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7 May 2003 : Column 718W—continued
Woodpigeons
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what facilities are available for controlling woodpigeons. [111085]
Mr. Morley: The control of certain birds, including woodpigeons, is permitted under a series of general licences issued by my Department. This system, first introduced in 1992, offers a practical and easily understood method of control of certain bird species and ensures that birds are killed or taken by certain methods only, with the minimum of distress to the birds.
Control of birds under the general licences has generally worked well, however a recent High Court judgment has illustrated that there may be areas where review of the general licences would be useful. Officials will consult stakeholders shortly and revise the licences where changes are considered necessary.
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Copies of the general licences can be found on the Defra website.
DEFENCE
Civil Service (People with Disabilities)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in the Department. [110533]
Dr. Moonie: Currently, approximately 1 per cent. of the senior civil service in the Ministry of Defence have declared themselves disabled. Statistics on disability are collected through voluntary self-declaration.
As part of our wider personnel strategy, our personnel policies and practices are equality proofed to ensure that there are no barriers for disabled staff who aspire to the senior civil service, and we would encourage them to apply. In addition, the Ministry of Defence provides funding to enable disabled staff who have the potential to reach the senior civil service to participate in the civil service disability bursary scheme. Funding provides for two years of high quality management training together with mentoring opportunities.
A number of senior posts are filled through open competition as fixed term appointments. Advertisements for these vacancies would normally carry the caption: "The Ministry of Defence is an equal opportunities employer" and stress the point that applications from people with disabilities are particularly welcome. The advertisements also carry the two-ticks "positive about disability" symbol and the Department is committed to offering all candidates who declare a disability a guaranteed interview where they meet the minimum qualifying criteria. We are currently trialling the use of specialist recruitment consultants to help to publicise open competitions to disabled potential applicants.
Cluster Bombs
Adam Price To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the number of (a) RBL 755 cluster bombs dropped on targets within Iraq and (b) L20 cluster shells fired by UK forces around Basra. [110806]
Mr. Hoon: The figures requested have not changed since the responses I gave to the hon. Member on 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 566W.
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cluster munitions have been used in the war on Iraq. [109681]
Mr. Hoon: As at 29 April 2003, British forces have used in the region of 66 air delivered cluster bombs and in the region of 2,000 extended range bomblet shells in Iraq.
Colin Davenport
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the terms are of the retirement of Mr. Colin Davenport. [111639]
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Dr. Moonie: Mr Davenport retired under the usual terms that apply to the Senior Civil Service, having reached the normal retirement age of 60.
Homecoming Parades
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria he uses to decide whether to arrange for official homecoming and victory parades following conflicts involving UK troops. [110547]
Dr. Moonie: There are no set criteria for deciding when a homecoming or victory parade is appropriate. By the nature of the operations which they are designed to commemorate the opportunities are few and far between and each case is therefore considered carefully in the light of the prevailing circumstances.
Hospital Units
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) military establishment and (b) strength is of each Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit. [103977]
Dr. Moonie: The military establishment and strength of each Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit as at 10 April 2003 was as follows:
| Unit | Establishment | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Derriford | 190 | 151 |
| Frimley Park | 278 | 185 |
| Northallerton | 167 | 146 |
| Peterborough | 197 | 162 |
| Portsmouth(11) | 797 | 599 |
(11) Royal Hospital Haslar and Queen Alexandra Hospital combined.
Iraq
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of aid to Iraq he estimates will arrive via Umm Qasr in April. [108055]
Mr. Ingram: Umm Qasr is one of several routes by which aid has entered and will continue to enter Iraq (including by land from Jordan and Kuwait). We do not record the amount of aid entering Iraq by non-United Kingdom Government Agencies so we cannot calculate the respective shares of the total. Once Umm Qasr is open to shipping we expect the proportion of aid entering Iraq by sea to rise significantly, since the rail links from the port to the rest of the country make it a particularly efficient way of handling bulk supplies of aid.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Government of Niger concerning the alleged sale of 500 pounds of uranium to Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [110416]
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why British hospital ships were (a) withdrawn from the Gulf area and (b) not made available for injured Iraqi civilians. [111060]
Dr. Moonie: The vast majority of injured Iraqi civilians have been treated at Iraqi hospitals and, in the United Kingdom's area of operations, we have made
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every effort to restore power, water and medical supplies to those facilities. Where necessary, Iraqis have been treated at UK medical facilities. Where appropriate medical facilities were not available in theatre, Iraqi civilians have been airlifted to UK hospitals for treatment.
RFA Argus, with a 100-bed capacity, made an important contribution to the campaign. However, the ship and her crew have completed their task and are thus returning from theatre. The following UK medical assets remain in theatre:
- 1 Close Support Medical Regiment—(1 (UK) Armoured Division)
5 General Support Medical Regiment—(1 (UK) Armoured Division)
16 Close Support Medical Regiment—(16 Air Assault Brigade)
4 General Support Medical Regiment—(102 Logistics Brigade)
34 Field Hospital—(102 Logistics Brigade)
202 (Volunteer) Field Hospital—(Reserves)
Dr. Moonie: As at 30 April, 3,434 members of the Territorial Army have deployed to the Gulf during the last four months.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what field hospitals remain in the Gulf region. [112022]
Dr. Moonie: The United Kingdom currently has two field hospitals in the Gulf region. These are 34 Field Hospital, based at Shaibah in southern Iraq, and 202 Field Hospital (V) in northern Kuwait.
Royal Irish Regiment
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future role of the Royal Irish Regiment. [110906]
Mr. Ingram: The Royal Irish Regiment comprises three Home Service Battalions, the General Service Battalion which has been serving in Iraq, and a TA Battalion.
Until there is agreement on security normalisation in Northern Ireland, it would be premature to come to any conclusions on the final composition of the Northern Ireland garrison. Current planning is only addressing the implications of security normalisation for the Home Service battalions. The role of the Home Service element is Military Aid to the Civil Power; as the security environment improves we expect the need for this role will decline.
Secondments
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have been seconded to his Department from (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, in each case listing (i) from which organisation and (ii) dates of secondments, in each year since 1997–98. [108077]
Dr. Moonie: Information available on personnel seconded to my Department is as follows.
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