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Afghanistan
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deaths have been caused by military action in Afghanistan among (a) coalition forces, (b) Taliban forces and (c) civilians since 11 September 2001. [31142]
Mr. Hoon: Four US personnel have been killed in action and 17 US personnel have been killed in non-hostile incidents. Regarding Taliban and civilian deaths, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 860W, to my hon. Friends the Members for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) and for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham). It is as difficult to estimate the number of Taliban military casualties as it is to estimate the number of civilian casualties.
Queen's Royal Lancers
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the steps he is taking to improve recruitment to the Queen's Royal Lancers; [31603]
- (2) to what causes he attributes the deficit in the established strength of the Queen's Royal Lancers. [31604]
Mr. Ingram: I apologise for the fact that, due to a coding error which excluded personnel not recorded against the main Unit Identification Number, eg Rear Party personnel, the establishment and strength of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps, the information that I gave to the hon. Member in my answer of 24 January 2002, Official Report, column 993W, was incorrect.
Consequently the current deficit in the Queen's Royal Lancers (QRL), as at 1 December 2001, is 41; not 198 as previously stated.
In the coming financial year, like other regiments, the QRL will benefit from a package of resources provided by the Army Training and Recruitment Agency's Recruiting Group to assist Regimental Recruiting Teams. This will include the provision of a minibus and recruiting trailer, mobile telephones and computing equipment, as well as funding for travel and marketing expenses.
Army Attributable Pensions
Dr. Jack Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the number of Army pensioners who have lost income through the taxation error who are resident in (a) Cumbria and (b) Copeland; and if he will make a statement. [31010]
Dr. Moonie: Information identifying, from among the Army pensioners so far known to have been incorrectly taxed, those resident in Cumbria and Copeland could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We cannot at this time give a reliable estimate for how many new cases may emerge as a result of recent publicity, but we do not believe the numbers will be large.
Exercise Saif Sareea II
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to publish the Lessons Learned report on Exercise Saif Sareea II. [31602]
Mr. Ingram: The full report on Exercise Saif Sareea is likely to be completed around the end of March. However, we have no plans to make this classified document public.
30 Jan 2002 : Column 334W
Royal Armoured Corps
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is (a) the establishment and (b) the actual strength, excluding attached troops, of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps. [28833]
Mr. Ingram [pursuant to the reply, 24 January 2002, c. 993W]: Owing to a coding error which excluded personnel not recorded against the main Unit Identification Number, eg Rear Party personnel, the establishment and strength of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps was incorrect. The correct figures are detailed in the table:
| Regiment | Establishment | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment | 324 | 312 |
| Queens Dragoon Guards | 358 | 384 |
| Scots Dragoon Guards | 451 | 390 |
| 9th/12th Royal Lancers | 358 | 354 |
| 2 Royal Tank Regiment | 460 | 452 |
| Royal Dragoon Guards | 451 | 459 |
| Household Cavalry Regiment | 421 | 416 |
| Queen's Royal Hussars | 451 | 426 |
| King's Royal Hussars | 451 | 435 |
| Light Dragoons | 429 | 392 |
| Queen's Royal Lancers | 451 | 410 |
| Joint Nuclear Biological and Chemical Regiment | 200 | 196 |
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Remuneration
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the number of individuals in her (a) Department, (b) related agencies and (c) related non-departmental public bodies whose annual remuneration including benefits in kind exceeded (i) £100,000 and (ii) £200,000 in each of the last four years. [26315]
Dr. Howells: The number of individuals in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Royal Parks Agency receiving annual remuneration over £100,000 in the last four years is as follows:
- 1998: 0
1999: 1
2000: 1
2001: 1.
30 Jan 2002 : Column 335W
Information on non-departmental public bodies is provided in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies".
Theft and Fraud
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the cost of theft
30 Jan 2002 : Column 336W
and fraud to (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years. [27984]
Dr. Howells: The available information is given in the table:
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCMS(2) | 1,909 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Royal Parks Agency | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Historic Royal Palaces Agency(3) | 13,600 | — | — | — |
| Non-departmental public bodies(4) | 417,493 | 240,530 | 6,228 | 79,872 |
(2) Net of amounts recovered.
(3) Historic Royal Palaces Agency became an non-departmental public body on 1 April 1998.
(4) Includes Lottery Bodies
Market Research
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each. [27938]
Dr. Howells: The Department's expenditure on opinion polling, focus groups and other forms of market research for the years in question is shown in the table.
| Year | Opinion polling | Focus groups | Market research |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | (5)36,382 | (6)27,320 | (7)10,800 |
(5) (a) Research undertaken that would assess consumers' perceptions of digital television and (b) questions on culture and the internet for Culture Online included in an omnibus survey.
(6) Eight focus groups with teachers, children and adults for Culture Online.
(7) An online survey of the use of culture websites of existing users of six cultural websites for Culture Online.
The Department's agency, the Royal Parks Agency, has not incurred expenditure on opinion polling or focus groups during the years in question. Its expenditure on market research is shown in the table.
| Year | Market research |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 29,000 |
| 1999–2000 | 30,000 |
| 2000–01 | 30,500 |
| 2001–02 | 41,500 |
Note:
The figure for each year covers expenditure on the annual visitor survey, 2001–02 also includes expenditure on monitoring the Kensington Gardens cycle trial.
Information on expenditure by the Department's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Empty Properties
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the (a) annual cost and (b) total value of the empty properties owned by (i) her Department, (ii) her agencies and (iii) other public bodies for which she has had responsibility in each of the last four years. [30066]
Dr. Howells: My Department holds leasehold properties, used for its central London accommodation. There was one instance when such a property was left unoccupied for nine months from February to October 2001, while the lease was being transferred to the Cabinet Office. My estimate of the cost of this is £240,000.
My Department does not hold information centrally on the properties owned by the other public bodies, for which I am responsible, but I have contacted my agency, the Royal Parks Agency, for more information, and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, placing a copy of my letter in the Libraries of both houses.
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