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Entertainment Costs

Mr. Burns: To ask the Prime Minister (1) how much was spent by No. 10 Downing street special advisers on food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for official entertainment purposes in each of the last five years; [47054]

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(2) how much was spent by staff at No. 10 Downing street on food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for entertainment purposes in each of the last five years. [46842]

The Prime Minister: For the total cost to my Office for all official entertainment at No. 10 Downing street and Chequers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 28 February 2002, Official Report, column 1444W.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General which public service agreement targets that are scheduled to be met in 2002 will not be achieved by the due date. [44840]

The Solicitor-General: Information about progress on PSA targets will be published in the 2002 Departmental Report.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what new initiatives her Department has taken in 2001–02 to assist in achieving its Public Service Agreement targets. [47203]

The Solicitor-General: Information about progress on PSA targets will be published in the 2002 Departmental Report.

DEFENCE

Advertising

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of media advertising in each of the past five parliamentary Sessions including the current Session, for his Department in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland; and for the last two parliamentary Sessions and the current parliamentary Session, what the media advertising expenditure was per month in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Northern Ireland. [37406]

Dr. Moonie: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Information on expenditure on advertising and publicity is included in the departmental performance report. However, this information is recorded by financial year and not by parliamentary Session. For 1997–98 the information is shown in page 49 of Cm 4170; for 1999–2000 it is shown on page 60 of Cm 5000; and for 2000–01 it is shown on page 68 of Cm 5290. Copies of these reports are available in the Library of the House.

Information for 1998–99 was not included in the performance report. The figures are as follows.

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Category	Expenditure in £ million
Recruitment—RN/RFA	6.65
Recruitment—Army	11.77
Recruitment—RAF	10.17
Recruitment—Civil Service	3.27
PR, marketing and Business Support Services	0.84
Chief of public relations expenditure	2.39
Sales promotion	1.06
Scholarships	0.38
National Employers Liaison Committee (Territorial Army)	1.05

Information on the outturn figure for the last financial year is not yet available, but is expected to be published in the 2001–02 departmental performance report.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the expenditure was per campaign for the five most expensive media advertising campaigns his Department undertook in the past five parliamentary Sessions including the current parliamentary Session in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; and for the last two parliamentary Sessions and the current Session, when each advertising campaign (i) began and (ii) ended in (A) Scotland, (B) England, (C) Wales and (D) Northern Ireland. [37394]

Dr. Moonie: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sierra Leone

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel are involved in Sierra Leone; how many have been involved in each of the past two years; what the cost to the MOD of the deployment has been; and if he will make a statement. [46672]

Mr. Ingram: We currently have some 360 shore-based military personnel deployed in Sierra Leone, supported by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Sir Geraint, and we will maintain our presence at that level over the period of presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2002. We are also contributing 15 military observers and seven headquarters staff to UNAMSIL, the UN operation in Sierra Leone. At its peak, there were 4,500 personnel deployed on Operation PALLISER in May 2000, when we first committed troops in significant numbers. We then had up to 550–600 shore-based military personnel in Sierra Leone at any one time until the completion of basic infantry training for the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) by British Short-Term Training Teams in September 2001. The re-configuration to the current troop levels was completed by January 2002. The cost to the Ministry of Defence of the deployments, excluding the provision of equipment to the RSLAF, was £16.9 million in financial year 2000–01. The cost of the deployments in the last financial year is estimated at around £28.25 million, and will be met from the cross-Government Africa Conflict Prevention Fund. The future costs of our military training and assistance programme will also be met from this budget.

As I was able to see at first hand during my visit to Sierra Leone on 19–20 March, we are making good progress in helping to develop a professional, accountable

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and effective RSLAF and Sierra Leone MOD. The UK-led International Military Advisory and Training Team will continue the task of capacity-building in the RSLAF and the MOD over the longer term. Our ultimate aim is that the RSLAF will be able to protect the security and integrity of Sierra Leone without needing substantial external assistance.

Navy Vessels

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether HMS Newcastle and HMS Cardiff are due to be decommissioned in 2003; and if he will make a statement. [48668]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 March 2002, Official Report, column 34W to the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray).

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the refit for HMS Illustrious will (a) commence and (b) be completed; and what use will be made of HMS Illustrious in the period to the start of the refit. [48172]

Mr. Ingram: Refit work on HMS Illustrious will start in October 2002 and is expected to complete in autumn 2004. From 27 May 2002 until the start of her refit, HMS Illustrious will be held in reduced readiness.

QinetiQ

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the equity of QinetiQ the Government will retain as the golden share. [47646]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 March 2002, Official Report, columns 313–14W to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts). The right required by the Government to protect the United Kingdom defence and security interests can be provided through the retention of a single special, or golden, share, it does not require the retention of any additional percentage of the equity.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those who have expressed interest in becoming a strategic partner to QinetiQ. [47644]

Dr. Moonie: In response to an advertisement in the press, almost 40 parties have expressed interest in becoming a strategic partner to QinetiQ. In order to achieve best value for the taxpayer, the Government are seeking to maintain a high degree of competitive tension among potential bidders. Publishing a list of interested parties at this stage in the process would not be consistent with this objective.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the equity of QinetiQ will be available to strategic partners. [47647]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 March 2002, Official Report, columns 313–14W, to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts). The percentage of equity in QinetiQ that will be available to strategic partners will be determined as part of the negotiation process, but it is likely that the strategic partner will have the opportunity to acquire a substantial minority or a small majority stake.

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Afghanistan

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of civilian and military casualties in Afghanistan since the start of present hostilities. [48614]

Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 9 November 2001, Official Report, column 432W.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if British troops in Afghanistan will be engaged in efforts to reduce (a) poppy cultivation and (b) the merchandising of heroin. [46277]

Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 March 2002, Official Report, column 870W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy). The further 1,700 troops currently deploying to Afghanistan will be concentrating on operations against remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in (a) Kabul and (b) Afghanistan. [41894]

Mr. Hoon: The security situation in Kabul appears relatively stable, especially owing to the excellent work of the International Security Assistance Force in accordance with UN SCR 1386. In Afghanistan as a whole, the situation is less stable with significant numbers of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters still active. This is why we are deploying 45 Commando Group as set out in my statement of 18 March.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated number of Taliban and al-Qaeda troops remaining in Afghanistan is; and if he will make a statement. [44652]

Mr. Hoon: We estimate that the number of Taliban and al-Qaeda troops remaining in Afghanistan is in the low thousands. They pose a continuing and significant threat to international security.

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage UK forces constitute of the coalition forces in Afghanistan. [45378]

Mr. Hoon: The numbers of coalition forces in Afghanistan vary over time. Once the deployment of 45 Commando Group has been completed, UK personnel should constitute some 15–20 per cent. of total coalition forces. These figures do not include the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul.

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