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Armed Forces Accommodation

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what service housing is available to military personnel; how much has been (a) sold, (b) built and (c) improved since 1997; what plans he has to integrate military families with surrounding civilian families; and what support is available to military personnel with families unable to find suitable accommodation. [115162]

Dr. Moonie: The Defence Housing Executive (DHE) maintains about 50,000 family properties for allocation to Service personnel in mainland United Kingdom.

About 16,000 surplus properties have been disposed of since 1997, mainly by release to Annington Homes Ltd. to whom most of the family housing stock (other than in Scotland) had already been sold in 1996 under a sale and leaseback agreement.

Since its formation in 1995, the DHE has acquired about 2,380 new build houses for Service families in locations where existing housing was insufficient or required rebuilding.

The overall condition of the housing stock has been improved substantially. Since the formation of DHE in 1995, the number of properties at Standard 1 for Condition has risen from about 1,000 to about 21,000. This has been achieved partly through upgrade and improvement work and partly by disposal and selective rebuilding.

Service families are not left unable to find suitable accommodation. Normally DHE keeps houses waiting for people, not people waiting for houses. In the event that DHE locally has insufficient properties for entitled Service families, arrangements are made to rent additional properties from the private sector.

The substantial disposal programme for surplus MOD housing has contributed significantly to the integration of military and civilian families. Although available for the population generally, a significant minority of ex-MOD houses are believed to have been bought by Service or ex-Service personnel.

Armed Forces Personnel (Records)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where and in what form files of (a) personnel, (b) medical and (c) disciplinary records of members of Her Majesty's armed forces are stored after their death; how long these files are retained; and what access is available for interested parties. [115790]

Dr. Moonie: The locations and formats of the personnel records, including medical and disciplinary records, of members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces who have died vary according to their Service and the

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age of the records. Service personnel records are now normally held by the Ministry of Defence for 100 years from date of birth for administrative purposes, with those records over 30 years old being retained with the authority of the Lord Chancellor.

The surviving personnel records of those who served up to the early part of the last century are now publicly available in the National Archives at Kew, though the exact dates of the records available vary according to Service.

Information from the records of deceased personnel still held by the MOD is normally only disclosed to the next of kin or to those authorities with a legitimate reason to receive the information, such as HM Coroner or the Police. Otherwise it is Departmental policy to obtain the consent of the next of kin as part of the consideration for a request for disclosure. Access to the medical records of deceased service personnel is normally governed by the Access to Medical Health Records Act 1990. Outside this, medical information is not normally disclosed without the consent of the personal representative or the next of kin.

Cadet Forces

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance is given to local areas to raise (a) the level of and (b) finance available to cadet forces. [115616]

Dr. Moonie: The Army Cadets and the Air Training Corps are voluntary youth organisations sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and are funded appropriate to the way they are organised. The MOD provides support to both the Army Cadet Force (ACF) and the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) in the form of financial assistance, material and limited regular Army manpower resources. The Air Cadet Organisation is funded in a similar way. Efforts at a local level to raise the profile of, and finance available to, cadet forces must be conducted within the finite resources allocated.

The Sea Cadet Corps (SCC), unlike the Cadet Corps of the other two services who receive the majority of their funding from the MOD, is an independent youth movement administered by the Sea Cadet Association (SCA), which is a registered charity. The MOD support for the SCC is defined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SCA agreed in July 2001. Under the MOU we provide annual funding that helps to provide for the HQ for the SCA and covers the cost of a number of personnel. Due to their independent, charitable status, SCC units are responsible for their own affairs such as raising their public profile and funding.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the size and nature of military forces required to restore peace and security in the Congo; and if he will make a statement. [116230]

Mr. Ingram: The situation in and around Bunia remains complicated and volatile. The United Kingdom is concerned and calls on all parties to honour their commitments under the relevant peace agreements.

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In response to a request from the UN, the UK has agreed to provide a small contribution to a multi-national force to stabilise Bunia, pending the deployment of additional forces by the UN. We are actively discussing with France and the UN what precisely our contribution might be and have authorised a reconnaissance to inform our decision on the size, scope and nature of this contribution.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions have taken place at NATO regarding the situation in the Congo region. [116232]

Mr. Ingram: The French Ambassador to the North Atlantic Council (NAC) informed other NATO colleagues on 28 May 2003 about the security situation in the Congo. He also confirmed that the UN had officially requested French assistance. The NAC went onto to discuss whether the operation would be under a UN or ESDP leadership. No decision has yet been made.

We understand that the Interim Emergency Multinational Force for Bunia (north-eastern DRC), mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1484 (30 May 2003), might be discussed at a NATO-EU ministerial meeting today.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what resources the Government will provide in response to the UN Secretary-General's call for the deployment of a rapid reaction force to the Democratic Republic of Congo. [116412]

Mr. Ingram: In response to a request from the UN, the United Kingdom has agreed to provide a small contribution to a multi-national force to stabilise Bunia. We are actively discussing with France and the UN what precisely our contribution might be and have authorised a reconnaissance to inform our decision on the size, scope and nature of this contribution.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what discussions he has had with (a) the UN, (b) the US, (c) the EU and (d) France regarding the situation

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in the Congo north-eastern Ituri province; and what requests he has received for military assistance concerning this matter; [116229]

(2) what discussions took place between the EU Defence Ministers on 19 May 2003 concerning the situation in the Congo; and what conclusions were reached. [116231]

Mr. Ingram: At the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 19 May 2003 the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo was discussed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and his French counterpart.

In response to a request from the UN, the United Kingdom has agreed to provide a small contribution to a multi-national force to stabilise Bunia. We are actively discussing with France and the UN what precisely our contribution might be.

There have been no discussions between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and his United States counterpart.

Correspondence

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to send the letter promised on 28 April in response to Parliamentary Questions tabled by the hon. Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 11 April concerning the prisoner of war camp at Umm Qasr. [116372]

Mr. Ingram: I replied to the hon.Member on 22 May.

Critical Manning Groups

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what critical manning groups have been identified in the Royal Navy; and in each case what is its strength against establishment. [115328]

Dr. Moonie: As at 1 May 2003, the five most critical manning groups in the Royal Navy, in terms of their impact on Operational Capability, are:

Group	Requirement	Strength	Shortfall %
Warfare Branch Lieutenants (Submarines)	165	95	-40
Category B Nuclear Watch Keepers—Chief Petty Officers	371	280	-24.5
Weapons Engineering Artificers (Submarines)—Chief Petty Officers	313	256	-18.3
Warfare Branch Leading Hands	2,334	1,994	-8.2
Weapons Engineering Artificers (General Service)—Chief Petty Officers and Petty Officers	878	806	-6

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