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Services Training

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average cost is of (a) phase one and (b) phase two training per recruit for each of the three services and the Royal Marines. [123946]

Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 3 June 2003, Official Report, columns 298–99W, by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans (Dr. Moonie) to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock).

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what improvements are being implemented to improve recreational facilities in each of the three services. [123947]

Mr. Ingram: Trainees already have access to a range of recreational facilities, including playing fields and other sports amenities, and traditional NAAFI facilities, including games and social rooms with TV and video. A number of improvements are being made, including to sporting facilities and the introduction of Quiet Rooms, Juice Bars and Internet Cafes. User views

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on recreational facilities are being sought through surveys and focus groups to identify further candidate enhancements.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the average supervisory ratios of staff to trainees in initial training establishments for each of the three services. [123948]

Mr. Ingram: Average figures for the classroom environment vary from 1:3 to 1:40 according to the nature of the training being undertaken. Outside the classroom, ratios vary greatly depending on local circumstances such as age, maturity of recruits, geography of establishments etc, and an average ratio is therefore neither collated nor meaningful. Individual establishments are charged with ensuring that supervisory ratios outside the classroom are appropriate for duty of care in each of these circumstances.

Sigma Aerospace Contracts

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 3 July, ref 123650, how long is left of the unexpired period on the Sigma Aerospace Ltd. contracts (a) to repair and overhaul TS6 Hercules engines and (b) to provide second line servicing on the Allison engine fitted C130J Hercules. [124928]

Mr. Ingram: The present contract with Sigma Aerospace Ltd. for the repair and overhaul of the Hercules C-130K T56 engines is due to expire on 30 September 2003. The Ministry of Defence has placed an entry in the Defence Contracts Bulletin requesting expressions of interest for the replacement contract.

Servicing of the Hercules C-130J Allison engines is currently undertaken as part of the Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) arrangement with Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the Hercules C-130J. This CLS arrangement is due to finish in June 2005.

Submarines

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to deploy low frequency active sonar to detect quiet submarines; and what the timescale is for its deployment. [124534]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 10 July 2003]: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 516W, 12 May 2003, Official Report, column 47W, to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) and to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Baillieston (Mr. Wray) on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 159W. The only low frequency active sonar currently planned for deployment with the Royal Navy is Sonar 2087. It is expected to enter service from 2006 onwards. It will be fitted to the Type 23 Frigates as part of their normal refit programmes.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he is undertaking into the effects on the UK marine environment of the use of low frequency active sonar. [124535]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 10 July 2003]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 69W, by my right hon. Friend

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the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Moonie) to the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr. Sanders). The Ministry of Defence has a programme of research into the effects of active sonar generally, rather than Low Frequency Active Sonar in particular, and this is ongoing. This work is intended to inform Environmental Impact Assessments on marine environments in which sonars might be used by the United Kingdom, rather than in the specific context of UK territorial waters.

Suicide Rates (Female Personnel)

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 467W, on suicide rates, what the estimated rates for female personnel were; and what percentage of female personnel this represents. [125566]

Mr. Caplin: There has been one female suicide/open verdict death over the period 1993–2002, which equates to a rate of 1 per 100,000 strength.

Telecommunications Masts

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many planning applications have been made to site mobile telecommunications masts on land owned by the Department. [124811]

Mr. Caplin: Since August 2001 when the current planning regulations on mobile telecommunications masts came into force, there have been 43 applications and seven applications for prior approval to site mobile telecommunications masts on land owned by the Ministry of Defence.

War Crimes

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity have been undertaken by British forces near Basra; and if he will make a statement. [115325]

Mr. Ingram: United Kingdom Forces in Basra are preserving any evidence found of legacy war crimes or crimes against humanity thought to have been carried out by the Iraqi regime for possible future investigations by an appropriate authority. UK military police are currently investigating a number of incidents that occurred during recent operations involving UK forces. It would be inappropriate to comment on on-going investigations.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Angling

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the value of angling to the Northern Ireland economy; how many tourists participated in angling in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and what his latest estimate is of how many Northern Ireland residents participate in angling in Northern Ireland. [123469]

Angela Smith: No assessment has been made of the value of angling to the Northern Ireland economy. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board estimates that the value

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of trips which included an angling element was £4.88 million in 2002. In the five-year period 1998 to 2002, the estimated numbers of tourists participating in angling in Northern Ireland based on rod licence sales are as follows:

	Number
2002	3,894
2001	3,666
2000	3,855
1999	5,254
1998	4,807

The estimated number of Northern Ireland residents participating in angling in Northern Ireland based on rod licence sales is 23,125. This figure does not include a small number of anglers participating in sea angling as no licence is required for sea fish angling.

Car Accidents (Deaths)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the PSNI about the measures to reduce deaths through road traffic accidents (a) in Northern Ireland and (b) in North Down. [125812]

Angela Smith: In November 2002, I was joined by the Assistant Chief Constable with responsibility for road traffic policing in launching the Northern Ireland Road Safety Strategy 2002–12. The strategy provides a major step forward in outlining the partnership approach between the main agencies: Department of the Environment (DOE), the Department for Regional Development (DRD) and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), in addressing the main causes of death and serious injuries, which are speed, drink-driving and failure to wear seat belts.

Officials in the relevant Departments and agencies, including PSNI, have been liaising closely to implement the objectives outlined in the strategy. The strategy provided for the establishment of a Road Safety Steering Group, which will oversee and monitor progress towards the delivery of the strategic objectives and targets and consider new initiatives. The Steering Group involves senior management in each of the three main organisations responsible for the delivery of the strategy.

Actual delivery of the activities and initiatives set out in the strategy will be co-ordinated by the Road Safety Review Group, which is chaired by a senior official in the DOE and includes representatives from Roads Service and PSNIs Road Policing Development Branch.

Since the launch of the strategy there have been five joint launches involving the DOE and PSNI, including the launch of the new anti-speeding campaign where the Assistant Chief Constable and I reaffirmed our commitment to road safety and to influence positively the attitudes and behaviour of all road users through education and enforcement.

Officials from the DRD Roads Service have regular liaison meetings with PSNI to discuss any relevant issues to do with traffic management and road safety from an

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engineering perspective. Roads Service officials have also met recently with PSNI to discuss road safety on the A2 Belfast to Bangor road in North Down.

As part of a major initiative on use of fixed and mobile safety cameras throughout Northern Ireland, four sites on the A2 Belfast to Bangor Road have been selected for enforcement by safety cameras and new signing for these sites was erected on 1 July 2003, superseding earlier speed camera signing. This again was undertaken by PSNI in conjunction with Roads Service and was as a result of the close liaison between the two organisations.

The hon. Member may be interested to note that although the number of fatalities (87) to date this year is higher than the comparable period in the last two years, the numbers of killed and seriously injured (KSI), which are the recognised road safety indicators throughout the UK, have shown a steady decline. In the first five months of this year (the last full period for which comparative figures are available) the KSI total is 581 compared with 682 for the same period in 2002 and 701 in 2001.

There will continue to be positive and constructive discussions not only between the DOE, DRD and PSNI, but also with all its partners in road safety to ensure safer roads for everyone in Northern Ireland. However, it is incumbent upon all road users to take personal responsibility for their action when using the roads.

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