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11 Sept 2003 : Column 414W—continued

Transport Infrastructure (Crosby)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) grants and (b) other assistance have been given by his Department for the improvement of transport infrastructure in Crosby since 1997. [129454]

Mr. McNulty: Government assistance for transport improvements is provided through Local Transport Plans. These are the cornerstone of our integrated transport policy at the local level.

Figures are not available for Crosby. Since 1997 Sefton borough council has received £35,136,000 for transport improvements. For details of individual schemes, I refer my hon. Friend to the Director of Technical Services, Sefton BC, Balliol House, Balliol House, Bootle, L20 3NJ.

DEFENCE

Campaign Medals

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the campaigns since 1974 that resulted in a medal being struck, what the duration was of each campaign, and when the first medal in each case was presented. [129304]

Mr. Caplin: Specific campaign medals and clasps to both the General Service Medal (GSM) 1962 and, more recently, the Operational Service Medal (OSM) have been instituted for the following campaigns and operations since 1974. It is not possible to say when any given campaign started or was completed, but the dates specified in the table represent the qualifying period considered to be suitable for the award.

Medal Clasp (as required)	Qualifying dates
GSM Northern Ireland	14 August 1969-ongoing
GSM Dhofar	1 October 1969–30 September 1976
The Rhodesia Medal	1 December 1979–20 March 1980
South Atlantic Medal	2 April 1982–14 June 1982
GSM Lebanon	7 February 1983–9 March 1984
GSM Mine Clearance Gulf of Suez	15 August 1984–15 October 1984
GSM Gulf	17 November 1986–28 February 1989
The Gulf Medal	2 August 1990–7 March 1991
GSM Kuwait	8 March 1991–30 September 1991
GSM Northern Iraq and Southern Turkey	6 April 1991–17 July 1991
GSM Air Ops Iraq	16 July 1991–18 March 2003
(Op Resinate South)
	16 July 1991–30 April 2003
(Op Resinate North)
OSM Sierra Leone	5 May 2000—31 July 2002

No record was made of when these medals were first issued to eligible recipients. Medals for campaign service are generally posted direct to individuals or, if still serving, sent in batches to their Unit/Regiment/Ship/

11 Sept 2003 : Column 415W

Squadron and distributed. Any formal presentation ceremony would be a local initiative organised by the commanding officer of the unit concerned.

Deepcut Barracks

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of Her Majesty's armed forces have died through deaths ruled as suicide or self-inflicted at Deepcut Barracks since 1 January 1996. [129329]

Mr. Ingram: Only a coroner can rule on the cause of a death.

Since 1 January 1996, the coroner has recorded no verdicts of suicide relating to deaths at Deepcut.

HMS Dryad

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 13 June, Official Report, column 112W, on HMS Dryad, if he will make it his policy to ensure that, before marketing arrangements are made, the neighbouring local authorities are consulted in the event of a decision to dispose of the site of HMS Dryad; and if he will make a statement. [120316]

Mr. Caplin: It is already departmental policy to ensure that there is full consultation with all parties in the run up to any disposal, including with local authorities, English Heritage and the local community.

Iraq

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated Iraqi civilian death toll is from when hostilities began to 28 August 2003. [128941]

Mr. Ingram : I refer the hon .Member to the answer I gave on 16 June 2003, Official Report, column 55W to the hon .Member for Lewes (Mr Baker).

Operation Telic

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many call out notices for reservists have been issued for Operation Telic; how many reservists have been accepted into service; and if he will make a statement. [128412]

Mr. Caplin: As at 29 August 2003 a total of 11,668 call-out notices had been served. 298 of these call-out notices were revoked before the individual reported for service. A total of 8,955 Reservists reported for service, of which 7,514 were accepted for service. Of those accepted for service, 4,236 have been demobilised after completing an operational tour.

Military Police

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will order an independent inquiry into the effectiveness of the Ministry of Defence police investigation branch; and if he will make a statement. [128384]

Mr. Caplin: No. The Criminal Investigation Department of the MOD Police is inspected by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary who have stated that the force as a whole continues to provide an efficient and effective service.

11 Sept 2003 : Column 416W

RAF Halton

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the (a) state of the runways at RAF Halton and (b) the future repair programme for the runways. [129276]

Mr. Caplin: During the recent prolonged period of hot, dry weather experienced across the United Kingdom, a number of cracks developed in both of the primary grass runways at RAF Halton airfield. As a flight safety precaution, both runways have been closed and a single, temporary runway has been brought into use to allow limited flying to continue.

Specialists in the maintenance of grass airfields are being consulted to identify the options for returning the airfield to full availability and the future repair programme will be informed by their advice.

Gliding Centres

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons he decided not to proceed with his proposal to relocate (a) the Joint Services Adventurous Training (Gliding) Centre and (b) the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association Centre to Rissington. [129232]

Mr. Caplin: The RAF Gliding and Soaring Association withdrew from consideration of relocating its Bicester Centre to Little Rissington because they could not afford to build the new hangar they would have needed to operate at Little Rissington. An option of moving the publicly funded Joint Services Adventurous Training (ISAT (G)) gliding activity to Little Rissington was considered but would have required considerable initial investment in equipment, which was deemed unaffordable.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the additional number of flights that will take place from RAF Halton as a result of the relocation of (a) the Joint Services Adventurous Training (Gliding) and (b) the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association centres. [129233]

Mr. Caplin: The Joint Services Adventurous Training (Gliding) unit is tasked by the Ministry of Defence sponsor with providing places on its courses which will result in a maximum of 4,800 launches per year.

Until the closure of the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association Club at Bicester, it will not be clear how many of its members will join the Association's Club at RAF Halton. It is possible that the increased membership could double the level of activity undertaken by the Chiltern Gliding Club at RAF Halton to approximately 8,000 launches, which would return it to that undertaken eight years ago, however, it may be fewer than that.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of local residents who will experience increased intrusion from aircraft noise following the relocation to RAF Halton of (a) the Joint Services Adventurous Training (Gliding) and (b) the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association centres. [129277]

11 Sept 2003 : Column 417W

Mr. Caplin: The airfield at RAF Halton is currently very well used by light aircraft; motorised gliders and winch launched gliders. The relocation of the Joint Services Adventurous Training (Gliding) activity to the airfield is expected to cause very little increased aircraft noise. The gliders used are, in the main, not motorised. The tug aircraft have four bladed propellers and their performance is maximised for quick take off and climb. This allows engine power to be reduced during the climb, all of which reduces noise output. Return to the airfield invariably utilises a constant descent at reduced power, causing very little noise.

The relocation of the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association assets to RAF Halton is not expected to increase intrusion from aircraft noise as the gliders do not have motors and are winch launched.

Sonar

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effects upon marine mammals of low frequency active sonar operating at levels up to 240 decibels. [128949]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Sonar 2087, a Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS) system. The EIA indicated that the sonar had the potential to be harmful to marine mammals. The effect is determined by the duration and frequency of the sound, as well as its intensity: the EIA looked at these at varying levels in different environmental conditions and developed a range of mitigation measures to minimise the impact. A copy of the EIA will be placed in the Library of the House later this month.

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to introduce low frequency active sonar operating at levels up to 240 decibels in Royal Navy ships. [128950]

Mr. Ingram: We plan to fit Sonar 2087, a tactical, variable-depth, low frequency active and passive sonar to Type 23 Frigates during their refit cycle. It will replace the Type 23fs current passive towed array Sonar 2031 (where this is fitted) and will be integrated with the existing bow-mounted, active Sonar 2050. The system is expected to begin to enter operational service in 2006, once trials of the first production sets are complete.

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