| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
25 Jun 2003 : Column 887W—continued
Tri-service Bill
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) armed forces personnel, broken down by (i) service and (ii) rank, and (b) civilian staff, broken down by grade, are working on drafting the new tri-service Bill; and under whose command, and at what location, the work is progressing. [121296]
Mr. Ingram: The team working on the policy and legal issues for the tri-Service Bill is based in London, within
25 Jun 2003 : Column 888W
the Directorate General of Service Personnel Policy, and reports to a senior civil service official. It consists of the following staff:
- Royal Navy: One Captain
Army: Two Colonels
Royal Air Force: One Group Captain and one Wing Commander
Civil Service: One Bl (formerly Grade 6/Senior Principal) and one Cl (formerly Senior Executive Officer).
25 Jun 2003 : Column 889W
Type-23 Frigates
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the number of Type-23 Frigates; and if he will make a statement. [121204]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 1018W, to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin). There are currently no plans to reduce the number of
25 Jun 2003 : Column 890W
Royal Navy Type-23 Frigates before the end of their scheduled service life around the middle of the next decade, from which point they will be progressively withdrawn.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what definition the Government uses of what qualifies as a weapon of mass destruction. [120733]
Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave on 22 May 2002, Official Report, column 367W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith).