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12 May 2003 : Column 38W—continued
Firefighters' Dispute
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many naval personnel man-hours have been expended as a result of the firefighters' dispute; and what the estimated cost has been to the Royal Navy. [111308]
Mr. Ingram: A complete answer will not be available until the military commitment to the firefighters' dispute has ceased. To date, we estimate that more than 6.4 million hours have been spent in directly providing and training for life-saving cover, with estimated materiel costs approaching £5 million.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy vessels are unavailable for deployment as a result of the firefighters' dispute; and what plans there are to relieve their crews. [111309]
Mr. Ingram: The following vessels have the majority of their crews currently allocated to provide cover in the event of a firefighters strike. This will prevent the vessels from deploying to previously programmed tasks until their crews are relieved or their employment on emergency fire cover is no longer required.
- HMS Cambeltown
HMS Norfolk
HMS St. Albans
HMS Lancaster
HMS Portland
HMS Monmouth
HMS Newcastle
HMS Exeter (in dry dock for maintenance)
HMS Glasgow
HMS Middleton
HMS Bridport
HMS Dulverton
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Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the firefighters' dispute upon (a) the operational capability and (b) the morale of the Royal Navy. [111335]
Mr. Ingram: Operational Capability of individual ships, air squadrons and Commando Force Elements is assessed monthly. Currently, a number of ships are undermanned because of the Royal Navy's commitments to fire-fighting duties, although operational capability is being substantially maintained. The operational capability of air squadrons and Commando forces is not significantly affected.
Firefighting commitments have affected the employment stability and personal plans of many of those involved, with inevitable consequences for morale in the short term. The effect in the longer term will depend upon the success of measures we have in place, for example, to restore the balance of separated service and recover missed training courses affecting career progression.
Mount Pleasant Military Base
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the security vetting procedures are for non-UK and overseas territories citizens working at the Mount Pleasant military base in the Falkland Islands; and what the policy is on employing non-UK and overseas territories citizens on MoD contracts in the Falklands Islands. [93595]
Mr. Ingram: The security procedures for employing non-United Kingdom and overseas territories citizens at the Mount Pleasant military base in the Falkland Islands are the same as those that apply to Ministry of Defence posts elsewhere in the world. These involve a check of personal details, including any criminal convictions, and a counter-terrorist check. Subject to these procedures being completed satisfactorily, responsibility for the employment of non-UK and overseas territories citizens in the Falkland Islands is a matter for the employing contractor.
Official History (Second Gulf War)
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to publish an official account of the role of (a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Royal Marines and (c) the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in the second Gulf war. [111339]
Mr. Ingram: As with previous major operations, the Ministry of Defence will in due course publish an official account of the United Kingdom involvement in current operations in the Gulf, including the roles played by the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Final details have yet to be decided.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will reply to question number 93595, Session 2002–03, tabled for answer on 27 January. [112210]
Mr. Ingram: I have replied to my hon. Friend today.
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Procurement
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the procurement of the (a) aircraft carriers, (b) type 45 destroyer, (c) amphibious assault vessels and (d) heavy sealift ships; whether they are on schedule; and whether changes have been made to their capabilities. [110023]
Mr. Ingram: The information requested is as follows:
Design activity on the Future Aircraft Carrier programme is continuing in parallel with our discussions with BAE Systems and Thales to determine the structure of the alliance for the programme. We expect to be in a position to formally commence the next phase of the assessment work shortly. Subject to the normal internal approvals we remain on course to award the main design and build contract for the carriers in spring 2004.
The capability required for the carriers will not be formally approved until the award of the design and build contract. Up to that point the CVF user requirements are performance targets to focus the assessment phase work of the contractors.
The Type 45 Destroyer programme remains on track to meet the approved in service date of November 2007.
The baseline capability of the Type 45 has not changed since the main investment decision was made in July 2000. However, work continues on an Incremental Acquisition Plan (IAP) which will increase class capability as funding becomes available, technology develops and the requirement emerges. The first example of the successful implementation of the IAP is the inclusion of the Ultra MFS 7000 Sonar in the First of Class onward. At the time of the original approval it was envisaged that sonar would be fitted at build to Batch 2 (Hull 04 onwards) and that this capability would be retrofitted in the earlier vessels.
Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary)—construction of the first of the Bay Class Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary), RFA Largs Bay is progressing satisfactorily, with the vessel programmed to complete in March 2004 although the shipyard have expectations to deliver earlier. She will then undergo a series of sea trials prior to acceptance into service in autumn 2004. Construction of the remaining three vessels is planned to complete during 2004 and 2005, followed by sea trials and acceptance into service. All four vessels are expected to meet their planned in service dates and there have been no changes to their planned capabilities.
Landing Platform Dock (Replacement) programme—the Landing Platform Dock (Replacement) programme will provide two vessels for the Royal Navy, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. HMS Albion is nearing completion and is expected to achieve her currently planned in service date (ISD) of My 2003. Discussions continue with the prime contractor, BAE Systems, on agreeing a revised programme for HMS Bulwark. The ISDs originally planned were March 2002 for HMS Albion and March 2003 for HMS Bulwark. There have been no changes to their capability.
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Heavy Sealift ships
With the delivery of the sixth ship to AWSR Shipping Ltd. on 17 April 2003, the full Roll-On Roll-Off Strategic Sealift Service, being provided under Private Finance Initiative arrangements, became available. This is 20 months earlier than the target date set by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Moonie) at the start of the competition and meets the date given by my on 6 March 2002, Official Report, column 326W. There has been no change to the capability.
Meteorological Office
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress the Meteorological Office has made with its programme of upgrades to radar sites. [110386]
Dr. Moonie: The Met Office has carried out all the upgrades that were announced in its Scientific and Technical review 2001–02. These have been implemented throughout the United Kingdom radar network sites and are already delivering the expected benefits in terms of operational reliability and efficiency.
In addition, the Met Office now has plans for some further improvements to follow on from the upgrades mentioned above. These include improving the data retrieval techniques and improved data handling. This will result in increased accuracy and reduction in false alarms. Multiple beam operations will be introduced, which will allow the Met Office to more reliably detect weather systems, despite the interruption caused by, for example, mountains blocking the path of the radar beam.
The Met Office are also working closely with the Environment Agency to determine the technology that might be employed for the next generation of weather
12 May 2003 : Column 42W
radars. There are opportunities to employ new techniques that can potentially identify both the quantity and the type of precipitation, which will lead to further improvements in accuracy in forecasting potential floods and other consequences of severe weather.
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Meteorological Office intends to establish a new weather radar station to serve the south-east of Scotland and north-west of Scotland areas. [110385]
Dr. Moonie: Current weather radar coverage in Scotland is provided by three radars, one situated just south of Glasgow, one near Aberdeen and one on the Isle of Lewis.
The Met Office is in discussion with the Scottish Executive and a windfarm developer over plans to site a windfarm around the Glasgow radar. Were the windfarm to go ahead it would unacceptably compromise the performance of the radar and negate its contribution to the severe weather service for Scotland. A potential solution being considered includes removal of the current Glasgow radar installation and the construction of two new radar sites to maintain coverage of the south-east of Scotland area.
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