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18 Dec 2002 : Column 804W—continued
Cruise Missiles
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cruise missiles are held by his Department and if he will make a statement on their readiness. [87918]
Mr. Ingram: I am withholding the information requested in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Defence, Security and International Relations).
Defence Medical Services
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many consultants have been recruited to Defence Medical Services through the scheme which offers a #50,000 joining bonus. [84623]
Dr. Moonie: The initiative to offer #50,000 'golden hellos' to consultants in certain key shortage categories and to vocationally trained general medical practitioners, in return for a five year commission, was only announced on 19 November 2002. It is therefore too early for any individuals to have been recruited into the Defence Medical Services.
European Security and Defence Policy
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to maintain the distinction between the roles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Common European Security and Defence Policy. [87310]
Mr. Hoon [holding answer 17 December 2002]: NATO and the European Security and Defence Policy have clearly-defined and complementary roles. NATO forms the basis of the collective defence of its members and plays an important role in crisis management. ESDP allows the EU to launch military operations where NATO as a whole is not engaged, within the scope of the Petersberg tasks, which are defined in the EU Treaty as
- Xhumanitarian and rescue tasks, peace-keeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking."
These roles have been reflected in agreed language in both organisations: for example, the conclusions of the 2000 Nice European Council, and the communiqué from the North Atlantic Council meeting a few days later. On this basis, the EU and NATO have agreed to create a strategic partnership between the two organisations in crisis management.
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Fire Dispute
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was in his Department's Balance Sheet at 31 March of the equipment used in providing services withdrawn by the fire brigades. [87858]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 17 December 2002]: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Friendly Fire
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the armed forces' IFF status for preventing friendly fire incidents. [87921]
Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom has fitted Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) to its front line aircraft, ships and land-based air defence systems. The current generation of IFF equipment (IFF Mk 10) is in the process of being replaced by an updated system, the Mk 12 standard, through the Successor IFF (SIFF) programme. The Mk 12 provides additional security by means of high reliability encrypted interrogation of platforms. IFF is one of a number of methods employed by the armed forces to assist Combat Identification and to minimise the risk of friendly fire incidents. Combat Identification is achieved through a triad of measures: Situational Awareness, Target Identification, and Tactics, Techniques and Procedures. These measures are complementary and IFF plays a part in improving situational awareness and contributes to effective identification.
Gulf War
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what drugs were administered to servicemen during the Gulf War; what drugs have been (a) administered to date and (b) medically approved to be administered to servicemen serving in Iraq at a future date; and if he will make a statement. [86246]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 10 December 2002]: No decisions have yet been made concerning military action against Iraq.
Service personnel are given drugs appropriate to any medical or dental conditions they may experience whether at home or on deployment. In addition, regular and volunteer reserve forces personnel are offered a range of routine vaccinations as part of an established immunisation programme. Personnel deploying to areas with a specific health hazard, and those in special occupational risk groups, such as medical personnel, may be given additional vaccinations. Drugs or vaccinations may also be provided to help protect service personnel against the effects of chemical and biological weapons.
Drugs and medicines given to armed forces personnel by medical staff are normally those approved by the Medicines Control Agency (MCA). As is the case in the NHS, drugs and medicines that are not licensed in the United Kingdom by the MCA may be used if prescribed and administered by a doctor.
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HMS Ocean
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what maintenance work is being done to HMS Ocean; what the cost of this maintenance is; when the decision was made to do the maintenance work; what the original planned cost was of the work; and if he will make a statement. [87803]
Mr. Ingram: HMS Ocean completed a planned upkeep maintenance period in November at a cost of around #5 million. This package of work was completed satisfactorily. During post upkeep trials however, the Port Main Engine suffered a major defect. The defect resulted from a ship system failure which could not have been anticipated and was not related to the work undertaken during the maintenance period. The cost of this repair work is approximately #450,000.
Inoculations
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what risk assessment has been carried out on the side effects of recent inoculations given to armed services personnel posted to the middle east. [82691]
Dr. Moonie: Decisions on vaccinations for service personnel are made on the basis of expert medical advice and take full account of any risk from adverse reactions, balanced against the risks from disease. Routine inoculations given to service personnel deploying to the middle east are licensed products that have been rigorously tested for safety. This includes vaccination against anthrax, which has been offered to personnel deploying to the middle east since May 2001 under the Department's voluntary immunisation programme (VIP). All personnel who elect to receive immunisation against anthrax under the VIP are briefed on, and instructed to report to medical staff, any adverse reactions to the vaccine. No serious adverse reactions have been reported.
Pilots
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the shortfall is of trained pilots in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force. [87855]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 17 December 2002]: For the Royal Navy the overall shortfall of trained pilots is currently 51 (9 per cent.). This however, includes staff and administrative posts; the RN's front-line shortfall is less than 5 per cent. For the Army the shortfall is 10 (1.2 per cent.) and in the RAF the current shortfall of junior officer pilots is 109 (7.3 per cent.) of the requirement.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's signed PFI contracts have been independently audited since they were signed and started; who conducted the audit; when the audit took place; and if he will make a statement. [87580]
Mr. Ingram: The NAO is the only body to have independently audited a selection of the Department's PFI contracts. The individual project reports can be found
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on the NAO website at www.nao.gov.ukypublications/vfimsublist/vfm_ppp.htm.
18 Dec 2002 : Column 808W
The projects covered by the studies carried out are as follows:
| Title | Date |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Defence: Redevelopment of MOD Main Building | |
| HC 748, Parliamentary Session 2001–02 | 18 April 2002 |
| Ministry of Defence: The Joint Services Command and Staff College | |
| HC 537, Parliamentary Session 2001–02 | 7 February 2002 |
| The Private Finance Initiative: The Contract for the Defence Fixed Telecommunications System | |
| HC 328, Parliamentary Session 1999–2000 | 23 March 2000 |
| Ministry of Defence: The Procurement of Non-Combat Vehicles for the Royal Air Force | |
| HC 738, Parliamentary Session 1998–99 | 19 August 1999 |
The PFI training element of the Apache Helicopter contract was addressed in the following:
| Title | Date |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Building an Air Manoeuvre Capability: The Introduction of the Apache Helicopter HC1246, Parliamentary Session 2001–02 | 31 October 2002 |
QinteiQ
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what freehold (a) land and (b) buildings have been transferred by his Department to the ownership of QinetiQ, what the latest estimated value is of those assets; and how much (i) land and (ii) buildings has been leased to QinetiQ on leases in excess of 10 years. [87772]
Dr. Moonie: When QinetiQ was vested as a plc on 1 July 2001, the following sites were transferred to QinetiQ: Aberporth Airfield, Alverstoke, Angle, Aquila, Bedford (three sites), Bincleaves, Chertsey, Christchurch, Cobbett Hill, Farnborough (Cody, Pyestock and Pyestock North), Fraser, Funtington North, Haslar (DERA site, not Hospital), Hurn (three sites), Hutton Moor, Malvern, Pershore, Portsdown, West Drayton and Fort Halstead. The last formal valuation which included all these properties was on 30 June 2001. At this point, the total value of the land and buildings transferred from MOD to QinetiQ reported in the opening balance sheet of QinetiQ was #342 million.
Detailed terms and conditions for a number of leases are still subject to final negotiation. Currently, the only lease from the Ministry of Defence to QinetiQ with a term exceeding 10 years is for the satellite communications centre at West Freugh.
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