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Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on (a) the number and (b) the role of British troops being deployed to Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo. [119556]

Mr. Ingram: The United Nations Security Council passed UNSCR 1484 on 30 May giving a limited and specific mandate for a Interim Multinational Force to help stabilise the situation in Bunia in north east Congo pending the deployment of additional forces by the UN. The mandate expires on 1 September 2003.

As I announced in the House on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 849, the United Kingdom has currently offered a small contribution to the EU-led multinational force being deployed to Bunia. We have offered five staff officers for the Force Headquarters in theatre, a liaison officer to work with the UN, some Hercules transport aircraft to help deploy the multinational force and a small detachment of engineers. The role of the British element is to assist in providing staff and engineering support. However, the exact size of the element and its precise tasks will not be known until we have completed a detailed analysis of the engineering tasks to be undertaken in Bunia.

Departmental Ministers

Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of Ministers in his Department in each year since 1996. [120984]

Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 661W, by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Depleted Uranium

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers from the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Walter), on 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 291W, on depleted uranium (DU), whether all DU weapons will be removed; and whether the land on which they lay will be analysed before it is made available for unrestricted use by the public. [122531]

Mr. Caplin: The unused stocks of depleted uranium (DU) munitions that were available to British Forces during the conflict in Iraq have now been brought back to the United Kingdom.

MOD scientists carried out an initial examination of tanks suspected of having been struck by DU on 22 June. These tanks have been clearly marked up pending further detailed examination by an MOD scientific team. Risk assessments will be conducted on each and decisions made on a case-by-case basis on whether to clean them up and remove them or collect them together and fence them off.

At present, surface-lying DU fragments are being removed from the battlefield as they are discovered, and land on which UK Forces fired DU munitions will be analysed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during its environmental survey of Iraq. In support of the survey, MOD has provided details of UK DU firing locations and has offered to provide advice on carrying out risk assessments on DU within urban areas and on long-term monitoring of DU in the environment, including water. UNEP will make further recommendations once the environmental survey is complete.

Iraqi locals have been warned through Information Operation messages that they should not go near or touch any debris they find on the battlefield.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Strategic and Combat Studies Institute; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002. [119284]

Mr. Caplin: The Strategic and Combat Studies Institute is not an Agency. It is based within the Director General Development and Doctrine at Upavon, Pewsey, Wiltshire and is funded by the Ministry of Defence. As its name implies, its purpose is to encourage debate upon issues of strategy and combat, past, present and future. It does so via the publication of 'Occasional' papers, which are widely distributed to university departments, other Institutes such as the Royal United Services Institute and to relevant bodies overseas.

The Institute is staffed by two people. There are no staff employed in Scotland.

Infections (Gulf Personnel)

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of infections (a) broken down by diagnosis and (b) as a proportion of population at risk there were among service personnel deployed in the Gulf in 2003. [121335]

Mr. Caplin: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 18 June, Official

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Report, column 251W, whether there will be an inspection and audit by inspectors independent of the coalition force in the event of evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq being found; and if he will make a statement. [122030]

Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 525, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell).

Land Transactions

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) land acquired by his Department for military training since 1997 and (b) land released by his Department since 1997. [112359]

Mr. Caplin: Our policy is to acquire additional land only where this allows either more effective use of the estate or retention of essential training land which was formerly used under lease arrangements.

The only major acquisition of land for military training since 1997 was that at Cape Wrath, Scotland in 1998, totalling 2,684 hectares. The following table provides detail of smaller acquisitions in the period:

Smaller acquisitions of land since 1997

Land acquired	Hectares acquired
East Riggs, Dumfries and Galloway	0.03
Belmont Street, Aberdeen	(23)—
Leek Training Area	2.2
Llanfair P G—Anglesey	0.03
Leek Camp, Staffs	3.1
Nr Llangefni, Angelsey	0.5
Saxa Vord, Unst, Shetland	0.032
Cinque Ports	38.9
Cinque Port	24.3
Salisbury Plain	32.4
Sennybridge	44.5
DM Kineton, Warwickshire	1.9
Cinque Ports	7.3

⁽²³⁾ Not available.

Disposal figures are not available for 1997, but since 1998 the Department has disposed of some 7,000 hectares of land. Details of this breakdown could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Madrid Initiative

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Madrid Initiative agreed in Madrid in June 2003; what role the (a) Royal Navy and (b) the RAF will play in implementing the Madrid Initiative; and what countries are participants. [122684]

Mr. Hoon: The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) aims to reinforce the international effort against the trafficking in Weapons of Mass Destruction and related technology, with the goal of helping prevent these weapons falling into the wrong hands, such as countries of proliferation concern and terrorists. The United Kingdom strongly supports the aims of the PSI, and participated in a meeting on 12 June in Madrid. The

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initiative is at a very early stage, and no decisions have yet been taken on the involvement, if any, of armed forces. Any contribution by the Armed Forces of the UK would be consistent with their obligations under international law. The countries that attended the meeting in Madrid were: the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

Mental Health

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his staff retired on medical grounds due to mental health problems in the last year. [111968]

Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 661W, by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Nimrod/Astute

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total cost increase in the Nimrod and Astute programmes was due to changes in specifications; and if he will list the specified changes. [118193]

Mr. Ingram: None of the cost increases in the Nimrod and Astute programmes, announced by my noble Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement on 19 February, was due to changes in specifications. The cost increase in the Astute programme derives directly from the Department taking responsibility for a share of the cost increases resulting from decisions taken jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the company on the use of Computer Aided Design technology. For Nimrod MRA4, the cost increase is the MOD's contribution towards the costs required to restructure the programme, as well as including a separate amount for the conduct of an Assessment Phase study to explore the potential for capability enhancement as an "adaptable aircraft" to meet future defence requirements building upon the results of recent operational experience and the general need for more surveillance, reconnaissance and land attack capability identified in the SDR New Chapter.

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