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External Reports

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to his Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by his Department in each year since 1997. [103713]

Dr. Moonie: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Halo Mk2 will be ready for use in war in Iraq; how the re-engineered hardware and new software for the Mk2 will improve its capability; how much the improvements have cost; whether this was within original estimates; and if he will make a statement. [104226]

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Mr. Ingram: The Halo Mk2 sound ranging system, procured to meet the Army's Advanced Sound Ranging Programme requirement, is deployed with British Forces in the Gulf. The Mk2 system is more capable than the Mkl in a number of ways, including: improved accuracy in locating potential targets; a faster response time and more robust hardware. The cost of this programme was around £17 million which was within the original approval limit.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK forces and which regiments have been sent to the Gulf. [104610]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 24 March 2003]: Around 45,000 United Kingdom Servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force have been deployed in the Gulf and Middle East region. Statements regarding the composition of the UK Forces deployed to the region were made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 7 January 2003, Official Report, columns 23–39, 20 January 2003, Official Report, columns 34–35, 6 February 2003, Official Report, columns 455–66 and 13 March 2003, Official Report, column 20WS.

The composition of the Land Forces was described in my letter D/Min(AF)/AI PQ 1093N/03/C of February 2003, in response to a written Parliamentary Question from the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin), Official Report, column 860W, regarding UK military forces' Gulf deployment, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House. Since this time, the 1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment and 202 Field Hospital (Volunteer) have been added to the complement.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to enable British armed forces to provide humanitarian aid to Iraq if the situation is too insecure for civilian agencies to operate. [104875]

Mr. Ingram: United Kingdom forces, as part of the coalition, will, where they are able, deliver emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq until the post-conflict security situation stabilises sufficiently for civilian agencies to deploy. Such assistance would include provision of drinking water, food, shelter, and medical supplies. Preparations for this role have taken place with the assistance of experts from the Department for International Development.

Maritime Training

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy vessels are available for maritime training; and if he will make a statement on the effect of Operation Fresco on the availability of vessels. [105128]

Mr. Ingram: As at week commencing 24 March there are nine Destroyers and Frigates and one submarine programmed to undertake maritime training. This includes Operational Sea Training, Syllabus training and Weapon training.

The firefighters' dispute has slightly reduced the throughput of Naval vessels through Collective Sea Training and this will result in an increased demand for collective training in 2003.

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Middle East

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the United States on the use of British forces in a peace keeping role under NATO as part of the road map for peace in the Middle East. [104668]

Mr. Hoon: I have had no such discussions.

Procurement

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the next stage of the Watchkeeper programme to be completed; and if he expects the programme to remain within the estimated budget. [104334]

Mr. Ingram: The next stage of the Watchkeeper programme, the Systems Integration and Assurance Phase, is estimated to be completed before the end of January 2004. One of the outputs of this phase will be to refine the level of funding required to procure the Watchkeeper capability. We currently expect the programme to remain affordable.

Radar Capabilities

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what shortfalls he has identified in the UK's radar capabilities; and what plans he has to (a) replace and (b) increase the radar capabilities. [104340]

Mr. Ingram: We plan to replace existing Type 93 air defence radars with more modern equipment when they reach the end of their service lives around the middle of this decade. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in the White Paper on the SDR new chapter in July last year, we are taking forward a range of enhancements to our air defence radar systems to improve our air defence capability. I am withholding details under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Reservoir Security

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to use HM forces to ensure the security of water reservoirs against the threat of terrorist attack. [105038]

Mr. Ingram: There is no specific threat to reservoirs from terrorist. Were there to be, it would be managed by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who have policy responsibility for water supplies and the police who are responsible for public safety and security in the United Kingdom. The Ministry of Defence will provide support to the police should they require it.

Satellite Communications

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the new satellite communications radomes to enter service; if they will enter service within the Ministry of Defence's proposed timetable; and if he expects the radomes to remain within the estimated budget. [104335]

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Mr. Ingram: Fifteen new satellite communications radomes were delivered in January 2003 and are now in service. The cost of the radomes is within budget.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent increases have taken place in the UK's satcom capabilities; and what further increases he has planned. [104336]

Mr. Ingram: A range of mobile and portable satcom terminal equipment has been deployed recently to improve the capacity of available communications to deployed units on operations.

As regards further increases, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 February 2003, Official Report, column 748W, outlining the significant increase in our satellite communications capability that Skynet 5 will provide.

VX Gas

Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the shelf life of VX gas is; and what the rate is of natural degradation of VX gas where VX-stabiliser is used. [103973]

Dr. Moonie: The stability of VX depends very much on its initial purity, the use of the appropriate stabilisers and the precise storage conditions utilised. Its shelf life as a chemical warfare agent can range from a few months to several tens of years. It should be noted that even partially degraded material may still pose a significant hazard.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

British Energy

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 685, on British Energy, whether any of the credit facility announced in her written statement of 7 March 2003, Official Report, column 89WS, can be used to finance the cost of installing flue gas de-sulphurisation at Eggborough Power Station. [104884]

Mr. Wilson: The extended and amended credit facility is provided to British Energy on a contingency basis in respect of its working capital requirements and cash collateral for its trading activities. Specific contracts are a commercial matter for the company. Any application for drawing on the facility would be assessed on its merits subject to meeting the purposes for which funding can be made available from the credit facility.

Broadband

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the likely economic impact on rural small businesses that are unable to access broadband in the next three years. [104837]

Mr. Timms: No such assessment has been made.

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Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the economic impact of broadband access for small businesses in Suffolk. [104838]

Mr. Timms: No such assessment has been made within the Department.

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