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DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the (a) size and (b) duration of British military patrols outside Kabul in Afghanistan. [125008]

Mr. Ingram: The main body of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) began to deploy to Mazar-e-Sharif on 10 July 2003 and is still in the process of establishing itself in the city. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence explained to the House on 8 May 2003, Official Report, columns 38–40WS, the PRT will be active across the five surrounding provinces of Balkh, Faryab, Jowzjan, Sar-e-Pol and Samangan. In preparation for that role, advance teams have recently visited sites across these provinces at irregular intervals.

Bosnia

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions took place at the recent NATO ministerial meeting in Madrid concerning the EU decision at Copenhagen to assume the NATO peacekeeping mandate in Bosnia; and whether (a) NATO and (b) the United States has accepted that decision. [124362]

Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply.

The European Union has not taken a decision to "assume the NATO peace-keeping mandate in Bosnia". The Conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council of 12/13 December 2002 noted "the European Union's willingness to lead a military operation in Bosnia following SFOR". This would of course require a prior decision by NATO to terminate its mission, as was the case when the EU took over the stabilisation role from NATO earlier this year in Macedonia. The transition of the much larger mission in Bosnia will require extensive discussions between the EU and NATO. There was a brief informal discussion of this issue, as part of the wider discussion of EU/NATO co-operation in the Balkans at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Madrid.

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CBRN Emergencies

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training of Territorial Army personnel has taken place in 2003 in respect of dealing with CBRN emergencies; and if he will make a statement. [125617]

Mr. Caplin: All Territorial Army personnel are expected to undertake training in respect of dealing with Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear attack, initially as part of their recruitment training, and annually as one of their Individual Training Directives (ITDs).

In order for an individual to be considered either for operational deployment, or inclusion within a Civil Contingency Reaction Force, they must have completed the relevant ITD in the last 12 months.

Cluster Munitions

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has commissioned on the number of civilians (a) killed and (b) injured by cluster submunitions by (i) the International Red Cross and (ii) other agencies in Iraq. [116813]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 5 June 2003]: We recognise that unexploded cluster bomblets, and indeed all unexploded ordnance, is a matter of humanitarian concern and we are fully committed to work towards the clearance of unexploded ordnance.

No research has been commissioned by the Ministry of Defence on casualties caused to civilians by cluster munitions.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reviews have been undertaken by his Department regarding the civilian casualty figures caused by unexploded cluster submunitions in the post-conflict regions of (a) the Gulf, (b) Kosovo and (c) Afghanistan; and what assessment he has made of the impact of these bomblets on Iraqi civilians in the future. [116818]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 5 June 2003]: No such reviews and assessments have been undertaken by the Ministry of Defence.

Conflict Prevention

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his budget in (a) 2002–03 will be and (b) 2003–04 was spent on conflict prevention. [125240]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence's outturn for 2002–03 will not be finalised until publication of the Departmental Resource Account in the autumn. However, based on provisional outturn, the proportion of the 2002–03 budget spent on conflict prevention operations and activities is as follows:

	Percentage
Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL)	6.56
Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL)	5.22

It is not possible to estimate at this stage the

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proportion of the 2003–04 budget that will be spent on conflict prevention, as this will depend on the demand for military involvement in each theatre of operations.

Departmental Policies (Pendle)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what policies (a) initiated and (b) managed by his Department since 2001 have had an impact on Pendle; and if he will make a statement. [124089]

Mr. Caplin: The purpose of the Ministry of Defence is to provide the capabilities needed to defend the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories, and protect British people and interests, as well as act as a force for good by strengthening international peace and security. Defence is a national activity and as such policy initiatives and spending are characterised as in the regions rather than for the regions.

While the MOD makes a positive contribution to the community through the management of a Cadet Hut at Butts Yard, Barnoldswick, there are no other Defence establishments in the constituency. Some of our policies may have an indirect effect on people and organisations in Pendle, e.g. recruitment to the armed forces or the MOD from this area, or the presence in Pendle of defence suppliers, including their sub-contractors and employees. However, this regionally based information is not held centrally by the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Diego Garcia

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which vessels are moored in British waters off Diego Garcia; and if he will make a statement. [125568]

Mr. Rammell: I have been asked to reply.

In accordance with our various agreements with the US, a number of US merchant vessels, chartered by the US Government, are at any time moored in Diego Garcia waters. From time-to-time US and other visiting warships also moor there, as do fishing vessels which have been brought in on suspicion of illegal fishing in British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) waters, vessels engaged in scientific research in the waters of the Territory and the BIOT Fisheries Protection Vessel.

Drummore Harbour

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Drummore harbour will next be dredged. [125736]

Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has no plans for dredging Drummore Harbour at this time.

EU Committees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in the Department serve on EU committees or working parties. [116094]

Mr. Ingram: The highest military body established in the Council is the EU Military Committee, which is comprised of Chiefs of Defence Staff who meet at least once every six months. At other times, the EUMC and its Working Group are serviced by five Brussels-based United Kingdom military staff working for the UK

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Military Representative to the EU, who also functions as the UK Military Representative to NATO. Two Ministry of Defence civilian officials are also based in Brussels to support ESDP aspects of the work of the Political and Security Committee and its preparatory groups. From time to time, specialist staff based in the UK also attend working group meetings in Brussels, for example to plan crisis management exercises or for detailed work on force development. These meetings generally do not have a fixed membership, and the numbers attending vary depending on the subjects under discussion, but the total number of UK-based MOD staff involved is about 20.

European Security and Defence Policy

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects that the EU will be able to deploy forces of Corps level under the provisions of the European Security and Defence Pact. [125608]

Mr. Hoon: There is no "European Security and Defence Pact". Responding to the Headline Goal established under the European Security and Defence Policy, European Union member states have together already offered to make available for ESDP operations forces of greater than corps size. The General Affairs and External Relations Council in May agreed that the EU now has operational capability across the full range of Petersberg tasks, albeit limited and constrained by recognised shortfalls, which particularly affect speed of deployment and level of risk for larger, higher-intensity tasks. The number of forces which could be deployed for any particular ESDP operation would depend on the operational scenario and what member states and other countries decided to contribute.

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