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16 May 2003 : Column 448W—continued
HMS Victory
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional work is taking place to allow HMS Victory to play a role in the 200th Anniversary of Trafalgar; and what the cost is. [113855]
Dr. Moonie: No specific work is being carried out on HMS Victory to support the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005 and therefore no funding has been identified or allocated.
Infantry Tours
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which infantry regiments have had a 24-month tour interval in the past five years. [112012]
Mr. Ingram: Of the 40 Infantry Battalions, the 29 Battalions listed as follows are expected to achieve at least one 24 month tour interval between deployments in the period January 1999 to December 2003. Deployments have been defined as unaccompanied unit level operational tours.
- 1st Bn Grenadier Guards
1st Bn Coldstream Guards
1stBn Scots Guards
1stBn Irish Guards
1st Bn Welsh Guards
1stBn The Royal Scots
1stBn The Royal Highland Fusiliers
1stBn The King's Own Scottish Borderers
1stBn The Black Watch
1st Bn The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
1stBn The Highlanders
1stBn The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
2ndBn The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
1st Bn The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
1stBn The Royal Anglian Regiment
1stBn The King's Own Royal Border Regiment
1stBn The King's Regiment
1stBn The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire
1stBn The Green Howards
1stBn The Queen's Lancashire Regiment
1stBn The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
1st Bn The Royal Welch Fusiliers
1stBn The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
1st Bn The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment
1st Bn The Light Infantry
2ndBn The Light Infantry
1stBn The Royal Green Jackets
2nd Bn The Royal Green Jackets
1stBn The Royal Gurkha Rifles
Intelligence
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many (a) agents and (b) covert human intelligence sources are receiving pensions; [112277]
16 May 2003 : Column 449W
- (2) what the cost was of (a) the 14th Intelligence Unit, (b) the Forward Reconnaissance Unit, (c) the Force Research Unit and (d) the Joint Services Group, in each of the last five years; [112523]
(3) what the mission was of the Force Research Unit. [112520]
Mr. Ingram: I am withholding the information requested in accordance with Exemption 1a (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) predecessor and (b) successor bodies were to the Force Research Unit; and when each body was (i) established and (ii) disbanded. [112521]
Mr. Ingram: I am withholding the information requested in accordance with Exemption 1a (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Iraq
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the replacement of ordnance used during the Iraq conflict; and what changes this might imply for UK armed forces armoury. [111813]
Mr. Ingram: Ordnance usage during the Iraq conflict will be assessed by the Ministry of Defence as part of its wider post-operational assessment It is too soon to say how this might affect the United Kingdom armoury.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the helicopters deployed to Operation Telic together with the serviceability rates for each aircraft. [111822]
Mr. Ingram: The number of helicopters, by type, deployed to Operation TELIC is listed.
| Helicopter type | Number deployed to operation TELIC |
|---|---|
| Chinook | 20 |
| Gazelle | 16 |
| Lynx Mk 3 | 6 |
| Lynx Mk 7 | 22 |
| Lynx Mk 8 | 4 |
| Lynx Mk 9 | 2 |
| Merlin Mk 1 | 4 |
| Puma | 7 |
| Sea King Mk 4 | 10 |
| Sea King Mk 6 | 6 |
| Sea King Mk 7 | 4 |
Post operational reporting will provide analysis and assessment of the performance of equipment deployed on operations in Iraq. It would, therefore, be premature for me to provide a detailed assessment of the performance of helicopters at this stage. However, early indications are that the helicopters deployed to Operation TELIC performed very well.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the operational effectiveness of the containers handling rough terrain during Operation Telic; and what the average time was for moving containers. [111825]
16 May 2003 : Column 450W
Mr. Ingram: There are two types of container handling equipment in theatre, the Rough Terrain Container Handling and the Container Handling Rough Terrain. The two pieces of equipment have provided a complementary capability, both have played a vital role in the logistical operations in the Gulf. Data on the length of time taken to move a container is not recorded.
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps are being taken to destroy unexploded munitions in Iraq; [111918]
- (2) what steps are being taken to protect (a) children and (b) adults from unexploded munitions in Iraq. [111919]
Mr. Ingram: Basra and its environs are likely to contain a significant number of unexploded munitions from the Iran-Iraq war as well as mines laid by Iraqi forces, unexploded ordnance fired or dropped during recent hostilities and stores of ammunition and other ordnance left by Iraqi military and paramilitary forces.Providing a safe, secure and risk free environment for the Iraqi people is a key aspect of restoration activity for the Coalition. When unexploded munitions are discovered Coalition forces' mark the site and inform those in the vicinity. Their normal practice is then to destroy them in situ. Those that present the greatest threat to human life and coalition operations are destroyed first.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK naval base in Gibraltar was fully utilised for operations in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [112009]
Mr. Ingram: The Gibraltar naval base was employed in support of recent operations in Iraq. Some vessels from the Naval Task Group headed by HMS Ark Royal called at Gibraltar en route to the Gulf and elements of the Air Group also embarked via Gibraltar as the Task Group transited east.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what problems have been reported with desert boots issued to members of the armed forces serving in Operation Telic. [112028]
Mr. Ingram: No problems have been reported to date through the official defect reporting system regarding desert boots issued to members of our armed forces serving in Kuwait or Iraq.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance is being given by (a) the Royal Marines and (b) the Royal Navy to facilitate the reconstruction of Iraq. [112250]
Mr. Ingram: The Royal Navy and Royal Marines have played a crucial role in facilitating the reconstruction of Iraq. In particular, their efforts alongside United States forces in liberating the port of Umm Qasr, and in clearing the Khawr Abd Allah waterway of mines and obstructions should be commended. Umm Qasr is one of the key points of entry for humanitarian aid into Iraq, and RFA Sir Galahad, carrying food, water and medical supplies, arrived in the port on 28 March.
16 May 2003 : Column 451W
Joint Strike Fighter
Dr. Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Joint Strike Fighters he intends to order for the Royal Navy. [112265]
Mr. Ingram: The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has been selected to meet our Future Joint Combat Aircraft (FJCA) requirement, to replace the current Harrier aircraft of Joint Force Harrier (JHF). FJCA will be flown by both Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel, from the new carriers and land bases. While no final decisions have yet been taken, our planning assumption is based on 150 of the Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of JSF being acquired to meet the FJCA Requirement.
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will take measures to ensure that weapons stocks procured before the Joint Strike Fighter enters UK service will be able to operate efficiently on the JSF; [112438]
- (2) if it is his policy that measures will be taken to ensure that UK air-launched weapons stocks can more fully inter-operate with US aircraft and vice versa; [112440]
(3) if he will make a statement on the extent to which the UK's air launched weapons stocks can inter-operate with US aircraft, and vice versa, in current operations. [112439]
Mr. Ingram: The interoperability of air launched weapons with our allies is one of a number of factors considered when procuring new systems.
The United Kingdom has a number of air launched weapons which could be inter-operable with United States aircraft and vice versa, such as Maverick, for example. However it is not usual practice to share stocks as notionally common weapons often have different national sub-systems, such as fuzes. Changes to these would therefore be required before the weapons could be used by other nations' aircraft.
During the acquisition of air launched weapons due consideration is given to their potential to operate effectively from JSF if they are likely to be in use when JSF is in service.
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