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RAF Menwith Hill

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his US counterparts about the role of RAF Menwith Hill in US missile defence; and if he will make a statement. [100667]

Mr. Hoon: I have had no such discussions.

Reserve Forces

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the criteria for the Hardship Fund for Reserve Forces take into consideration the financial needs of dependent (a) married and (b) non-married partners; and if he will make a statement. [100824]

Dr. Moonie: Reservists called-out and accepted into permanent service may apply for financial assistance in the event that their military salary is less than their earnings in civilian life. This assistance is paid in the form of a Reserve Standard Award (RSA). RSA is paid in banded rates that are related to a Reservist's rank and specialism. Reservists are also eligible to apply for a Reserve Hardship Award (RHA) if the RSA alone would cause his-her dependants hardship irrespective of their marital status. There is no ceiling for RHA payments.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures exist to ensure that reservists report for duty when ordered to do so. [100218]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 January 2003 Official Report, column 708W, to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch).

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists called up in the last three months have failed to report for duty. [100219]

Dr. Moonie: As at 21 February only one reservist is believed to have deliberately failed to report for service. This case is being investigated.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions are placed on the deployment of regular reservists beyond the Balkan theatre. [100224]

Dr. Moonie: There are no geographical restrictions on deploying regular reservists.

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Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are being taken to retain the services of regular reservists who wish to extend their tours of duty beyond their scheduled de-mobilisation. [100225]

Dr. Moonie: The provisions of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 allow reservists to extend their service. Subject to the needs of the services and their commanding officer's approval, reservists are generally encouraged to apply to extend their service for set periods at a time (usually six months). However, normally there are theatre specific limits to the period a reservist can serve. This is to ensure that no one serves too long in an operational environment.

Service Personnel (Gulf)

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the daily rations are for British troops while on deployment in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement. [93414]

Dr. Moonie: The Naval Forces have sufficient stock embarked to sustain themselves for a number of weeks. This stock is composed of a full range of fresh/ambient/frozen and chilled foodstuffs. If required, re-supply will be effected by transfer of stock from one of the support ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Land Forces deploy with a number of days of Operational Ration Packs (ORP). This can be augmented by the addition of some items of fresh food (e.g. fruit, bread). When appropriate equipment and military Chefs have arrived in support, units are able to transition from a purely ORP diet, to a mixture of ORP and fresh food as the situation dictates.

The ORP range consists of seven menus and provides sufficient calories and nutritional balance to provide a Service person with sufficient food for one day in the field. An average calorific intake for the complete range is 3,800 calories per ration. Each menu has a breakfast (400 cals), a snack lunch (1,750 cals) and a dinner (1,000 cals) plus sufficient sundry items (650 cals) ie tea, coffee and squash powder to provide variety and minimise fatigue. The ration is designed to be eaten either hot or cold, but ideally is used in conjunction with the hexamine solid fuel cooker, as the food is more appetising if it is heated. The ORP range also provides for ethnic feeding (Halal, Sikh/Hindu) and for vegetarians. The calorific content for these rations is similar to the general purpose range.

Uranium

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what use has been made of munitions containing uranium in live firing training in the UK since 1986. [99787]

Dr. Moonie: No munitions containing uranium have been used in live firing training in the United Kingdom since 1986.

US Military Nuclear Programme

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent requests he has received from the United

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States Government to provide lead test assemblies for the United States military nuclear programme. [100038]

Mr. Ingram: None.

Vaccine Schedule (Gulf Deployment)

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether multiple vaccinations are being administered to troops deploying to the Gulf. [95923]

Dr. Moonie: All Service personnel are routinely offered a range of vaccinations to protect against disease. These include public health vaccinations and vaccinations for those in special occupational risk groups. Vaccinations are also offered to Service personnel deploying to areas with specific health hazards and to protect personnel against the effects of biological weapons.

In accordance with NHS guidelines, a number of public health vaccinations may be administered at the same time, some in combination. This is not unusual. However, by offering public health vaccinations to Service personnel on recruitment, with boosters at appropriate intervals thereafter, the need to administer several vaccinations or boosters immediately before a deployment can be avoided. Nevertheless, boosters or additional vaccinations may be unavoidable at the time of a deployment or in an emergency. This is the case for anyone travelling overseas at short notice. In such circumstances, full account is taken of any other treatment or medication that an individual might be receiving at the time. This is balanced against the risk of contracting the disease during deployment.

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to record the vaccine schedules applied to troops deploying to the Gulf. [95927]

Dr. Moonie: It is Ministry of Defence policy that all vaccinations given to Service personnel are recorded in their personal medical records. In addition, staff in medical centres are required to record details of current vaccinations on the Operational Medical Record, Form F Med 965, before issuing it to individuals about to deploy. Any medical events, including vaccinations, occurring while deployed are to be recorded on the F Med 965 by medical personnel and, additionally, on an electronic medical record facility where this is held by deployed ships and units. Individuals are required to return their F Med 965 to their medical centre on return to their home base and information should then be transferred to their personal medical records. Royal Navy personnel serving in larger ships will have their full personal medical records on board, and F Med 965 would be unnecessary unless they deploy on land. Royal Marines personnel should have their full personal medical record with them if deployed in a ship, but would use the F Med 965 when deployed on land.

Work Placements

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many university students his Department and associated agencies has supported or sponsored with a

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work placement in the last year; what his policy is on work placements; what plans he has to develop such schemes; and what his policy is on paying their university fees. [98542]

Dr. Moonie: The separate and differing policies in relation to the Armed forces and our civilian workforce are designed to support university students to benefit recruitment. The Armed forces offer a combination of cadetships and bursaries (349 were awarded in 2002–03) for which a grant is made to the individual and can be used to meet university fees. There are a further 45 officer cadets and young officers for whom fees are paid direct to the university, and 200 studying for first degrees at the Royal Military College of Science. All these arrangements involve a continuing association with the parent Service. For our civilian workforce, details are not held centrally of the total number of work placements involving university students, and our policy remains to support them where this makes sense for recruitment. For example, the Defence Engineering and Science Group currently sponsors some 190 students, all of whom benefited from a work placement this year. Normally, university fees are not paid but the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is currently supporting 38 students in a similar way to the Armed forces.

X-Bank Radar

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) risk assessments and (b) environmental investigations his Department will undertake into the possible effects upon the local environment of an upgrade at RAF Fylingdales. [100664]

Mr. Hoon: While we do not expect any risk or environmental implications to arise from the upgrade, we will continue to assess the position through discussions with the US authorities and site surveys. We will report our conclusions to the local planning authority soon.

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