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Western European Union
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the President of the Western European Union; and what issues were discussed. [54629]
Private Gray
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2002, Official Report, column 260W, when his Department was informed by Surrey police of the re-opening of the investigation into Private Gray's death; what the terms of the investigation are; what his Department's involvement in the investigation is; and if he will make a statement. [54811]
Dr. Moonie: Surrey police informed the Ministry of Defence of their intention to reinvestigate the death of Private Gray on 30 April 2002. This followed their meeting with the family of Private Gray the previous day. The terms of the investigation are a matter for the Surrey police, who have stated that no further information will be released until their inquiries are complete. The Surrey police investigation team is fully independent of the MOD, although the Army will co-operate fully with the investigation as required.
War Cemeteries
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 March 2002, to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson), Official Report, column 166W, on war cemeteries, if he will place in the Library copies of the correspondence between the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the French Ministry of the Interior concerning plans to build on a war cemetery for a new Paris airport. [54881]
Dr. Moonie: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an independent Commonwealth organisation governed by Royal Charter. As it is not a British Government Department I am unable to place copies of correspondence between the Commission and the French Government in the Library.
Afghanistan
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to use SHAPE military experts for planning a Turkish-led ISAF in Kabul. [54837]
Mr. Hoon: There are no such plans.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from his (a) Turkish and (b) EU counterparts regarding the possibility of using SHAPE's military experts for planning a Turkish-led ISAF; and if he will make a statement. [54836]
Mr. Hoon: I have not receive any representations from my Turkish or EU counterparts on this subject.
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I am not aware of any recent requests from Turkey for NATO operational planning assistance, nor of this prospect having been raised in EU circles. However, should a request be received for planning support, this would be considered on its merits.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what conditions need to be met by his Department prior to Turkey agreeing to lead ISAF in Kabul. [54838]
Mr. Hoon: Turkey formally announced on 29 April its willingness to take over the leadership of the ISAF. Wide-ranging discussions have taken place, and continue, between Turkey, the US, the UK and others on the practical steps that will be needed to implement this decision. These include the support that may be needed from the UK, as the current lead nation, before during and after the handover of responsibility to Turkey.
Fluorescent Particle Trials
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2002, Official Report, columns 535–36W, on fluorescent particle trials, if he will place in the Library the conclusions of the subsequent defence trials involving simulant organisms referred to; what assessment he has made of the implications of the impact of the trials on human health; and if he will make a statement. [54343]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 7 May 2002]: The trials were undertaken to assess the performance of developmental and in-service protective equipment and detection systems. I am withholding the conclusions in accordance with Exemption 1a of the Code of Practice to Access to Government Information, relating to defence, security and international relations.
Defence Analytical Service Agency
Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Quinquennial Review of the Defence Analytical Service Agency will take place. [55339]
Dr. Moonie: The Quinquennial Review (QQR) of the Defence Analytical Service Agency (DASA) will begin this month, though some preliminary work is already under way. The aim of the review is to examine how DASA has performed since the previous QQR in 1997 and to recommend what measures should be taken in order to reinforce the agency's delivery of cost-effective services to its customers and to ensure that effective use is made of its statistical expertise and other human resources.
The review will proceed in two phases. First, a number of "framework" issues will be examined, including whether DASA is best placed as a Next Steps Agency within the Ministry of Defence to exploit its full potential and whether existing governance arrangements require adjustment. The report of this first phase of the review is expected by the end of May.
Second, the review will address, in the light of the answers to the "framework" issues, a number of questions concerned with the operating efficiency of DASA, including the development of a more appropriate relationship between other providers of statistics within Government and a review of the current organisational configuration to ensure that it is best placed to meet
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customer requirements both now and in the future. The report of this second phase of the review is expected at the end of August.
The review will be carried out by a small team, which will consult closely with DASA management and other stakeholders, including DASA's customers. The MOD is interested also to hear the view of other organisations or individuals who would like to make a contribution to the review. Those wishing to do so should send their contributions to:
- DASA QQR Team
Room 30, St. Giles Court
St. Giles High Street
London WC2H 8LD.
Medical Categories (Army)
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Army are in the medical categories (a) FE, (b) FT, (c) LE, (d) LT, (e) BE, (f) BT, (g) HO, (h) HO (UK), (i) HONI and (j) HO (UK) NI; in each case what percentage of (i) establishment and (ii) actual manning this represents; and if he will make a statement. [54131]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 7 May 2002]: Details of UK Trained Army Peronnel (UKTAP) in the specified medical categories are shown in the table. This excludes Gurkhas and Full-Time Reserve Service Personnel for which this information is not centrally held.
| Total number | Liability (percentage) | Strength (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FE | 86,214 | 82.96 | 89.33 |
| FT | 5 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| LE | 7,356 | 7.08 | 7.62 |
| LT | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| BE | 11 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| BT | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| HO | 850 | 0.82 | 0.88 |
| HO(UK) | 165 | 0.16 | 0.17 |
| HONNI | 587 | 0.56 | 0.61 |
| HO(UK)(NNI) | 31 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Liability (MPT) | 103,926 | ||
| Strength | 96,507 |
It should be noted, however, that the above categories do not give a complete picture as there are a number of other categories for which details have not been requested.
Of the above categories, only Forward Everywhere has no restrictions placed upon it. This does not, however, mean that personnel in the other categories are non-effective. Many categories restrict only the locations that personnel may be posted to or the type of work they may undertake. Pregnancy is obviously a prime example of this situation, and it should be noted that the non-FE figure for women is currently much higher than for men.
Territorial Army
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) men and (b) women are serving in the Territorial Army. [54692]
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Dr. Moonie: As at 1 April 2002, the strength of the Territorial Army stood at 39,663 personnel, including those mobilised in support of operations. Of these, 32,473 were male and 7,190 female.
Medical Treatment
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to make the short-term measure announced in December 2000 temporarily to supplement NHS treatment of armed forces personnel with private provision into a permanent policy; and if he will make a statement. [54129]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 7 May 2002]: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to my answer of 9 January 2001, Official Report, column 482W to the hon. Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers) in which I referred to contracts having been placed with private sector providers to help return personnel to fully deployable status. We have continued to fund a limited amount of private health care treatment, where this is justified, under central and local arrangements. For the long term, in announcing recently the outcome of the quinquennial review of our medical agencies on 11 April 2002, Official Report, columns 556–57W, we stated that while developing and strengthening our relationship with the NHS, we would also make use of private sector healthcare providers as necessary.
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