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Sri Lanka
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received in the past 12 months regarding arms exports to Sri Lanka from representatives of the Tamil people. [49338]
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent meetings he has had with representatives of the Tamil people to discuss human rights issues in Sri Lanka. [49341]
Dr. Moonie: The Secretary of State for Defence has had no meetings with representatives of the Tamil people.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received in the last 12 months regarding (a) arms exports to Sri Lanka from Britain and (b) their subsequent effect on the Tamil people; and if he will make a statement. [49333]
Dr. Moonie: There have been a number of approaches by UK companies in the past 12 months seeking marketing advice for potential sales to this region. We have given advice on these on a case by case basis making it clear that the advice given does not prejudge the outcome of an export licence application. All such applications are considered against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. We will not issue an export licence where there is a clear risk that the goods might be used for internal repression or international aggression or to undermine regional stability.
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Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many times he has met representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka to discuss arms exports in each of the past five years; [49336]
- (2) when he will next meet representatives of the Sri Lankan Government to discuss arms exports; and if he will make a statement. [49342]
Dr. Moonie: There have been no such meetings in the past and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has no current plans to meet with representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka. The Government welcome the progress being made to achieve peace in Sri Lanka. Should we be asked, we would of course give positive consideration to any initiatives that might assist this process.
Shoeburyness
Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been received in each of the past five years from households in the Tendring peninsula relating to alleged damage to their properties as a result of the activities at the Shoeburyness ranges. [45113]
Dr. Moonie: Our records are not in a form that readily enables provision of the information as requested. I will write to my hon. Friend following further analysis of the data and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Subsistence Payments
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what subsistence payments are payable to service men and women carrying out duties in the United Kingdom away from their base. [50040]
Mr. Ingram: Service personnel who incur extra expense for food or accommodation while on temporary or detached duty in the UK are reimbursed via range of UK subsistence allowances. In the first instance, every effort is made to accommodate personnel in service messes where food and accommodation costs are paid direct by the Ministry of Defence. If service accommodation is used, £1.50 per 24-hour period can be claimed for incidental expenses.
If service accommodation is unavailable, the preferred option is to arrange hotel B&B accommodation through MOD's Central Hotel Booking Service (CHBS) that make bookings within a set cost ceiling. Personnel can also book hotel accommodation direct and are then entitled to claim the cost up to a set ceiling of £50 per night. Personnel staying in a hotel may claim a total of £22.90 per 24-hour period to cover additional costs incurred for lunch, dinner and travel, and incidental expenses such as telephone calls or laundry. Alternatively, personnel may choose to stay with family or friends and claim £27.90 per 24-hour period to cover food, and other expenses.
If no overnight accommodation is required and service messing is not available, then a daily subsistence rate of £4.25 for over five hours and £9.30 for over 10 hours can be claimed for meals. This range of subsistence
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allowances is designed for periods of up to 30 days after which a different set of accommodation allowances are normally used.
Service Accommodation
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of the funds being spent on the repeated repairs to service accommodation over the last five financial years. [36824]
Dr. Moonie: The defence estate currently consists of around 64,000 buildings. The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Type 22 Frigates
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to sell Type 22 frigates to Chile; what discussions his Department has had to this effect, and if he will make a statement. [49743]
Dr. Moonie: There are no current plans to sell surplus RN Type 22 frigates to Chile because of the lack of available vessels to offer in the immediate future. We have nevertheless maintained dialogue with the Chilean authorities over ship disposal issues to establish future possibilities.
Submarines
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fleet submarines will be in service in 2009. [49749]
Mr. Ingram: On current plans there will be nine fleet submarines in service in 2009. In the early years of the next decade this will increase to the SDR approved force level of 10. However, the introduction into service of the new ASTUTE class submarines and the arrangement of the long-term refit programme will enable sufficient submarines to be available to ensure that the Royal Navy is able to meet its standing commitments and fulfil contingent tasking prior to the establishment of the planned force levels.
Tornado F3
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Tornado F3 are fully operational with AMRAAM missiles; and what the operational inventory is of Tornado F3. [49755]
Mr. Ingram: There are currently 94 Tornado F3 aircraft fully operational with AMRAAM missiles. The Tornado F3 Required Operating Fleet which is defined as the theoretical number of aircraft needed to support the operational task is 93.
Firearm Deaths
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 947W, how many members of HM armed services have (a) died and (b) been injured as a result of the discharge of firearms on or near military property (i) in Great Britain and (ii) overseas in each of the past eight years; what the results of (1) internal investigations and (2) coroner's inquest for each fatality
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were; where other soldiers were involved what disciplinary actions were taken; where papers were passed to the CPS, how many weeks were taken to reach a decision on prosecution; and what the result was. [48677]
Mr. Ingram: The number of members of HM forces who have died as a result of the discharge of firearms in the last eight years is as follows:
| Army | Navy | RAF | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year of death | UK | Overseas | UK | Overseas | UK | Overseas | Total |
| 1994 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 27 |
| 1995 | 14 | 5 | — | — | 1 | — | 20 |
| 1996 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 17 |
| 1997 | 4 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 5 |
| 1998 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| 1999 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 7 |
| 2000 | 1 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 10 |
| 2001 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 9 |
| Total | 46 | 43 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 96 |
Note:
Figures exclude the territorial army, reserves, foreign service personnel and the Gibraltar regiment.
It is not possible to provide details of the exact location of each of these deaths or the results of the related coroner's inquests as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Nor is it possible to provide details of the number of injuries, owing to the current unreliability of data held as a result of the under reporting of sickness and injuries; this situation is, however, currently being addressed. I am withholding information on the result of internal investigations or any resultant disciplinary action in accordance with Exemption 12 of the Code of Practice of Access to Government Information.
Naval Manpower
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Royal Navy's manpower is committed to operations. [49758]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 April 2002, Official Report, columns 1019–20W.
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