construction of a range control centre; the employment and training of range wardens; and the erection of substantial warning signs on specific areas of the training area. Beyond that, we are also engaged in a continuing information campaign and provide assistance to the Kenyan authorities with range clearance. Our mutual aim is to ensure that the ranges are as safe as they can be.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (1) the procedure is for clearing live ammunition from military training grounds in the UK; [23133]
- (2) what regulations are in place to govern the clearance of live ammunition from military training grounds; [23131]
(3) what records the British Army keeps during training exercises with live ammunition, of the number of rounds of ammunition fired and the number of unexploded ammunition; and if these records are published. [23134]
Mr. Ingram: The regulations and procedures for the clearance of live ammunition from military training grounds are laid down in Infantry Training Volume 4, Pamphlet Number 21, and Artillery Training Volume 3, Pamphlet 19. These regulations and procedures are adhered to wherever British forces are required to train with live ammunition, whether in the UK or overseas.
Each unit training on a range or training area is required to clear military debris from the range after live firing or training with pyrotechnics, with details of the ammunition used recorded on a relevant form. In addition, units are required to submit a certificate to state that the range has been cleared.
Any live ammunition that has not been used during training is returned to the ammunition store for use at another time. We aim to recover any ammunition not accounted for during the clearance operation at the end of the training. If there have been misfires—where a round does not fire correctly—or blinds—where a round is fired but does not explode correctly—a qualified individual would destroy the misfire or blind on site.
Joint Service Publication 403—Defence Land Ranges Safety-Volume 1, Chapter 6 requires that records are kept of all live ammunition firing, the amount of live ammunition fired and the number of misfires or blinds. These records are not made public.
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