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1 Sept 2003 : Column 920W—continued

Scottish Regiments

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the Scottish regiments; what their authorised strength is; and how many vacancies there are. [126213]

Mr. Caplin: Details of the Scottish regiments, their authorised strength (Establishment), actual strength and manning deficit, are given in the following table.

	Establishment	Strength	Deficit	Establishment	Strength	Deficit
		Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders			1 Black Watch
UKTAP(79)	625	575	50	745	645	100
Whole Army Strength	625	575	50	745	645	100
	1 Highlanders			1 Kings Own Scottish Borderers
UKTAP(79)	625	520	105	665	630	35
Gurkhas	0	110	-110
Total	625	630	-5	665	630	35
		1 Royal Highland Fusiliers				1 Royal Scots
UKTAP(79)	620	540	80	620	525	95
Total	620	540	80	620	525	95
		Scots Guards				F Coy Scots Guards
UKTAP(79)	625	565	60	110	115	-5
Total	625	565	60	110	115	-5

⁽⁷⁹⁾ UK Trained Adult Personnel—Includes personnel from other Corps attached to the Regiments.

Secondments

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel from (a) 15 Squadron, (b) 16 Squadron, (c) 20 Squadron and (d) 56 Squadron have been seconded to other squadrons to take part in operations in the past five years. [126149]

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

Suicide and Self-harm

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) suicides and (b) attempted suicides there were in military prisons in each year since 1990 by (i) members of the armed forces and (ii) members of the armed forces in custody awaiting trial; and how many serious self mutilations and injuries there were amongst members of the armed forces awaiting custodial sentences over the same period. [120512]

Mr. Caplin [holding answer 25 June 2003]: Armed Forces personnel who are found guilty of criminal charges requiring imprisonment are detained within Her Majesty's Prisons. There are no separate "military prisons". However, detention facilities are available at guardrooms in units and establishments in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. When it is necessary to hold an individual in custody pending their trial or sentencing, they are usually held at a local detention facility. An average of around 1,000 personnel per year have been held at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) in Colchester. The following table gives the number of attempted suicides, suicides, and incidents of self harm of members of the armed forces either in custody or awaiting a custodial sentence at the MCTC in Colchester. Information on members of the Armed Forces held in custody elsewhere is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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	Members of the armedforces in custody		Members of the armed forcesawaiting custodial sentence
Year	Attempted Suicide	Suicide	Attempted Suicide	Suicide	Self Harm
2003	0	0	0	0	0
2002	2	0	0	0	0
2001	1	0	0	0	1
2000	0	0	0	1	0
1999	2	0	0	0	0
1998	0	0	0	1	0
1997	0	0	0	0	0
1996	1	0	0	0	0
1995	0	0	0	0	0
1994	0	0	0	0	0
1993	0	0	0	0	0
1992	0	0	0	0	0
1991	0	0	0	0	0
1990	0	0	0	0	0
Total	6	0	0	2	1

Training Group Defence Agency

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what efficiency savings have been achieved by the Training Group Defence Agency in each year since 1998–99. [126146]

Mr. Caplin: Efficiency targets for the Training Group Defence Agency (TGDA) were set as input targets for the years prior to Financial Year 2002–03. Achievement was £20.354 million in FY 1999–2000 and £6.441 million in Financial Year 2000–01.

In Financial Year 2002–03 efficiency targets and measurements were presented to and approved by the PSX, which enabled the efficiency PSA to be expressed in output terms. The target for Financial Year 2002–03 was to reduce the average cost of a trainee to £180,560. This was achieved.

Following the QQR and associated revaluations of assets, which would distort absolute figures, the definition of efficiency was reviewed and restated as a percentage reduction compared with the initial baseline set as the outturn from Financial Year 2000–01. This declared mat TGDA would achieve a 0.75 per cent. per annum reduction in the average cost of a recruit graduating from initial specialist training.

In Financial Year 2002–03, TGDA met the 0.75 per cent. target and believe that they have achieved a slightly greater reduction that the target set. This will be validated once year end accounts are completed.

War Graves

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the state of British war graves in South Africa; and if he will increase the MOD's contribution to the upkeep of the graves; [125942]

(2) what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and (b) the Adjutant General's Office concerning funding for the upkeep of British Boer war graves in South Africa; [125943]

(3) what recent discussions he has had with the South African government regarding funding for the maintenance of British war graves in South Africa; [125944]

1 Sept 2003 : Column 922W

(4) further to his answers of 20 May 2003, Official Report, column 673W, and of 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 539W, on the Boer War, whether the contributions made by the Government to the South African Heritage Resources Agency have been suspended. [126060]

Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 539W. The Adjutant-General, who is responsible for pre-1900 British war graves, earlier this year funded a study by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission into the costs of restoring and maintaining those graves in South Africa. This report is currently under consideration and consequently no discussions have yet taken place with the South African authorities.

Any proposal to change the amount made in the annual donation to the South African Heritage Resource Agency from the present level of £15,000 will be considered in the context of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission report.

This money is administered by our Defence Attaché in Pretoria and allocated to specific projects before being passed to the relevant South African agency.

HEALTH

Food Supplements

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expected cost to industry is of the Food Supplements Regulations (England) 2003; how many food supplements and nutrients are to be removed from sale as a result of the regulations; and what assessment her Department has made of British manufacturers' and retailers' representations on the regulations. [121909]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The United Kingdom has no choice but to implement the Food Supplements Directive in order to fulfil its obligations under the European Community treaty. The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 take full advantage of all the flexibility available to member states in implementing the legislation, which has been welcomed by British manufacturers and retailers of food supplements.

The costs to the British food supplements industry will result from mandatory new labelling requirements in the Directive, from reformulation of products where necessary, from dossier preparation where industry chooses to do this and from possible future loss of products from the market. The Government's assessment of the costs associated with implementing the Directive, including those due to removal of products from sale, are set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). Copies have been placed in the Library.

The Food Standards Agency does not hold information about the numbers of food supplement products on the UK market. According to information provided by industry, Annex I of the Food Supplements Directive excludes from use six minerals that are currently used in products marketed in the UK and around 300 chemical forms of vitamins and minerals currently used in products on the UK market are not

1 Sept 2003 : Column 923W

included in Annex II. However, these may continue to be used in food supplements after 1 August 2005 provided the criteria in Article 4(6) of the Directive are met.

Many groups have expressed concerns about the potential impact of the Directive, and hence the implementing Regulations, on the UK market. The Government understand these concerns, many of which are also set out in the RIA. Given anxieties about the cost of dossier production and the timescale for dossier submission, the need for a meeting with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to discuss requirements for dossier content has now been agreed, following representations from the Food Standards Agency. The EFSA and relevant parties will meet to discuss the potential for simplified dossiers. The European Commission supports this move.

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) specialist manufacturers, (b) specialist retailers and (c) consumer choice of the requirement to remove from the market nutrients and nutrient sources which are not listed as acceptable for such use in the Schedules to the proposed Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003. [124161]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The United Kingdom has no choice but to implement the Food Supplements Directive in order to fulfil its obligations under the European Community treaty. The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 take full advantage of all the flexibility available to member states in implementing the legislation.

The Government recognise that some products may be lost from the UK market from 1 August 2005 because of restrictions on nutrient sources which will apply from that date. However, it is not yet possible to fully assess the implications of the Directive for specialist manufacturers, retailers and for consumer choice since these will depend upon future developments on lists of permitted nutrients and nutrient sources and on maximum limits for vitamin and minerals in food supplements.

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