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24 Mar 2003 : Column 7W—continued
Canister Incident (Hurst)
Mr. Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the canisters washed up at Hurst in the western Solent last week and removed by the Royal Navy. [104646]
Dr. Moonie: During the week of 10 March, a number of silver metallic canisters washed up along the Solent and on the Isle of Wight. On two occasions, a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Unit were asked by civil authorities to examine the canisters and did so. On the
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first occasion the Royal Navy removed 15 canisters for safe keeping. On the second occasion they x-rayed canisters in situ. All canisters examined were found to be empty. The canisters were not of a type suitable for use as ordnance or to contain gas and they did not contain any mechanism that would allow them to disperse their contents into the environment. Any further investigation into how the canisters came to be washed up is a matter for the civil authorities.
Defence Finance
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) of 24 March 2002, Official Report, column 299W, on defence finance, what the (a) gross and (b) net costs of DESO are; what the sources of offsetting income are; and if he will make a statement on the financial benefits to the defence budget. [103469]
Mr. Ingram: A table of operating costs for the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) for the last two years is as follows:
| Financial years | Expenditure | Receipts | Net operating costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 55.810 | 41.430 | 14.380 |
| 2001–02 | 48.930 | 37.853 | 11.077 |
Main sources of offsetting income for DESO are three Government to Government project offices, where the customer country pays Ministry of Defence costs, and the Disposal Services Agency where costs are met from revenue.
DESO raises other sources of income from charging industry for activities undertaken on their behalf where Government independence from industry is not essential and when costs can be directly identified, calculated and recovered from individual companies. On this basis charges are raised for a proportion of the costs of the following activities: demonstrations of defence equipment overseas, demonstrations of defence equipment in the United Kingdom, Market Research and Publications, DESO Symposium and Seminars, and charging for Inward Visits. Savings to the defence budget come from spreading the fixed overhead cost of equipment over the longer production runs generated by exports, from the sale of surplus military equipment to overseas governments and from Commercial Exploitation Levy receipts on exports of equipment developed using public money.
European Defence Co-operation
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent he is cooperating with other European defence ministries to avoid overlapping of military resources; and if he will make a statement. [104232]
Mr. Ingram: Co-operation on military capabilities is taking place within the EU and NATO and through bilateral agreements, and is a subject of regular ministerial discussion.
Within the EU, the European Capabilities Action Plan is fostering co-operation between member states to fill specific shortfalls against the Helsinki Headline
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Goal. NATO's capabilities initiative—the Prague Capabilities Commitment—also aims to strengthen European capabilities and complements the ECAP/Headline Goal process. We are working to ensure that EU and NATO capability development is closely co-ordinated and mutually reinforcing, most recently through agreement on a mechanism as part of the Berlin Plus arrangements, and the United Kingdom plays an active part in both. By encouraging co-operation in pursuit of agreed force goals, these two initiatives help to ensure the coherency of capabilities between member states and Allies. We also seek to maximize efficiencies through bilateral defence co-operation—for example, in our plan with France to harmonise activity cycles and training for our aircraft carriers.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what discussions he has held with (a) NATO counterparts and (b) other EU member states on the EU's future role, with particular regard to (i) humanitarian and peacekeeping missions and (ii) immediate response capability; and if he will make a statement; [103867]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the relationship between the NATO Response Force and EU member states' responsibilities under the EU Headline Goals for defence-related issues. [103871]
Mr. Hoon: I have regular discussions with my NATO and European Union counterparts, both bilaterally and in the framework of each organisation.
The current scope of EU Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) is defined in the EU Treaty as "humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking", the so-called "Petersberg Tasks". In the Convention on the Future of Europe, the United Kingdom has proposed modernising and extending the list, to reflect the range of roles the EU should be aiming to play in crisis management and to broaden the ESDPs proactive role in wider conflict prevention, for example by adding stabilisation, conflict prevention, and defence outreach/diplomacy. Decisions on a new EU Treaty are for the Intergovernmental Conference, and these matters have not yet been discussed internationally at ministerial level.
The Headline Goal agreed at the Helsinki European Council in 1999 stated that member states should, within the overall target, "provide smaller rapid response elements available and deployable at very high readiness". This subject was recently discussed at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in November 2002, at informal meetings of EU Defence Ministers in October 2002 and March 2003, and at bilateral meetings such as with the French Defence Minister in Le Touquet last month where we noted the need to improve further European capabilities in planning and deploying forces at short notice, including initial deployment of land, sea and air forces within 5–10 days.
At the NATO Summit in Prague last year, Heads of State and Government agreed to create a NATO Response Force (NRF). Further work on the NRF concept is currently being undertaken by the Military Committee in NATO, aiming to achieve an initial
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operating capability by no later than October 2004. Each nation has a single set offerees which may be used nationally, or in NATO, EU or coalition operations, and ultimately it is up to nations to decide when and where to commit their forces. We are working to ensure that the work on NRF and on rapid response elements under the EU Headline Goal is mutually reinforcing
Gibraltar
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF planes have landed at Gibraltar in each of the last five years. [104087]
Mr. Ingram: The number of RAF aircraft landings at Gibraltar over the last five years is as follows:
| Year | Number of RAF landings |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 1,028 |
| 1999 | 1,532 |
| 2000 | 1,160 |
| 2001 | 520 |
| 2002 | 454 |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy ships have docked in Gibraltar in each of the last five years. [104088]
Mr. Ingram: The number of Royal Navy ship visits to Gibraltar in each of the past five years is detailed in the table. For completeness the information has been presented to show visits by Royal Navy ships, Royal Fleet auxiliary vessels and Royal Navy submarines.
| Royal Navy ship | Royal Fleet auxiliary ship | RNsubmarine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 40 | 18 | 2 |
| 1999 | 26 | 40 | 6 |
| 2000 | 31 | 40 | 5 |
| 2001 | 31 | 17 | 1 |
| 2002 | 43 | 14 | — |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will initiate discussions with Spain to allow (a) RAF planes to fly direct to Gibraltar over Spain and (b) Royal Navy ships to sail in Spanish waters on the way to Gibraltar. [104101]
Mr. Ingram: There are no immediate plans to do so. The future of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Spain over Gibraltar, and hence the restrictions on access, remain to be resolved. However, our defence relations with Spain are close and it remains our view that dialogue with Spain and Gibraltar is the best way to resolve these access issues.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role Gibraltar's military base played in preparing for conflict in Iraq. [104086]
Mr. Ingram: Gibraltar is a key staging post and forward mounting base. The Naval Task Group headed by HMS Ark Royal transited the Straits en route to the Gulf and some vessels called at Gibraltar. Elements of the Air Group also embarked via Gibraltar as the Task Group transited east. Six Royal Gibraltar Regiment officers and soldiers are currently in the Gulf attached to deployed units.
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Guided Bombs
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the UK's precision guided bomb requirements. [104338]
Mr. Ingram: The Precision Guided Bomb programme will provide the RAF with an all weather precision bombing capability on Tornado GR4, Harrier GR9 and Typhoon.
The programme is currently in its assessment phase in which the exact In-service date will be defined, but it is currently planned to be late 2006. In the interim, the Tornado GR4 has been given an all-weather precision guided bomb capability with Enhanced Paveway Bombs, which entered service in October 2001.
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