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31 Mar 2003 : Column 490W—continued
Troop Replacement (Gulf)
24. Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to replace units currently engaged in the Gulf. [105471]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham).
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it will be possible to adapt either of the two new aircraft carriers so as to make them interoperable with the Rafale aircraft. [97328]
Mr. Ingram: As we announced on 30 September 2002, the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers will be configured to operate the STOVL version of the Joint Strike Fighter rather than a conventionally launched aircraft such as Rafale. The vessels will, however, be constructed to an adaptable design, which will allow us, if we so decide in the future, to modify the vessels from their original STOVL configuration to facilitate conventional flight operations.
Although it might be technically possible to build the vessels so that they could operate STOVL-JSF and conventional carrier aircraft simultaneously, we assess that this could not viably or safely be achieved without substantial revision of the basic design. This would impact on construction and through life operations, as well as affordability.
Armed Forces
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the effect of a declaration of war is on the (a) pay, (b) taxation and (c) legal liability of armed forces personnel. [105223]
Dr. Moonie: The declaration of war has no effect on the pay or taxation of armed forces personnel. In the event of a fatality, the only tax issue affected is the estate of the deceased member of the armed forces of the Crown, which may qualify for an exemption from inheritance tax under section 154 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984. The presence or absence of a declaration of war does not have any effect on the legal position of
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armed forces personnel. Once a state of armed conflict exists, international humanitarian law applies to the conduct of the campaign.
Colombia
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether UK military liaison teams provided (a) advice and (b) assistance to the Colombian armed forces during 2002; and what plans there are to do so this year. [105584]
Mr. Ingram: There have been occasions when we have sent military liaison teams to Colombia to provide advice and training assistance. The nature of this advice and assistance is confidential between governments and I am withholding the details under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which covers information whose disclosure would be harmful to national security, defence or international relations. The uncertainties regarding military deployment as a result of Operation TELIC make forward planning for this type of assistance this year impossible at present.
Departmental Creche Facilities
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what crèche facilities are provided by his Department and at what cost. [104305]
Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence provides the following child care support for its civilian and military employees:
- 45 work place nurseries offering 1,700 full day care places for children aged three months to five years. (Three new nurseries were opened during 2002–03 at Northwood, Andover and Ensleigh Bath).
36 crèches (benefiting 700 children) providing occasional care and 70 pre schools (benefiting over 2,000 children) providing education on a sessional basis, primarily for Service families.
14 wrap-around care schemes for 5–12 year olds (benefiting 350 children) providing after school care to match the working day.
15 holiday play schemes providing full day care for 5–12 year olds during school holidays (three are shared with other Government Departments) benefiting 550 children.
Two child care voucher schemes: for civilian employees in Glasgow and a new scheme for Defence Science and Technology Laboratory staff, which started May 2002. (The schemes benefit over 18 parents).
MOD nurseries are usually run by contractors, as commercial enterprises. They frequently receive indirect subsidies in the form of a peppercorn rent. In addition about 10 per cent. of the nurseries offer direct subsidies, which can reduce the fees by around a third. Some play schemes also receive direct subsidies. MOD's two voucher schemes provide employees with about a third of actual costs for the registered care of their choice at a cost of some £16,000 a month.
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No further information regarding the MOD's contribution towards the costs of child care schemes is held centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Gulf Forces (Equipment)
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the availability of (a) boots and (b) protection goggles to members of the armed forces who are stationed in the Gulf. [103134]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 17 March 2003]: There are sufficient quantities of both desert boots and protection goggles available for all personnel expected to fulfil a combat role in the Gulf.
Gulf War Veterans
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will encourage the Trustees of the Gulf Trust Fund to make payments of (a) capital and (b) income to civilian Gulf War veterans. [105979]
Dr. Moonie: The Gulf Trust was set up on 12 February 1991 to meet the financial needs arising out of the engagement of the British Armed Forces and civilian personnel attached to or accompanying British Armed Forces in military and other operations relating to or in connection with the 1990–1991 Gulf conflict. The Gulf Trust was administered independently of the Ministry of Defence in accordance with Charity Law by the United Services Trustee. The fund was closed on 31 July 1994 at which point the remaining money in the fund was distributed on a pro-rata basis to the three Service Benevolent Funds. It would be inappropriate for the Ministry of Defence to intervene in any issues concerning disbursements of funds raised by the Gulf Trust. All enquiries, representations, applications for financial assistance or questions regarding the administration of funds raised by the Gulf Trust, should be directed as follows:
RN, RM, and RFA personnel and all other sea-borne civilians:
- King George's Fund for Sailors
Army personnel and all other civilians:
- The Army Benevolent Fund
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RAF personnel:
- The RAF Benevolent Fund
Kosovo
Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are serving in Kosovo. [106450]
Mr. Ingram: As at 21 March 2003 there were 1,264 United Kingdom Service Personnel serving in Kosovo.
Middle East
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent since the end of hostilities of the Gulf War in 1991 by Her Majesty's Government on operations in the Middle East in each year since 1991, broken down by each of the armed services. [105780]
Mr. Ingram: The Department identifies the costs of Operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs which the Department would have incurred had the operation not been undertaken—expenditure on wages and salaries or on conducting training exercises for example—are deducted from the total costs of the operation. The information requested is as follows:
| Year | Costs of operations |
|---|---|
| 1992–93 | 551 |
| 1993–94 | 179 |
| 1994–95 | 58 |
| 1995–96 | 14 |
| 1996–97 | 6 |
| 1997–98 | 16 |
| 1998–99 | 35 |
| 1999–2000 | 28 |
| 2000–01 | 25 |
| 2001–02 | (1)61 |
| 2002–03(2) | (1),(2)1,045 |
(1) Denotes figure calculated on a full resource cost basis; all previous figures are cash-based.
(2) Estimate
(3) Includes £1,000 million for operations against Iraq.
This information cannot be sub-divided into costs for each of the services. Costs are reported by Top Level budget holders. None of these are single-service organisations.
Ministry Building
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which company is providing the doors for the refurbishment of the main MOD building; what types of wood will be used in their manufacture; and what efforts have been made to ensure that the timber used is being sourced from legal and sustainable sources. [105387]
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Dr. Moonie: Contracts have been awarded for the supply of doors in the refurbished Main Building as follows:
- Swift Horsman. Timber doors made from American White Oak. PFI Contractor Skanska United Kingdom has paid a premium for a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified chain of custody.
Stafford Bridge Doors. The frames, lippings and veneers of which are made from American White Oak. Cores are Ghanaian Celtis finger jointed off-cuts. The American White Oak originates from a FSC certified custody chain and the larger frames come from North American sustainable forests. Ghana is a member of International Tropical Timber Organisation with certification that the products are from a Sustained Yield Management system.
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