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22 Jan 2003 : Column 324W—continued
Fair Trade
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what fair trade criteria he sets when deciding upon what suppliers to use. [89911]
Mr. Ingram: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development has made clear, the Government are committed to supporting ethical trading wherever possible and provide significant support to the Fairtrade Foundation's efforts in promoting the supply and marketing of Fairtrade products.
The setting of Fairtrade criteria for the selection of suppliers would be contrary to the EC public procurement directives, which apply to this type of procurement. These rules prohibit both positive and negative forms of discrimination. The Ministry of Defence's approach is to publish its forthcoming, higher value, requirements for products that might have Fairtrade sources of supply in the Official Journal of the European Communities, and to set out in those advertisements the supplier selection and contract award criteria that will be applied. Fairtrade suppliers who satisfy the criteria and offer value for money solutions to MOD's requirements will always have every opportunity to be successful.
Field Hospitals
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many field hospitals are deployable; and if he will make a statement; [91517]
- (2) what is the (a) establishment and (b) strength of each (i) regular and (ii) reserve field hospital; and where each is based. [91515]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 20 January 2003]: The establishment and strength of each of the regular and reserve field hospital units, together with their locations, is shown in the following table:
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| Unit | Establishment | Strength | Based |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 FD HOSP | 105 | 89 | Thornhill Bks, Aldershot, Hants |
| 33 FD HOSP | 105 | 105 | Fort Blockhouse, Gosport, Hants |
| 34 FD HOSP | 105 | 91 | Queen Elizabeth Bks, Strensall, Yorkshire |
| 201 FD HOSP(V) | 416 (TA) 12 (Regular) | 368 | Fenham Bks, Newcastle Upon Tyne |
| 202 FD HOSP (V) | 415 (TA) 16 (Regular) | 358 | Roger Nutbeem House, Kings Heath, Birmingham |
| 203 FD HOSP (V) | 416 (TA) 13 (Regular) | 260 | TA Centre, Llandaff North, Cardiff |
| 204 FD HOSP (V) | 416(TA) 12 (Regular) | 271 | TA Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 205 FD HOSP (V) | 416 (TA) 12 (Regular) | 308 | Graham House, Glasgow Scotland |
| 207 FD HOSP (V) | 415 (TA) 16 (Regular) | 323 | TA Centre, Kings Road, Manchester |
| 208 FD HOSP (V) | 416 (TA) 13 (Regular) | 337 | Chavasse House, Sarum Road, Liverpool |
| 212 FD HOSP (V) | 416 (TA) 13 (Regular) | 294 | Endcliffe Hall, Endcliffe Vale Road, Sheffield |
| 243 FD HOSP (V) | 416 (TA) 16 (Regular) | 235 | TA Centre ,Keynsham, Bristol |
| 256 FD HOSP (V) | 416 (TA) 16 (regular) | 316 | TA Centre, Walworth, London |
| 306 FD HOSP (V) | 429 (TA) 0 (Regular) | 251 | Imphal Bks, Fulford Road, York |
We can currently deploy four field hospitals, which would be manned by both Regular and Reserve personnel.
HM Lifeguards
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents involving members of the public being attacked by horses used by HM Lifeguards in Whitehall have occurred in each of the last five years; in how many cases this has resulted in claims against his Department; and what has been the result in each case. [91562]
Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has not received any details of incidents within the last 12 months of members of the public being attacked by horses of the Lifeguards in Whitehall. Information relating to the previous four years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. No claims for compensation have been received during the last five years.
HMS Coventry and HMS London
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the disposal of HMS Coventry and HMS London; and if he will make a statement. [90339]
Mr. Ingram: I can confirm that the Romanian Government have decided to acquire HMS Coventry and HMS London under Government-to-Government arrangements. The Acquisition Agreement was countersigned earlier last week by my noble Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement, Lord Bach, and the Romanian State Secretary for Armaments, Dr. Gheorge Matache. BAE Systems will act as the United Kingdom prime contractor.
22 Jan 2003 : Column 326W
The Romanian Navy will receive highly capable and NATO compatible warships to meet their operational requirements and provide increased security in the region.
It is fitting that having completed their service in the Royal Navy, the ships will continue their useful service with Romania, which has recently been invited to become a member of NATO.
HMS Sheffield
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the programme is for the disposal of HMS Sheffield; and what revenue has been or is expected to be raised by her disposal. [91220]
Mr. Ingram: The final disposal programme and therefore subsequent revenue relating to HMS Sheffield have yet to be determined. However, I can confirm that Government-to-Government discussions are in progress with a potential customer. It is not our practice to provide details of current and sensitive disposal sales discussions and I am therefore withholding that information in accordance with Exemption 1 (International Relations) and Exemption 13 (Third Party's Commercial Confidences) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Illegal Drugs/Contraband
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the totals of (a) ships intercepted and (b) seizures made of (i) contraband and (ii) illegal drugs by the Royal Navy in each of the past five years. [91241]
Mr. Ingram: The information requested as regards seizures of illegal drugs by the Royal Navy over the last five years is as follows.
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| Date | Ship | Value | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1999 | Marlborough | 1 billion | Cocaine |
| November 1999 | Northumberland | 135 million | Cocaine |
| July 2001 | Coventry | 80 million | Cocaine |
| July 2002 | Newcastle | 1.5 million | Marijuana |
| July 2002 | Newcastle | 42 million | Cocaine |
| September 2002 | Grafton | — | Marijuana |
| October 2002 | Grafton | 65 million | Cocaine |
However, statistics relating to ship interceptions and seizures of contraband are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Iraq
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what level of BA/Rescue team support is required to support the planned deployment of Royal Naval and Royal Air Force personnel to the Persian Gulf; and what impact such a deployment would have on emergency military fire cover in the United Kingdom. [92649]
Mr. Ingram: Royal Navy vessels do not sail without a full complement of damage control and fire-fighting capabilities, which include breathing apparatus and trained personnel. The level of such support varies from ship to ship. The current Naval Task Group 03 deployment is fully equipped and has the trained personnel to deal with fire hazards. The RAF have trained personnel in the Gulf region to support long-term operations. No additional RAF personnel have been deployed. There has been no effect on emergency military fire cover in the United Kingdom and none is anticipated.
Job Sharing
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the extent of job sharing in his Department. [90857]
Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence is committed to the work/life balance of its civilian staff. A range of flexible working patterns including part time working, flexible working hours, home working and job sharing is available to civilian staff by agreement with their management.
United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2002, Chapter 2, table 2.33 shows 5,004 civilian staff (excluding those in Trading Funds) employed on a part time basis at 1 April 2002. At 15 January 2003, 594 civilian staff were recorded centrally as being employed formally under job sharing arrangements.
Joint Task Force Exercise
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what problems of compatibility were experienced between British and US communications equipment during the US Department of Defence's Joint Task Force Exercise. [85651]
Mr. Ingram: Exercise Internal Look was a US 'Command Post' exercise. The only communications equipment employed was Command and Control (C2) computer networks. Each nation employed national
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systems, which were not linked, and both also used a coalition C2 network which meant that compatibility problems were not an issue during the exercise.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops were involved in the US Department of Defence's Joint Task Force Exercise. [85658]
Mr. Ingram: Exercise Internal Look 03 took place in December 2002.
The number of United Kingdom personnel taking part in the exercise changed on a daily basis. About 830 were involved full-time for the majority of the exercise's duration.
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