---

15 Sept 2003 : Column 517W—continued

NATO Scientific Programme

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the Master of St. Edmund's College, Cambridge, on NATO's scientific programme; and if he will make a statement. [128268]

Mr. Ingram: Defence Ministers have not received representations from Professor Sir Brian Heap, Master of St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. Professor Heap has, however, corresponded with my colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with regard to NATO's scientific programme.

15 Sept 2003 : Column 518W

Overseas Deployments

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list current overseas deployments of Navy, Army and Air Force Institution (NAAFI) units; and how many staff are involved in each. [120738]

Mr. Caplin: Current Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) locations, and associated personnel numbers, outside the United Kingdom are as follows:

Country	Staff numbers
Germany	980
Kuwait/Iraq	39
Afghanistan	4
Cyprus	3
Kosovo	3
Bosnia	3
Saudi Arabia	2
Kenya	2
Falkland Islands	2
Gibraltar	2
Belize	1
Brunei	1
Ascension Island	1

The list covers permanent NAAFI undertakings in overseas garrisons as well as Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) deployments in support of military operations. The personnel figures shown for each location relate to the number of United Kingdom or United Kingdom Based Contract (UKBC) personnel in post and exclude locally paid staff. The figures for Germany exclude 45 UKBC personnel working for NAAFI financial services and 505 with NAAFI support services.

In addition, some 60 NAAFI personnel serve with the Naval Canteen Service (NCS). NCS personnel serve on ships deployed in a range of locations around the United Kingdom as well as elsewhere, including the Gulf.

Army Equipment Purchases

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of Army personnel he estimates purchase their own (a) boots, (b) shirts, (c) vests, (d) jackets, (e) bergens and (f) trousers. [129493]

Mr. Ingram: In common with many individuals, and as a matter of personal choice, some soldiers will purchase work-related items of clothing or equipment but none are advised to do so. Specific records are not maintained, but the subject features in the Army's Continuous Attitude Survey (CAS). The latest CAS indicates the following percentages for Army personnel who purchase their own items of clothing.

Clothing	Percentage
(a) boots	3
(b) shirts	(5)—
(c) vests (T-shirts)	1.5
(d) jackets	8.0
(e) bergens	2.3
(f) trousers	1.3

⁽⁵⁾ No statistics.

15 Sept 2003 : Column 519W

Relocations

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the investment appraisal of the possible relocation sites for (a) the Joint Services Adventurous Training (Gliding) and (b) the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association Centres. [129300]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Ro-ro Vessels

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what status the six ro-ro ships are accorded within the Royal Navy; and if he will make a statement. [128340]

Mr. Ingram: The six Joint Rapid Reaction Force ro-ro are not part of the Royal Navy. They are commercial vessels, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence. They were built and are owned and operated, under a Private Finance Initiative, by AWSR Shipping, a commercial consortium. They are manned by Merchant Navy seafarers, who are members of the Sponsored Reserves List of the Royal Naval Reserve, and are therefore liable for call-up when the situation dictates.

In the same way as for Royal Navy ships, threat assessments are carried out and the appropriate level of protection is provided to the ro-ro, when considered necessary. Such protection may include a United Kingdom Service escort party on-board or accompanying Royal Navy ships.

Rosyth

Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what classification is given to the MOD estate at Rosyth; what this estate consists of in respect of the dockyard and the former naval base; and what plans there are to reclassify the defence estate at Rosyth. [111152]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 6 May 2003]: The Rosyth estate consists of:

The HMS Caledonia Site

Married quarters (retained by the Defence Housing Executive (DHE))

Storage/warehousing properties within the former dockyard port, South Arm Jetty (currently occupied by QinetiQ)

Forthview House complex housing Defence estates and the Pricing and Forecasting Group.

The Rosyth site was classified as a core site in the review that concluded in March. However, core sites classification is not static and therefore subject to change in response to evolving Defence needs. Subject to this, there are currently no plans to reclassify the defence estate at Rosyth.

Security Clearance

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the levels of security clearance to which officials of his Department are subjected before they are allowed to see the different categories of classified material. [129648]

15 Sept 2003 : Column 520W

Mr. Hoon: The levels of security clearance that Ministry of Defence officials need in order to be granted access to classified material are those which apply across Government. They are set out in HM Government's statement of vetting policy, as announced to the House on 15 December 1994, Official Report, columns 764–66W.

Women (Front-line Deployment)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the deployment of women into front line positions. [129492]

Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made on 22 May 2002, Official Report, column 363W, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. Women are not restricted from deployment into front line positions but, for reasons of combat effectiveness, they are excluded from close combat posts. Further information may be found in the report, "Women in the Armed Forces", which may be found on the Ministry of Defence website at: www.mod.uk/issues/women

PRIME MINISTER

Alastair Campbell

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Prime Minister whether Mr. Alastair Campbell was the subject of the developed vetting procedure. [129774]

The Prime Minister: Information relating to personnel records, including those relating to recruitment, promotion and security vetting, are not disclosed under part 2, exemption 8 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Falkland Islands

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands with President Kirchner; what the outcome of those discussions has been; and if he will make a statement. [129907]

The Prime Minister: I last met President Kirchner at the Progressive Governance Summit on 13 to 14 July 2003. We did not enter into discussions concerning the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. The United Kingdom position on this is well known and remains unchanged; the Falklands will remain British for as long as that is the wish of the Islanders.

Hutton Inquiry

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those categories of information that have been provided to the Hutton Inquiry which are not normally made available (a) to Parliamentary Select Committees and (b) in response to Parliamentary Questions; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the different approaches to information disclosure. [128596]

The Prime Minister: The Government are committed to co-operating fully with the Hutton Inquiry. Relevant papers are being provided to the Inquiry. The decision on which papers to make public is a matter for the Inquiry. In respect of a small number of papers, there

15 Sept 2003 : Column 521W

may be issues about the need to keep certain information confidential, for instance, because of national security. Where necessary, the papers are provided to the Inquiry on the understanding that certain text will be suitably redacted before being made public.

Information provided in response to PQs and Select Committees will continue to be decided as appropriate in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and Information and Departmental Evidence to Select Committees.

Iraq

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Prime Minister on what dates prior to the recent conflict with Iraq he met the heads of each of the armed forces to discuss the proposed conflict. [129222]

The Prime Minister: I discussed the situation in Iraq with the heads of the armed forces at a meeting on 15 January 2003; the Defence Secretary and the Chief of the Defence staff were also present. Subsequently, the views of the Chiefs of Staff were represented to me by the Chief of the Defence Staff, whom I met regularly prior to the conflict.

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Prime Minister which weapons the Prime Minister was referring to in his foreword to the Government's Iraq dossier when he made the statement that military planning allows for some of the weapons of mass destruction to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them. [129840]

The Prime Minister: It was judged that the chemical and biological munitions concerned would be deployed with battlefield systems such as artillery, multiple-launch rockets and mortars.

---