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Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 December 2001, Official Report, column 964W, what inquiries are taking place into the deaths at Qala-I-Jhangi fort between 25 and 27 November 2001; and if he will make a statement. [34867]
11 Feb 2002 : Column 8W
Mr. Hoon: I see no grounds for instituting an inquiry. I am satisfied that the actions of British troops were a perfectly proper response to the situation they encountered at Qala-I-Jhangi fort.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the US Secretary of State for Defense concerning the treatment of British hostile nationals apprehended in Afghanistan. [31895]
Mr. Hoon: I have had a number of discussions with my United States counterpart about the situation in Afghanistan and related issues. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has a permanent presence at Camp X-ray at Guantanamo Bay. The three British prisoners have been seen by British officials and have made no complaints about their conditions or treatment.
The ICRC is also being allowed access to detainees in Afghanistan. However, our extremely limited consular capacity in Afghanistan and continuing security risks to our staff travelling outside Kabul place a practical limit on what we are able to achieve there.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether detainees in Afghanistan (a) captured and (b) held by United Kingdom forces have been transferred to US forces. [33636]
Mr. Hoon [holding answer 5 February 2002]: No.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the armed forces' helicopter stations south of the M4. [31911]
Mr. Ingram: There are seven armed forces helicopter stations south of the M4. These are:
Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton
Middle Wallop Airfield
Netheravon Airfield
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose
Royal Air Force St. Mawgan
Royal Marines Base Chivenor.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he has taken to address the number of injuries sustained by women under Army training since the introduction of the gender-free policy. [31477R]
Mr. Ingram: This issue has been kept under close review since the introduction of "gender-free" physical testing in 1998. A number of changes have been made to both the selection and initial training process. In May 2000, a one and a half mile run was introduced at Recruit Selection Centres, to act as a "risk reducer" by identifying
11 Feb 2002 : Column 9W
those individuals who would be unlikely to be able to complete training. Remedial treatment and physiotherapy services at the Army Training Regiments have been expanded and doctors there have been given better training in sports medicine.
During 2001, a complete reprofiling of the common military syllabus for recruits at the Army Training Regiments (ATRs) was undertaken. The programming and physical development profile was reviewed and refined to provide a graduated curve of increasing physical intensity to minimise the risk of early traumatic injury. The programme is focused on the average 16 to 18-year-old physical fitness start state, and it is specifically designed to minimise lower limb traumas and soft tissue injuries in the first six weeks of training. Heart rate monitors have been introduced to optimise individual physical development profiles. Lower limb strength training and certain limitations on basic drill have been introduced. The changes were instituted in October 2001 and will be formally assessed in April 2002; first indications are that injury rates in the first nine weeks of training have fallen overall.
11 Feb 2002 : Column 10W
The Army Training and Recruiting Agency has continued to sponsor studies in injury prevention and management, remedial training, ergonomics and nutritional areas; currently there are 10 studies in progress, with the overall aim of reducing injuries and medical discharges during training, for both male and females recruits, to the lowest practicable levels while meeting standards and complying with legislation.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is (a) the establishment and (b) the current strength of each of the Regiments in the Foot Guards; and if he will list each element of company strength serving with them, indicating where each battalion has soldiers attached to it from another battalion, (i) which battalion they are from and (ii) in what numbers. [32456]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 1 February 2002]: The establishment and strength of each of the Foot Guards Regiments, as at 1 January 2002, is detailed in the table. The figures include all attached arms and also detail the Public Duties Companies that serve away from the main body of the Regiment.
1 Grenadier Guards | N Coy | 1 Coldstream Guards | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Establishment | Strength | Establishment | Strength | Establishment | Strength | |
Infantry | 561 | 535 | 107 | 100 | 561 | 547 |
RAChD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RLC | 23 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 22 |
RAMC | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
REME | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
AG CORPS (SPS) | 22 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 22 |
Royal Signals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
QARANC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Royal Engineers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
HCAV | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
APTC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
UKTAP | 622 | 592 | 107 | 102 | 611 | 599 |
FTRS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gurkhas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Whole Army total | 624 | 592 | 107 | 102 | 612 | 599 |
7 Coy | 8 Coy | 1 Scots Guards | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Establishment | Strength | Establishment | Strength | Establishment | Strength | |
Infantry | 107 | 80 | 98 | 98 | 562 | 515 |
RAChD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
RLC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 17 |
RAMC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
REME | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 9 |
AG CORPS (SPS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 21 |
Royal Signals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
QARANC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Royal Engineers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
HCAV | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
APTC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
UKTAP | 107 | 81 | 98 | 98 | 623 | 567 |
FTRS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gurkhas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Whole Army total | 107 | 81 | 98 | 98 | 624 | 567 |
11 Feb 2002 : Column 11W
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many trained officers and soldiers are serving in the Guards Battalions broken down by nationality. [32455]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 1 February 2002]: The number of trained officers and soldiers serving in the Guards Battalions, as at 1 January 2002, broken down by nationality is shown in the table. Figures do not include companies that are serving on public duties. In order to conform to confidentiality regulations, exact numbers for
11 Feb 2002 : Column 12W
nationalities where representation is less than five cannot be disclosed. The total strengths are therefore quoted in a separate table.
Guards | Total strength |
---|---|
Grenadier | 592 |
Coldstream | 599 |
Scots | 567 |
Irish | 660 |
Welsh | 650 |
Note:
Figures do not include FTRS and Gurkhas
Nationality | Grenadier | Coldstream | Scots | Irish | Welsh |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soldier | |||||
Belize | (2) | ||||
Fiji/St. Vincent | (2) | 7 | (2) | (2) | |
Gambia | (2) | ||||
Hong Kong | (2) | ||||
Jamaica | (2) | (2) | |||
Kenya | (2) | ||||
New Zealand | (2) | ||||
Republic of Ireland | (2) | 25 | (2) | ||
Zimbabwe | (2) | (2) | (2) | ||
British/Commonwealth/Foreign(3) | 20 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 9 |
England | 499 | 518 | 188 | 391 | 125 |
Irish Republic | (2) | 5 | |||
Isle of Man | (2) | ||||
Northern Ireland | (2) | (2) | (2) | 135 | (2) |
Scotland | 13 | 10 | 307 | 33 | 10 |
South Africa | (2) | (2) | (2) | ||
Wales | (2) | 7 | 5 | (2) | 462 |
Officer | |||||
India | (2) | ||||
New Zealand Islands | (2) | ||||
Republic of Ireland | (2) | ||||
Britain | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) |
Britain/Irish Republic(3) | (2) | (2) | |||
England | 37 | 32 | 25 | 31 | 29 |
Isle of Man/Channel Islands | (2) | ||||
Northern Ireland | (2) | (2) | |||
Scotland | (2) | (2) | 8 | (2) | |
Wales | (2) | (2) | (2) |
(2) Indicates that, in order to conform to confidentiality rules, exact numbers less than five cannot be disclosed either directly or indirectly.
(3) This category indicates those personnel who have dual nationality and class themselves as British/Irish Republic.
11 Feb 2002 : Column 13W
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