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8 Jul 2003 : Column 700W—continued

MOD Refurbishment

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what refurbishment works have been undertaken during the last six years at the Ministry of Defence buildings in Whitehall; and if he will list the (a) works and (b) contractors. [123859]

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Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence Main Building in Whitehall is being redeveloped under the Private Finance Initiative. The contract with Modus plc which was placed in May 2000 covers not just the modernisation of Main Building and support services for 30 years but also works to the decant buildings needed to accommodate staff while the redevelopment is under way. Those in the Whitehall area are the Old War Office in Whitehall and Metropole building and Northumberland House in Northumberland Avenue. Modus' construction subcontractor, Skanska Whitehall is responsible for the work.

During 2000 a partial refurbishment of 3–5 Great Scotland Yard was carried out as a result of emergency structural propping works. The contractor was Willmott Dixon.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reporting procedures were in place during refurbishment works on Ministry of Defence buildings in Whitehall for contractors coming across surveillance devices. [123860]

Mr. Caplin: The Contract Schedule states that throughout the contract period, the Private Finance Initiative Contractor will be responsible for compliance with the Defence Manual of Security, which lays down the action to be taken on the discovery of surveillance devices.

Northern Ireland

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the army bases operational in Northern Ireland, broken down by council area. [123704]

Mr. Ingram: The armed forces currently operate from 55 bases in Northern Ireland which are either solely military sites or joint bases with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Excluded from this list are those premises solely occupied by Reserve Forces and Cadets as well as Regimental Museums. The operational bases are listed by council area as follows:

Antrim Borough Council


Armagh City and District Council


Ballymena Borough Council


Banbridge District Council


Belfast City Council


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Pensions Appeal (Legal Costs)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Department's legal costs have been in the case of Mr. Shaun Rusling; if he will make a

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statement on the reasons advanced for appealing the findings of the Pension Appeals Tribunal; and what his policy is subsequent to the ruling of the High Court on 13 June. [123941]

Mr. Caplin: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave on 20 June 2003, Official Report, column 514W, and on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 687. The Pensions Appeal Tribunal decision on the case of Mr. Rusling found that the Ministry of Defence had failed to show beyond reasonable doubt that disablement due to "Gulf War Syndrome" was not attributable to his Service in the armed forces. We appealed this decision because the overwhelming consensus of medical and scientific opinion is that the symptoms reported by some Gulf veterans do not constitute a discrete disorder. It is too early to say what the cost of contesting the case has been.

Premature Voluntary Release

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications for Premature Voluntary Release have been received by each service since 1 January. [123653]

Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to TSP5 publication "UK Regular Forces Premature Voluntary Release", a copy of which is held in the Library of the House.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Department's Regulatory Impact Assessment procedure; and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department in the last year. [120853]

Mr. Caplin: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. It includes details of arrangements for monitoring and evaluating policy proposals and their impact.

Most Ministry of Defence legislation relates to the armed forces and it is not necessary for a RIA to be conducted. Therefore, none was undertaken by the Department during the course of the last year.

Royal Navy

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy vessels were involved in the (a) Iraq, (b) Afghanistan, (c) Saif Sareea II, (d) Sierra Leone and (e) Kosovo operations; and what primary role they played. [124059]

Mr. Ingram: The following Royal Navy vessels took part in Op Telic in Iraq:


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Afghanistan—Op Oracle


Saif Sareea II


Sierra Leone—Op Palliser


Kosovo—Op Allied Force


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Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy vessels have been decommissioned since 2000; and what measures are in place to ensure there is no loss in level of capabilities as a result. [124061]

Mr. Ingram: The following Royal Navy vessels have been decommissioned since 2000:


The Department regularly reviews the Defence programme to ensure that the Royal Navy remains a highly capable and potent force with the optimum level of capability to meet requirements.

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what upgrades have been made to Royal Navy (a) surface ships and (b) submarines since 2000; and how these have improved their capability. [124062]

Mr. Ingram: Numerous upgrades have been made to ships and submarines since 2000 to ensure that the Royal Navy has the optimum level of capability to meet

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requirements. For submarines I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 157W. For ships, upgrades have included major improvements to command and communication systems, ventilation and air conditioning systems, diver compression chambers, flight deck modifications and electronic warfare systems.


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