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26 Nov 2002 : Column 178W—continued

Military Equipment

Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the average expected wear time is for a pair of standard issue (a) combat boots and (b) desert boots; and what the actual wear time was for (i) combat boots and (ii) desert boots in each year since 1997; [82537]

(2) what the average wear time was for a pair of infantry combat trousers in each year since 1996. [82541]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 November 2002]: We expect combat boots to last for about 24 months and desert boots to last for about six months. Combat trousers are expected to last for about 18 to 24 months for light use and about four to six months for heavy use. Central records are not held on actual wear times, but the life expectancy depends on the conditions in which they are worn and how the item is maintained.

Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints he has received in the last 12 months from infantry soldiers regarding the quality of (a) combat boots, (b) combat trousers, (c) sleeping bags and (d) tents. [82538]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 November 2002]: In the last 12 months the Ministry of Defence has received, from armed forces personnel, a total of 30 complaints regarding combat boots, 15 complaints regarding combat trousers, no complaints regarding sleeping bags and three complaints regarding tents. These comments provide valuable feedback as we continuously seek to improve the products we provide.

Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many infantry soldiers own their own (a) boots, (b) sleeping bags and (c) tents. [82539]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 November 2002]: Service personnel are issued with the clothing and equipment required to carry out their jobs, whatever the environment. We do not maintain records on the number of infantry soldiers who have their own boots, sleeping bags and tents.

Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times his Department has changed supplier for (a) combat boots and (b) combat trousers since 1997; and what the reasons were for the change. [82540]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 November 2002]: Since 1997 the Ministry of Defence has made the following number of supplier changes:

Combat Assault Boots—Varied between two suppliers and one. Currently split between the two.


Cold Wet Weather Boots—No changes.


Desert Combat Boots—One change.


Combat Trousers—Consolidated from five supplies to one.


Desert Combat Trousers—One change.

The changes were made as part of the standard competitive tendering process.

26 Nov 2002 : Column 179W

Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pairs of combat trousers were available to an infantry company every three months in each year since 1996; and how many are available now. [82543]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 November 2002]: Each service man receives a standard issue of three pairs of combat trousers, and these are replaced as required. Units are issued with replacement stocks in line with the number of soldiers they have. Additional stocks can be ordered if this proves necessary.

Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to equip service men with suitable personal kit for deployment to the middle east in (a) winter months, (b) spring months and (c) summer months. [82614]

Dr. Moonie: The safety and well-being of all service personnel is paramount at all times and they are issued with the clothing and equipment required to carry out their jobs, whatever the environment.

Missile Defence

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a formal mechanism will be made available for the public to register their views on missile defence with his Department. [83126]

Mr. Hoon: Members of the public are welcome to write to the Ministry of Defence with their views on missile defence. I intend to publish shortly some discussion material as an aid to public debate.

Naval Vessels

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when (a) RFA Wave Ruler and (b) HMS Bulwark will enter service. [82210]

Dr. Moonie: RFA Wave Ruler is expected to enter service in March 2003.

On the basis of current information HMS Bulwark is expected to enter service in 2004. However, the exact date is under review with the company, BAES Marine.

Parachute Accidents

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each of Her Majesty's armed forces have died through parachute accidents in (i) Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) Germany and (iv) other overseas postings in each year since 1990; and what rule procedural changes have been brought about as a result of Board of Inquiry reports. [80683]

Dr. Moonie: Since 1990, 11 members of the armed forces have died as a result of parachuting accidents. To ensure that Service personnel confidentiality is not compromised, it has been necessary to group the data by cause and year, and by location and year, in the following tables:

Deaths due to parachute accidents by location: between 1 January 1990 and 15 November 2002

	Great Britain	Overseas
Royal Navy	1	0
Royal Marine	0	2
Army	1	5
RAF	1	1
Total	3	8

Note:

No deaths have occurred in Northern Ireland or Germany.

26 Nov 2002 : Column 180W

Deaths due to parachute accidents by year: between 1 January 1990 and 15 November 2002

	All deaths
1990	1
1992	1
1994	1
1995	1
1996	2
2000	2
2001	1
2002	2
Total	11

Boards of Inquiry into military parachuting are conducted by the RAF, who have responsibility for conducting and regulating all military parachute training by members of the armed forces.

There have been six completed Boards of Inquiry into these deaths. One Board of Inquiry is not yet complete, one death is pending a decision as to whether a Board of Inquiry is appropriate and the status of one is unknown. As two deaths involved personnel who were parachuting while off duty, Boards of Inquiry were not conducted.

The following procedural changes have been introduced as a result of these Boards of Inquiry:

(a) Pre-sortie briefings given to the safety boat personnel have been amended to be more specific on the recovery of parachutists from the water.


(b) Regulations and advice governing carriage of knives by parachutists and safety boat personnel have been amended.


(c) Regulations have been amended to make it mandatory for all parachutists using square parachutes to carry hook knives.


(d) Regulations governing the preparation of the parachutist's personal weapon have been amended to reduce the possibility of rigging lines snagging on the weapon.


