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22 Oct 2002 : Column 147W—continued
Iraq
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what preparatory work has been carried out within his Department to facilitate the deployment of the UK armed forces in the event of a war with Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [75717]
Mr. Hoon: No decision regarding the commitment of United Kingdom Armed Forces to any potential military operations in Iraq has been taken. Military action is neither imminent nor inevitable. The Government of Iraq is being given every chance to comply with its obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
22 Oct 2002 : Column 148W
However, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear, alongside the diplomacy, there must be genuine preparedness and planning to take action if diplomacy fails. We routinely take prudent steps to ensure that our armed forces are ready, fully trained and fully equipped for any actions that they may be called upon to undertake.
Watchkeeper
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the equipment and systems procured for Watchkeeper will conform to the proposed NATO STANAG 4586. [75844]
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Dr. Moonie: The United Kingdom is contributing to the development of NATO STANAG 4586 that relates to the definition of Standard Interfaces of Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Control Systems for NATO UAV interoperability. Whilst this has yet to go through the ratification process it is intended that the equipment and systems procured for Watchkeeper will conform to the principles of interoperability defined therein.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the successful bidders for the assessment phase of Watchkeeper will be announced. [75843]
Dr. Moonie: The bids for the Assessment phase of Watchkeeper are currently being assessed and it is hoped to announce the result shortly.
Tracer Programme User Trials
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the UK/US Tracer Programme user trials will cost; how long these trials will be; when the results are expected to be published; and if he will make a statement. [75997]
22 Oct 2002 : Column 150W
Dr. Moonie: Technology demonstrations for the TRACER programme took place during June and July 2002. The cost of these trials was included in the overall Assessment Phase contracts valued at some #90 million. Final reports have now been delivered and technology maturity data that they contain will inform decisions within the Department about how individual technologies might be applied to future equipment programmes. The results contain commercially sensitive proprietary information and there are no plans to publish them.
Armed Forces (Strength)
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) the Royal Air Force were aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 19, (iii) 20 to 24, (iv) 25 to 29, (v) 30 to 34, (vi) 35 to 39, (vii) 40 to 44, (viii) 45 to 49 and (ix) 50 years and over on 1 April each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [76166]
Mr. Ingram: The percentage of the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) the Royal Air Force by age categories are listed in the following tables:
| Navy Officers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months | April 2002 | July 2001 | July 2000 | July 1999 | July 1998 | July 1997 |
| Age (yrs) | Percentage | |||||
| Under 18 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18 to 19 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| 20 to 24 | 9.4 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.7 |
| 25 to 29 | 18.0 | 18.5 | 18.9 | 19.5 | 19.7 | 20.1 |
| 30 to 34 | 17.7 | 18.6 | 19.2 | 19.4 | 19.9 | 19.4 |
| 35 to 39 | 19.7 | 19.5 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 19.9 | 20.1 |
| 40 to 44 | 16.9 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 15.5 | 14.4 | 13.1 |
| 45 to 49 | 10.7 | 10.2 | 10.3 | 10.8 | 11.1 | 12.0 |
| 50 and over | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.3 |
| Grand Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Navy Other Ranks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months | April 2002 | July 2001 | July 2000 | July 1999 | July 1998 | July 1997 |
| Age (yrs) | Percentage | |||||
| Under 18 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| 18 to 19 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 6.0 | 3.9 |
| 20 to 24 | 24.3 | 22.7 | 2– | 18.4 | 18.5 | 20.7 |
| 25 to 29 | 18.0 | 20.1 | 23.2 | 25.3 | 27.2 | 28.2 |
| 30 to 34 | 20.3 | 20.6 | 19.8 | 19.4 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| 35 to 39 | 17.7 | 17.8 | 18.3 | 18.9 | 18.5 | 18.4 |
| 40 to 44 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.2 |
| 45 to 49 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| 50 and over | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Grand Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
(b) Army
22 Oct 2002 : Column 151W
| Army Other Ranks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months | April 2002 | July 2001 | July 2000 | July 1999 | July 1998 | July 1997 |
| Age (yrs) | Percentage | |||||
| Under 18 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| 18 to 19 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 |
| 20 to 24 | 28.5 | 28.2 | 27.2 | 26.4 | 26.5 | 28.0 |
| 25 to 29 | 19.6 | 20.9 | 22.9 | 24.5 | 26.6 | 28.5 |
| 30 to 34 | 18.3 | 18.6 | 18.1 | 17.8 | 17.7 | 17.1 |
| 35 to 39 | 13.5 | 13.4 | 13.0 | 12.3 | 11.8 | 11.2 |
| 40 to 44 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| 45 to 49 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| 50 and over | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Grand Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
(c) Royal Air Force
| RAF Officers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months | April 2002 | July 2001 | July 2000 | July 1999 | July 1998 | July 1997 |
| Age (yrs) | Percentage | |||||
| Under 18 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18 to 19 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 20 to 24 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 6.0 |
| 25 to 29 | 14.1 | 14.8 | 15.7 | 16.3 | 17.4 | 17.9 |
| 30 to 34 | 20.8 | 21.1 | 21.6 | 22.5 | 22.8 | 22.4 |
| 35 to 39 | 21.5 | 20.9 | 20.1 | 19.4 | 19.0 | 18.3 |
| 40 to 44 | 13.7 | 13.3 | 13.0 | 13.1 | 12.8 | 13.0 |
| 45 to 49 | 10.5 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 10.8 | 11.4 |
| 50 and over | 10.8 | 11.3 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 11.4 | 10.9 |
| Grand Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| RAF Other Ranks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months | April 2002 | July 2001 | July 2000 | July 1999 | July 1998 | July 1997 |
| Age (yrs) | Percentage | |||||
| Under 18 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| 18 to 19 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 2.4 |
| 20 to 24 | 19.7 | 18.5 | 16.3 | 13.6 | 12.2 | 13.6 |
| 25 to 29 | 16.4 | 18.0 | 21.0 | 24.3 | 28.4 | 30.6 |
| 30 to 34 | 21.3 | 22.0 | 22.1 | 22.0 | 22.0 | 22.6 |
| 35 to 39 | 19.6 | 19.8 | 19.9 | 19.9 | 19.1 | 17.3 |
| 40 to 44 | 11.0 | 10.2 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 8.3 | 7.8 |
| 45 to 49 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
| 50 and over | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.1 |
| Grand Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Note:
– denotes 0
| Year | % increase to paybill of non-industrial staff | % increase to paybill of industrial staff |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2.7 | 3.0 |
| 1998 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
| 1999 | 2.7 | 3.5 |
| 2000 | 2.6 | 3.5 |
| 2001 | 2.7 | 3.7 |
| 2002 | 3.2 | |
| 2003 | 3.1 | |
| 2004 | 3.1 | |
| 2005 | 3.1 | |
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