---

8 Sept 2003 : Column 37W—continued

NHS Treatment Delays

Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and the Welsh Assembly concerning a definition for an unreasonable period of delay for treatment within the NHS, as phrased in the European Court of Justice ruling on treatment of patients abroad for patients from Wales. [109878]

Mr. Touhig: Treatment under the national health service is a matter in Wales for the National Assembly for Wales. The National Assembly for Wales is in regular contact with the Department of Health and the other UK health departments with regard to EU and other international health matters.

8 Sept 2003 : Column 38W

Race Relations

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made in his Department and non-departmental public bodies on implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000; and if he will publish the results of the monitoring required by the Act. [117467]

Mr. Hain: On this matter the Wales Office will implement the policies of the Department for Constitutional Affairs and I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to her on 1 September 2003, Official Report, column 782W, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his Department's regulatory impact assessment procedure; and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year. [120744]

Mr. Touhig: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is completed for all Wales Office regulatory proposals that have more than a negligible impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector.

No RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department in the last year.

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [126675]

Mr. Hain: A Wales Office special adviser accompanied the Secretary of State to Spain in April 2002 and to France in July 2002. The costs of these trips by the special adviser was some £900 and some £700 respectively.

8 Sept 2003 : Column 39W

DEFENCE

Armed Forces (Logistic Support)

23. Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps he has taken to enhance the cost-effectiveness of the logistic support to the armed forces. [128440]

Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (David Wright) on 8 September 2003, Official Report, column 18.

Royal Navy (Procurement)

24. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress on the procurement of new ships for the Royal Navy. [128441]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has embarked on the largest procurement programme of new ships for the Royal Navy in many years. There are currently some 10 projects at various stages of the procurement process. In the last three years, 15 new ships have been ordered, comprising six Type 45 destroyers, four Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary), two survey vessels and three offshore patrol vessels. Future plans include the purchase of two new aircraft carriers, further ASTUTE class submarines and Type 45 destroyers, the future surface combatant and a number of support vessels.

Armed Forces (Register of Electors)

25. Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to ensure that service men and women are aware of the requirement to renew their entry on the armed forces register of electors on an annual basis. [128442]

Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence issues an annual Defence Council Instruction explaining voting arrangements in detail to all members of the armed forces. The last was issued on 31 January 2003.

Accommodation

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on expenditure on improvements and furnishings for the accommodation assigned to commanding officers; and if he will make a statement. [127114]

Mr. Caplin: The Defence Housing Executive (DHE)'s Key Targets require it to upgrade all of the core stock of Service Family Accommodation in Great Britain to Standard 1 for Condition, as funding allows. In this respect, no distinction is made between houses lived in by commanding officers and those lived in by any other service personnel and their families.

All Service personnel are entitled to furnished accommodation, with the furnishings provided being of a standard quality, regardless of the occupant's rank. The exceptions to this are very senior officers and officers who hold 'Command Appointments', where, due to their appointment, they are required to provide official entertainment, and so they are entitled to have an enhanced standard of furnishings in public areas.

8 Sept 2003 : Column 40W

Maintenance of furnishings in all properties is carried out within funding constraints, and items are only replaced when they become unserviceable.

Armed Forces (Electoral Registration)

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that members of Her Majesty's armed forces are aware of the new requirement to register to vote on an annual basis. [127748]

Mr. Caplin: It is the individual responsibility of each member of the armed forces to register to vote annually. The Ministry of Defence issues an annual Defence Council Instruction explaining this requirement in detail. The last was issued on 31 January 2003.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures have been put in place to facilitate annual entry on the Service register of electors for Servicemen and women who are overseas or on active Service. [127749]

Mr. Caplin: It is the individual responsibility of each member of the armed forces to register to vote annually. Service personnel overseas can choose to register as Service voters by means of a Service declaration, but they can then only vote by proxy. Those who choose to register on their local electoral register will be able to vote either by post or proxy if they are overseas or away from home during any election. Every effort is made by ships, units, and stations to give reasonable assistance to personnel overseas to register or vote in line with their individual electoral registration choice.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of HM armed forces were registered to vote on the Service register of electors in each of the last three years. [127754]

Mr. Caplin: Information on the number of registered Service voters is no longer held centrally. With the introduction of the new voting arrangements from 16 February 2001, those armed forces personnel that now choose to be Service registered voters register annually with the individual electoral registration officers of their choice.

Armed Forces (Community Support)

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to maintain a military presence in each area of the UK for the purposes of (a) recruitment and (b) community support. [127246]

Mr. Ingram: For the purposes of recruitment, a military presence is maintained in each area of the United Kingdom by way of the nationwide network of Armed Forces Careers Offices and satellite recruiting offices, totalling over 130 recruiting offices. In addition all three Services' Schools and Recruiting Presentation Teams, and Ethnic Minority Recruiting and Diversity Action Teams remain highly proactive; they will continue with their full programme of visits to schools, colleges, careers fairs and exhibitions, graduate fairs, regional and local communities, youth clubs, local events exhibitions and sporting events, the length and breadth of the country.

8 Sept 2003 : Column 41W

The armed forces provide, and will continue to provide, a broad range of support across the country to the community. This includes support through a wide range of youth and educational programmes, such as Skill Force and the Army Cadet Force Outreach programme.

The Department is committed to providing military assistance to civil authorities across the country in response to emergencies—for example, the response to foot and mouth disease. Operation FRESCO, Search and Rescue, and bomb disposal. Civil Contingencies Reaction Forces (CCRFs) are also being formed in each region to enhance our ability to support the police and other authorities during civil emergencies. The CCRFs are drawn from the Armed Forces Reserves for a number of reasons, including the fact that the Reserves 'footprint' across the country matches more closely the centres of population than the footprint of the Regular forces.

---