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24 Feb 2003 : Column 132W—continued

Civilian Staff (Northern Ireland)

Mr. Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) numerical and (b) percentage breakdown by perceived community origin are of his civilian staff employed in Northern Ireland. [97692]

Dr. Moonie: The numerical and percentage breakdown of the civilian staff employed by the Ministry of Defence in Northern Ireland as at 1 January 2003 is set out in the table below.

Male Female Total
NumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentage
Protestant1,46242.899229.12,45471.9
Roman Catholic2547.41925.644613.1
Others34410.11705.051415.0
Total2,06060.31,35439.73,414


Laptops

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many laptop computers were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; what their cost was; and if he will make a statement. [97503]

Dr. Moonie: Information regarding the number of laptop computers used within the Ministry of Defence in any given year is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The same applies to information regarding any items recorded as lost. With regard to the number of laptop computers suspected of being stolen, reported cases are recorded centrally on a summary basis only. Those records relate to items suspected of being stolen and so it cannot be assumed that theft actually applies in every case. Information regarding stolen laptop computers is only readily available from 1997–98 and is here related to cases where the value of suspected loss exceeds £1,000.

YearTotal(£)
1997–981838,010
1998–9936,885
1999–00
2000–0147,748
2001–021231,530

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft his Department recorded in 2001–02; and on how many occasions computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (i) within and (ii) outside his Department. [97556]

Dr. Moonie: The number of incidents affecting computer systems for the years 2001 and 2002 are summarised in the following table:

Incident Type20012002
Computer Hacking Totals: of which:
Public website defacements
Internal incursions12
2
107
1
6
Computer Fraud40
Computer Theft118155

None of the instances of hacking had any operational impact, and despite widespread and frequent probes of Ministry of Defence firewalls connected to the Internet, there is no evidence of any successful incursion from an external source to any Departmental computer system.

In the case of computer fraud, all instances are cases where MOD computers have been used in support of fraudulent activities, rather than fraudulent use of a computer—based system.


24 Feb 2003 : Column 133W

Departmental Assets

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the total revenues from the disposal of defence assets from April 2001 to December 2002; and if he will make a statement. [95793]

Mr. Ingram: The total revenues from the disposal of defence assets from April 2001 to December 2002 is about £400 million. Information on asset disposals is published annually in the Consolidated Departmental Resource Accounts. The latest information (that for financial year 2001–02) is contained in HC 47 of 21 November 2002, copies of which are available in the Library of the House and on the Ministry of Defence website.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the value of the land and building assets of his Department in each year from 1990–91 to 2001–02; and if he will make a statement. [95796]

Dr. Moonie: We publish information on the value of Ministry of Defence land and building assets annually, and have done this since 1999–2000, in MOD's Consolidated Departmental Resource Accounts. These values are mainly based on the operational value of the

24 Feb 2003 : Column 134W

estate to MOD and do not represent the market or sale value of the properties in question. For ease of reference, the figures are:

£ billion
1999–200014.1
2000–0114.4
2001–0214.3

These are audited figures, which reflect the impact of indexation, additions, disposals and depreciation arising each year. Copies of the accounts have been placed in the Library of the House.

We also have (unaudited) estimates for:


£ billion
1997–98(35)13.4
1998–9913.7

(35) The first year for which MOD-wide valuation information is available.


Departmental Consultations

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list consultations his Department has conducted since 1997; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed. [97428]

Dr. Moonie: The Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultation applies to all formal national public consultation documents issued by Departments from 1 January 2001 and the information requested is not available before that date.

Since 1 January 2001, the following formal national public consultation documents have been issued by the Ministry of Defence:

Consultation Period
Formal National Public ConsultationDate openedDate closed
Future of the Defence Diversification Agency1 February 200123 March 2001
Proposed introduction of the voluntary screening programme following health concerns in respect of depleted uranium13 February 20019 March 2001
The Military Maritime Graves and the Protection of Military Remains Act 198614 February 200114 May 2001
Armed Forces pension scheme review1 March 200131 July 2001
Joint compensation review1 March 200131 July 2001
The 2nd consultation document on the introduction of a voluntary screening programme for depleted uranium11 April 20014 July 2001
Ministry of Defence police quinquennial review26 April 200118 December 2001


Further information on these public consultations can be found on the internet under http: //www .mod.uk/consultations.

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to (a) increase awareness of domestic violence and (b) provide services and support for the victims of domestic violence within the families of members of the military services. [97746]

Dr. Moonie: Domestic violence is a significant social issue and we recognise the need to ensure that it is dealt with effectively within the Armed Forces' community. Domestic violence by Service personnel is not tolerated under any circumstances, not least because of the detrimental impact that such incidents can have on morale, discipline and operational efficiency.

A tri-Service policy on domestic violence was issued in February 2002. The policy, which has now been implemented by the Services, sets out the roles and responsibilities of the chain of command and the welfare agencies in detecting and dealing with incidents of domestic violence and in providing confidential advice and support. The Services are proactive in increasing awareness about domestic violence to those in command and in publicising (via leaflets, posters and

24 Feb 2003 : Column 135W

web sites) the services available to possible victims. There are many agencies, both military and civilian, that exist to provide support to victims. The confidential support lines that are operated by the three Services are able to signpost callers to these support agencies. In cases where immediate or imminent harm is suspected the incident is reported to the most readily available police force; primacy rests with the local Home Department Police Force in United Kingdom whereas cases arising overseas are dealt with by the Service police.

E-mail Addresses

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what e-mail address members of the public may contact (a) him and (b) each of the Ministers in his Department; and for each e-mail address if he will state (i) the date it became active and (ii) the number of e-mails received in each month since activation. [97448]

Dr. Moonie: Members of the public can contact all Defence Ministers via public@ministers.mod.uk. This email address has been active since 1998.

The table below details the number of emails recorded as received via this address since July 2000, from when these statistics have been collected:

2000Number
July 311
August 2,872
September 1,409
October 594
November 427
December 350
Total 6,477

2001Number
January 241
February 585
March 394
April 209
May 476
June 533
July148
August202
September 1,374
October 891
November627
December384
Total:6,064

2002Number
January764
February322
March480
April2,280
May873
June700
July1,891
August1,506
September562
October474
November539
December140
Total:10,801


24 Feb 2003 : Column 136W

2003Number
January675

Of the total number of e-mails set out above, over 85 per cent. are categorised as 'spam'; that is, offensive, or circulars, or otherwise not worthy of a response.



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