(e) Pre-descent briefings to parachutists have been amended to include an explanation of the reasons for adopting a good position on exit from the aircraft.


(f) Pre-descent emergencies briefing to parachutists has been amended to include actions to be taken in the event that the handle, which cuts away the main parachute and activates the reserve, becomes dislodged from its retaining pocket on exit from the aircraft.


(g) Guidance on writing air instructions has been amended to ensure that instructions reflect the full nature of the activity to be undertaken.


(h) Syllabus of training and pre-descent emergencies briefing to parachutists have been amended to warn parachutists that the harness may ride up on deployment of the main parachute.


(i) Syllabus of training and pre-descent emergencies briefing to parachutists have been amended to instruct parachutists to make visual identification of main parachute cut-away pad and reserve parachute handle before cutting away the main parachute and operating the reserve.


(j) The incident reporting system was amended to fall under the auspices of the Inspectorate of Flight Safety (now Defence Aviation Safety Centre).

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(k) Syllabus of training and pre-descent briefings to parachutists have been amended to include action to be taken on encountering turbulence close to the ground.


(l) Pre-descent emergencies briefings to parachutists amended to include the possibility of turbulence when winds are at the higher end of the permitted range.


(m) Syllabus of training and pre-descent briefings to parachutists amended to emphasise the minimum operating height of the handle, which cuts away the main parachute and activates the reserve, through better use of visual stimuli.

26 Nov 2002 : Column 182W

Premature Voluntary Release

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have left the armed forces by premature voluntary release in each of the past 15 years; and what the 10 most commonly cited reasons given for premature voluntary release are. [82118]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 November 2002]: The number of trained UK regular personnel who have left the armed forces by premature voluntary release/retirement is as follows:

Financial year	Naval Service officers	Naval Service other ranks	Army officers	Army other ranks	RAF officers	RAF other ranks	Officer total	Rank total	Total
2001–02	219	1,973	543	4,982	275	1,740	1,037	8,695	9,732
2000–01	167	1,327	531	5,311	241	1,690	939	8,328	9,267
1999–2000	238	1,676	442	5,314	213	1,757	893	8,747	9,640
1998–99	164	1,706	509	5,947	243	1,742	916	9,395	10,311
1997–98	170	1,754	458	5,744	216	1,555	844	9,053	9,897
1996–97	136	1,877	373	5,851	192	1,526	701	9,254	9,955
1995–96	118	1,404	353	6,513	167	1,838	638	9,755	10,393
1994–95	95	1,087	254	6,377	141	1,432	490	8,896	9,386
1993–94	47	1,328	191	5,571	178	1,273	416	8,172	8,588
1992–93	146	1,548	319	7,490	288	1,791	753	10,829	11,582
1991–92	209	2,289	590	8,740	293	2,632	1,092	13,661	14,753
1990–91	254	2,919	704	10,811	332	3,250	1,290	16,980	18,270
1989–90	233	2,654	769	12,058	400	3,891	1,402	18,603	20,005
1988–89	209	2,118	691	11,641	359	3,276	1,259	17,035	18,294
1987–88	203	2,454	723	10,610	336	2,264	1,262	15,328	16,590

There is no single reason why individuals decide to leave the services and reasons are not necessarily the same across all three services, but some common reasons can be gleaned. These are as follows:
Current and future job satisfaction;
Wish to take up another career;
Better employment opportunities outside;
Family stability;
Promotion prospects;
Separation from family.

For the Naval Service from the Ratings Notice Giving Survey 2001–02, the following are the most common reasons listed in order of importance as to why people leave the service: The desire to live at home; Wish to take up another career; To marry/raise a family; Ability to plan long term; Time spent on mundane tasks; Level of job satisfaction experienced; Extent of family disruption; Pay in general; Always intended to leave after a number of years. The Army routinely carries out a survey of leavers. The six most frequently cited reasons for leaving the Army given by leavers are identified below.

Lack of job satisfaction;
Amount of separation from spouse/partner;
Better civilian job opportunities outside the Army;
Effect of the Army lifestyle on marriage/relationship;
Staying longer will make it more difficult to start a new career;
Compassionate reasons.

For the RAF, the Command Scientific Support Branch (CSSB) compiles an annual leavers survey that examines why airmen, airwomen and airmen aircrew are leaving the service. They also administer a questionnaire to all officers who have actively decided to leave the RAF, either at an option point or on PVR terms. The findings from the 2000–01 administration show that there is no single prevailing reason for leaving the RAF. However, the main reasons (which are similar across all branches and trades) are as follows. For officers the five most important individual items from the questionnaire were:

Future job satisfaction;
Employment opportunities outside the RAF;
Career prospects outside the RAF;
Current job satisfaction;
Service morale.

For other ranks the five issues found to account for the majority of airmen's reasons for leaving were: Lack of job satisfaction;

Promotion prospects;
Staying any longer would make it difficult to start a second career;
Family stability;

Promotion does not appear to be related to abilities.

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