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29 Jan 2003 : Column 859W—continued

Reservists' Pensions

Mr. Jenkin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are in place for reservists to continue with company pensions when they are called up; and if he will make a statement. [93651]

Dr. Moonie: The Reserve Forces (Call-out and Recall) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 1997 (Statutory Instrument 1997 No 309) allows Reservists to continue payments into their civilian employers' pension scheme while they are called out. Under the regulations, the Ministry of Defence has powers to pay the employer's pension contribution, provided that the reservist continues to pay any employee's share required by the scheme. Pension scheme administrators must accept the MOD's payments for this purpose.

Service Personnel (Gulf)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the cost of the deployment of troops and tanks to the Gulf announced on 20 January. [93900]

Mr. Ingram: The information requested is not yet available. When it is, I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which units the personnel in BARTs and RESTs under operation FRESCO are drawn; how many of them are due to be deployed to the Gulf and from which units will personnel be drawn to replace them; and if he will make a statement. [93936]

Mr. Ingram: Breathing Apparatus Rescue Teams (BARTs) and Rescue Equipment Support Teams (RESTs) have been assembled by withdrawing individuals from almost every unit of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Recognising the important contribution the teams have played during the national firefighters dispute, every effort is made to preserve the capability of BARTs and RESTs. Recently, six RAF and 124 Royal Navy personnel have been withdrawn from Operation FRESCO as a direct consequence of deployments to the Gulf. During the course of the industrial action, the Ministry of Defence has maintained a programme of replacing personnel who needed to be withdrawn for various reasons, including the Gulf deployment, in order to ensure that the overall fire and rescue capability remains broadly constant. As this is a rolling programme, there is no direct correlation between those personnel stood down from Operation FRESCO due to their deployment to the Gulf and those personnel (or their parent units) from across the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy being trained as replacements.

Services' Protective Clothing

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tests have been conducted to ensure the reliability of (a) gas masks and (b) protective suits worn by services personnel. [93566]

Mr. Ingram: Both the S10 respirators ('gas masks') and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NEC) suits ('protective suits') are manufactured to required

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specifications (including stringent quality assurance) to ensure that a high level of reliability is achieved. The respirators have routine inspections covering fit, damage, distortion, wear and component life and are subject to periodic tests (normally annually) in a gas environment to confirm their operational effectiveness. The NBC suits, which are vacuum-packed by the manufacturer prior to dispatch, are subject to exacting quality assurance control. The integrity of the packaging is checked prior to issue to personnel.

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the procedure is for repairing damaged protective suits used by service personnel to protect them from (a) chemical, (b) nuclear and (c) radiological attack. [93567]

Mr. Ingram: Due to the nature of the item, damaged nuclear, biological and chemical suits are replaced and not repaired.

Software Procurement

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to mandate companies tendering for the supply of future software systems for the Royal Navy to use Open Source Software for the engineered operating systems. [86480]

Mr. Ingram: While the Ministry of Defence is examining the benefits of using Open Source Software in some areas, it is not envisaged that its use will be mandated to Project teams. The appropriateness and benefits of Open Source Software for any given project will be assessed against a range of criteria, on a case by case basis.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the potential financial savings for the Royal Navy of the adoption of Open Source Software for the operating systems of its future software packages. [86481]

Dr. Moonie: Software used in the Ministry of Defence is selected on its ability to meet business and operational needs, taking full account of value for money, long-term viability, security and interoperability. The Ministry of Defence currently has no explicit policy on the use of Open Source Software, but does follow the Government Open Source Software policy published and announced in Parliament on 22 July 2002. This policy is available on the e-Envoy website (www.e-envoy.gov.uk) or the Office of Government Commerce website (www.ogc.gov.uk).

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the security implications of adopting commercial off-the-shelf instead of made-to-measure operating systems for future software systems for the Royal Navy. [86483]

Dr. Moonie: It is recognised that, increasingly, systems which include commercial off-the-shelf software will be offered to the Ministry of Defence by potential contractors for defence applications. This can be beneficial in reducing development times and costs, but can give concern as off-the-shelf software may be of uncertain origin and not stringently tested prior to release. Projects are therefore treated on a case by case basis. The security requirements of each system will be specified in the design documents. When a commercial

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off-the-shelf product (e.g. an operating system) is to be used with specified security features, it is required to undergo security evaluation.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Housing

8. Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to receive the National Audit Office report on council stock transfers; and whether his review of council housing finances will be published before he has received the report. [93773]

Mr. McNulty: The timetable for the National Audit Office's report has yet to be finalised. However it is scheduled for consideration by the Public Accounts Committee of this House on 31 March. The NAO research has been helpful in the broader review of the vehicles available for the delivery of the decent homes target.

The statement by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on the Government's comprehensive long-term programme for sustainable communities, including housing, will be made shortly.

Firefighters Dispute

9. Hugh Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on recent progress in resolving the industrial action by firefighters. [93774]

14. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a further statement on the firefighters' dispute. [93779]

Mr. Raynsford: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister made a statement to the House on this issue yesterday.

10. John Barrett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many armed forces Breathing Apparatus Rescue Teams and Rescue Equipment Support Teams were on fire cover during the 24-hour strike by members of the Fire Brigades Union on Tuesday 21 January. [93775]

Mr. Raynsford: There were 331 Breathing Apparatus Rescue Teams and 59 Regional Equipment Support Teams providing emergency fire cover in the United Kingdom for the 24-hour strike on 21 January. This is the same number of teams as for the previous 10 days of strike action.

The number of red appliances in use by the military continues to increase. The armed forces are now able to deploy 177 red engines, 90 more than at the start of the last 8 day strike.

The military now also has a number of aerial water towers to provide additional cover in extreme situations.

Mr. Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many days were lost to industrial action by firefighters in each of the last 12 months. [92764]

Mr. Raynsford : In the year up to 23 January 2003, eleven days were lost to national industrial action by firefighters. Ten of these days were in November 2002, and one day from the 21–22 January 2003.

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New Deal for Communities

11. Mr. Mahmood: : To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the progress of the New Deal for Communities. [93776]

Mrs. Roche: Our New Deal for Communities Partnerships have a wide range of projects underway and are developing agreements with those who provide public services to make them more accountable to local people. Many partnerships can now point to important successes in reducing crime, improving the quality of the local environment and engaging with local people. Some of our partnerships do face challenging circumstances, but all are striving for success.

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