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Sea Harriers

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what savings will be made from the withdrawal of the Sea Harrier force from service. [49760]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 February 2002, Official Report, columns 1451–52W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer). The withdrawal of the Sea Harrier force from service is one part of the new investment strategy for Joint Force harrier. The upgrade of the Harrier GR force will see the enhancement of our expeditionary offensive air capability, in particular from the Royal

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Navy's aircraft carriers. This is a capability driven initiative and provides for a smooth transition to the Future Joint Combat Aircraft. Savings will occur in not having to provide for modifications to address obsolescence, in streamlined training and basing and personnel efficiencies. Full advantage of this has been taken in construction of the forward programme.

Afghanistan

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which nations have contributed forces to (a) Operation Enduring Freedom and (b) ISAF; how many troops each of these nations has contributed; and if he will make a statement. [50000]

Mr. Hoon: Operation Enduring Freedom is being co-ordinated by the US Central Command in Tampa, Florida. The latest figures available are from 27 February, when, in addition to the US, there were 68 nations supporting the global war on terrorism, 17 of which had deployed more than 17,000 troops to the US Central Command's area of responsibility.

The list of nations contributing to International Security Assistance Force, with their individual contributions as at 15 April, is in the table.

The long list of nations involved in these offensive and security assistance activities illustrates the breadth of support for the international coalition against terrorism. It is vital that all these nations continue their support to deal with the significant threat which remains from Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and to help the Afghans as they begin the rebuilding of their country.

NationTotal
Austria74
Bulgaria32
Czech Republic5
Denmark40
Finland34
France452
Germany1,013
Greece123
Italy357
Netherlands220
Norway22
New Zealand7
Poland8
Romania46
Spain350
Sweden40
Turkey264
United Kingdom1,327
United States38
Total4,452

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what heavy lift aircraft (a) have been used in the deployment of British troops for ISAF and (b) are being used to deploy 45 Commando to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [49999]

Mr. Hoon: C-17, Tristar and C-130 aircraft have been used to deploy United Kingdom personnel and equipment to Afghanistan. Chartered An-124s have also been used for deploying equipment.

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Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops involved in ISAF will be reallocated to Operation Enduring Freedom; and if he will make a statement. [50001]

Mr. Hoon: None. We have drawn a distinction between those troops involved in security assistance activities in Kabul and those troops who are currently deploying for offensive operations to play their part in the task of rooting out al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants.

Deployments

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces are deployed abroad on operations; and where. [46305]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 26 March 2002]: The numbers and locations of armed forces personnel deployed on military tasks overseas, including operations, are shown in the table. The figures do not include personnel preparing for, or recovering from, operations.

LocationRoyal NavyArmyRAF
Gibraltar1662104
Cyprus—2,3851,184
Balkans—3,823233
Rest of Europe—2252
Falkland Islands141402704
Middle East and Gulf1,182381,895
Asia and Far East2412,72412
Africa2583688
Caribbean336——
North America——15
Other573542
Total2,7479,8584,409

Notes:

1. The Royal Navy figures are as at 26 March 2002.

2. The Army figures are as at 21 March 2002.

3. The RAF figures are as at 1 March 2002.


In addition, some 1,145 Royal Marines personnel were deployed on military tasks at various overseas locations, including Afghanistan and the Gulf.

HMS Intrepid

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the disposal of HMS Intrepid. [49766]

Mr. Ingram: HMS Intrepid will be disposed of by sale either to the commercial market or to another acceptable Government if one can be found.

Pilots

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) establishment and (b) strength of pilots is for (i) Tornado F3, (ii) Tornado GR1/4, (iii) Harrier GR7 and (iv) Jaguar. [49771]

Mr. Ingram: The position at 1 April 2002 is set out in the table.

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ForceEstablished flying posts(3)Strength
Tornado F3116108
Tornado GR1/4134122
Harrier GR76763
Jaguar6055

(3) Comprises wing commander, squadron leader and junior officer posts on front line squadrons, operational conversion units, operational evaluation units and wing appointments. In addition to the established flying posts on the specified aircraft type, fast jet pilots are required for instructional duties within the RAF's flying training system, overseas exchange posts, the RAF Aerobatic Team and a number of ground duties shared by all General Duties Branches.


Defence Evaluation and Research Agency

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North Essex, of 25 March 2002, Official Report, column 562W, if he will list the 19 industry respondees to the DERA PPP consultation process; how many of them were supportive of the PPP and how many opposed; and how many of them were proposing an alternative structure to the PPP. [49997]

Dr. Moonie: The consultation document published in spring 2000 resulted from wide ranging discussions with stakeholders and an initial public consultation exercise. As identified in the previous answer referred to by the hon. Member, 19 industry responses were received from the following companies, trade associations and professional bodies:


It is not appropriate to publish details of the individual responses, as they were not provided on the basis that they would be placed in the public domain. The main points have been summarised and are generally supportive, although most requested further information on the process. Consequently the Ministry of Defence has had continuous discussions with industry throughout implementation, including regular meetings with the National Defence Industries Council.

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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Gibraltar

14. Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on discussions held with EU member states over Gibraltar at the Barcelona summit. [45529]

Peter Hain: Barcelona welcomed the relaunch of the Brussels Process, underlined the support for the efforts of the British and Spanish Governments to conclude a comprehensive agreement before the summer; and invited the European Commission to explore ways in which the EU could underpin any agreement reached.

Iraq

15. Mr. Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration about Iraq. [45530]

Mr. Bradshaw: The most recent discussions on Iraq took place between my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and President Bush in Crawford, Texas. We are putting all our diplomatic energy into securing Iraqi compliance with UN resolutions—but are considering all options to ensure Iraq cannot threaten its people or neighbours. We will proceed patiently and prudently, in consultation with our allies.

27. Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent discussions he has had with his partners in the international coalition against terrorism about Iraq. [45542]

Mr. Bradshaw: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses our concerns about Iraq's support for international terrorism with his partners in the international coalition against terrorism.

39. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Iraq. [45554]

Mr. Bradshaw: We continue to have serious concerns about Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction. The international community's most pressing demand is that Iraq allow weapons inspectors to return and finish their work. We intend to consider the way forward in a calm, measured, sensible, but firm way.

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Iraq's military intentions; and if he will make a statement. [49826]

Mr. Bradshaw: As UN weapons inspectors have not been allowed access to Iraq for three years, we do not have detailed knowledge of the Iraqi Government's military intentions. But we do know that Saddam is continuing his chemical and biological weapons programme and is developing the long-range missiles to deliver them. It is important that we remain vigilant about the threat he poses to the region and the wider world.

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Iraq's involvement in international terrorism; and if he will make a statement. [49825]

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Mr. Bradshaw: Iraq has a long-standing record of support for terrorism; this includes support for Palestinian terrorist groups and the activities against Iran of the Iranian terrorist group, the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq (MeK), as well as the assassination of political opponents.

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