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DEFENCE
Times Letter
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when he was advised, and by whom, that the named authors of a letter to The Times published on 13 May were not serving officers; [58997]
- (2) when his Department informed The Times that the names of the officers purporting to have signed the letter published on 13 May were bogus. [58998]
Mr. Ingram: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence was advised on the day of publication by the Director News that the signed authors of the letter were not members of the Armed Forces.
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I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 June 2002, Official Report, column 757W to the hon. Member for Essex North (Mr. Jenkin).
Ro-Ro Ferries
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress with procurement of roll-on, roll-off ferries requirement as listed in the strategic defence review. [51493]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 April 2002]: Construction of the six ships to meet the Ministry of Defence's requirement is proceeding to schedule. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 June 2002, Official Report, column 1038W to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Mr. Laxton).
HMS Boxer and HMS Brave
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his deployment plans are for HMS Boxer and HMS Brave. [66761]
Mr. Ingram: HMS Boxer and HMS Brave are currently moored at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth.
The ships have been de-equipped to an unclassified status and all stores have been removed. As part of the disposal process, significant quantities of material have been returned to Ministry of Defence stores to assist with fulfilling fleet shortage requirements.
The platforms are designated for CINCFLEET High Seas Firing (i.e. Hulk Targets) in 2003–05.
HMS Victoria
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of repairs being made to HMS Victoria; how much of this cost the UK will bear; and if he will make a statement. [67422]
Mr. Ingram: My officials have not received any formal representations from the Canadian Government about the condition of the ex upholder class submarine HMS Unseen, now re-named HMCS Victoria, and as such have no information about the cost of repairs. My officials will of course assist with any Canadian inquiries.
HMS Monmouth
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the refit of HMS Monmouth will be complete; what the total cost of the refit will be; when she will return to service; and if he will make a statement. [67143]
Mr. Ingram: HMS Monmouth's refit, including associated sea trials, is planned to complete in spring 2003, at which time the ship will be available for operational deployment. The final price of the refit is still in negotiation, and will be based upon the eventual work package that will emerge from ship surveys. However, it is expected to be in the region of £19 million.
Invincible Class Carriers
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many days each of the Invincible class carriers were operational in each of the past five years. [67566]
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Mr. Ingram: For the past five years the Invincible Class Carriers were operational for the following number of days:
| Invincible | Illustrious | Ark Royal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 333 | 244 | 0 |
| 1998 | 193 | 301 | 0 |
| 1999 | 225 | 201 | 0 |
| 2000 | 264 | 263 | 0 |
| 2001 | 346 | 103 | 53 |
During the period 1997 until late 2001, HMS ARK ROYAL was not available due firstly, to a period of extended readiness, followed by a major refit period.
84 Squadron
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the establishment of pilots on 84 Squadron is; and how many of these are civilians. [67560]
Mr. Ingram: Five pilots are established on 84 Squadron including the Commanding Officer. None of the pilots is a civilian.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ground crew support the operations of 84 Squadron; and how many of these are civilians. [67561]
Mr. Ingram: Forty-seven ground crew support the operations of 84 Squadron. None of the ground crew is a civilian.
Armilla Patrol
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vessels have been searched by Armilla Patrol warships in each of the past five years. [67564]
Mr. Ingram: The Royal Navy continues to make a valuable contribution to the Multinational Interception Force deployed in the Gulf, in accordance with UN SCR 665, to verify Iraqi compliance with UN sanctions which focus controls on Iraq's attempts to export oil illegally and import defence equipment and weapons of mass destruction related goods.
MIF operations are a coalition effort and so are not recorded nationally. However, from ships logs, we believe that in the last three years RN vessels have participated in a total of 145 boardings: 36 in 2000; 57 in 2001; and 52 to date in 2002.
Literacy/Numeracy Rates
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces he estimates have (a) literacy and (b) numeracy problems; and if he will make a statement. [67104]
Mr. Ingram: I will write to hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Territorial Army
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the deployment of the TA (a) as battlefield replacements and (b) formed units. [52478]
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Dr. Moonie: The Strategic Defence Review concluded that the main role of the Territorial Army should be to provide formed units and individuals as an essential reinforcement to their Regular Army counterparts when deployed on operations across all military tasks.
In keeping with this, both volunteer and regular reservists have contributed significantly to operations at home and overseas in recent times.
Munitions Depots
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of the closure of the munitions depot at Dean Hill, Wiltshire, what will be (a) the expected annual savings to his Department, (b) the anticipated revenue from the sale of married quarters to (i) sitting tenants and (ii) the market, (c) the estimated cost of connection of the married quarters estate to civilian services for (A) electricity, (B) water and (C) gas, (d) the ongoing annual maintenance of the site broken down into (1) buildings, (2) ground maintenance and (3) security and (e) the estimated market value of the site at sale. [65705]
Mr. Ingram: The annual savings from the closure of the Dean Hill site are estimated to be £2.083 million once all one-off expenditure is taken into account.
We currently estimate the cost of separating as, electricity—£50,000; water—£40,000; sewerage—£90,000. Gas is already supplied from a separate Calor gas tank. All figures exclude VAT. The annual maintenance budget can be broken down as follows: buildings—£894,000; grounds maintenance—£25,000. So far as security is concerned the approximate cost of the Ministry of Defence police presence at DM Dean Hill was £800,000 for financial year 2001–02.
Although the Ministry of Defence has assessed the disposal value of the West Dean site and associated residential properties, these are likely to be sold on the open market. To release our estimates of value could influence the eventual receipt, and I am, therefore, withholding this information under Exemption 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Departmental Report
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the 2002 departmental report will be published. [49577]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 15 April 2002, Official Report, column 774W by the then Chief Secretary (Mr. Smith).
Armed Forces Pay
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the average annual rise in pay for individuals employed in the armed forces in each year from 1990–91 to 2000–02; what the increase in the defence budget was in each year; and if he will make a statement. [66267]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 July 2002]: Information on increase in the pay of the armed forces is not available in the form requested. However, the annual pay awards for the armed forces as recommended by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB), for the years
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1990–91 to 2000–01 are outlined in the table. Overall annual increases in the defence budget for these years are also shown.
| Financial year | Pay awards | Increase/decrease in defence budget |
|---|---|---|
| 1990–91 | 8.70 | -0.85 |
| 1991–92 | 9.50 | 3.72 |
| 1992–93 | 5.90 | -9.19 |
| 1993–94 | 1.50 | -3.06 |
| 1994–95 | 3.00 | -2.16 |
| 1995–96 | 2.30 | -7.27 |
| 1996–97 | 3.20 | 0.67 |
| 1997–98 | 3.00 | -6.18 |
| 1998–99 | 3.75 | 1.17 |
| 1999–2000 | 3.50 | -2.00 |
| 2000–01 | 3.30 | 2.50 |
The figures for the pay awards reflect the AFPRB recommendations for the majority of service personnel in each year. Within these overall awards, however, some personnel have received higher increases where the review body has targeted specific ranks in a given year. The figures in the table exclude the effects of the staging of the implementation of the awards, increases in the level of X factor and increases due to adjustments to the pension abatement.
Staging of pay awards for the armed forces took place in 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
The figures for the defence budget represent the cash outturn in each of the years including the additional costs of operations.
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