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6 Oct 2003 : Column 1164W—continued
Gurkhas
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of the total Ghurkha forces in the years 1997 to 2003, leaving the armed forces before 15 years maximum service, (a) left voluntarily, (b) were made redundant, (c) had their employment terminated for other operational reasons, (d) were invalided out and (e) left for other reasons. [130360]
Mr. Caplin: All data in the tables are taken from the soldiers' Record of Service.
Data given are for Ghurkha other ranks only as there are no officers that fall into the categories described in the question.
| Reason | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left voluntarily | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Redundant | 140 | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Discipline/misconduct | * | * | * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalided | * | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Completed service | 20 | 10 | 20 | * | * | 0 |
| Death | * | * | * | 0 | * | * |
(47) Note that all numbers in the data table are rounded to the nearest 10, numbers less than five are represented with a "*" to preserve confidentiality.
| Reason | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left voluntarily | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Redundant | 4.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Discipline/misconduct | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Invalided | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Completed Service | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Death | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
The 140 personnel shown as redundant in the years 1997–98 reflect the drawdown of the Brigade of Ghurkhas at the time of the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. The Army Personnel Centre have confirmed that they are all in receipt of a service pension.
Of the 50 shown as having completed service before 15 years in years 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, inquiries through the Army Personnel Centre have revealed several individuals were actually made redundant and are therefore in receipt of a pension as a
6 Oct 2003 : Column 1165W
result of the drawdown. Virtually all of the remaining individuals are in receipt of a pension either because they received condonation of service to increase their reckonable service to 15 years or are in receipt of other types of pension as appropriate (Liberalised Family Pension or Ordinary Family Pension).
Hercules
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to buy back some of the C-130K Hercules aircraft sold to Lockheed Martin for onward sale. [112687]
Mr. Ingram: As part of the agreement signed in March 1995 to acquire C-130J aircraft, 24 C-130K Hercules aircraft were returned to Lockheed Martin Aero between November 2000 and July 2002 in part exchange. There are no plans for the Department to re-acquire any of these.
ITAR Waiver
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effects the EU proposals on the (a) harmonisation of European rules on procurement, (b) the simplified licence system to facilitate the circulation of components and defence equipment between EU countries and (c) the co-ordination of European research and development in defence industries will have on (i) UK defence industrial relations with the US and (ii) the proposed ITAR waiver. [130786]
Mr. Ingram: In all of these considerations our overriding aim is to maintain effective relations on both sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, based on the Government's open and transparent defence industrial policy, we will continue to press for increased market access for United Kingdom defence companies in both the United States and Europe.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effects developments in the US Congress and Buy American proposals are having on the UK's negotiations with the US Government to secure an ITAR waiver. [130787]
Mr. Ingram: The Government continues to do all it can to support the United States Administration in its scrutiny of the waiver for the United Kingdom from the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations. An amendment to the State Department Authorizations Bill, to support a waiver for the UK, is to be discussed in the autumn in Conference between the Senate and House of Representatives. It goes without saying that the Government would very much regret any attempt by Congress to impose damaging restrictions on the ability of UK companies to access the US defence market, which could only be detrimental to our mutual interests.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects negotiations with the US Government on an ITAR waiver for the UK to be concluded. [130788]
Mr. Ingram: Negotiations were completed with the US Administration in May 2003 on the text of an unclassified waiver for the UK from the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
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Licences (EU Harmonisation)
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with European partners on the simplified licence system to facilitate the circulation of components and defence equipment between EU countries; and when he expects such a licence system to come into effect. [130794]
Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
There is already in place the Letter of Intent (LOI) arrangements that provide a simplified licensing system to facilitate the transfer of defence equipment for joint projects involving the LOI Partners that the UK supports. In addition, the European Commission in its Communication, "Towards an EU Defence Equipment Policy" (COM 2003 113 final of 11 March 2003), has proposed an impact analysis to establish the value of any Community-level legislative initiative to simplify intra-community transfers of defence-related goods. Work on this will start at the end of 2004.
Low Flying
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low flying sorties by military jet aircraft of the (a) NATO air forces and (b) RAF were carried out last year within the UK flying system. [129197]
Mr. Caplin: The information is not held in the form requested. The amount of military low flying that takes place in the United Kingdom is expressed in hours rather than by number of sorties, which can vary significantly from minutes to several hours. A statement on the Pattern of Low Flying Across the UK is published annually, with copies placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The statement for the training year 2002–03 records that foreign-based aircraft were booked into the UK Low Flying System for some 174 hours (this figure covers all foreign aircraft with the exception of United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) aircraft which are based in the UK). The total amount of booked low flying by all military aircraft was some 47,058 hours.
The statement for the training year 2002–03 records the amount of booked low flying in Low Flying Area 7 (an area that broadly equates to the land area of Wales, except for a small area of northeast Powys) was some 7,635 hours.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low flying military sorties were undertaken within Low Flying Area 7 of the UK low flying system in 2002. [129198]
Mr. Caplin: The information is not held in the form requested. The amount of military low flying that takes place in the United Kingdom is better expressed in hours rather than by number of sorties, which can vary significantly from minutes to several hours. On this basis, a statement on the Pattern of Low Flying Across the UK is published annually, with copies placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The statement for the training year 2002–03 records that the amount of booked low flying in Low Flying Area 7 (an area that broadly equates to the land area of Wales, except for a small area of northeast Powys) was approximately 7,635 hours.
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Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in which military conflicts of the past decade low flying tactics have been used by the RAF; [129202]
- (2) how many sorties have been flown by UK RAF pilots at a level of 100 ft during (a) military conflicts over the past six years and (b) the recent war in Iraq. [129216]
Mr. Caplin: Low flying tactics have been used in military conflicts in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. Although fast jet low flying has not been employed in all of these conflicts, I can confirm that a number of fast jet sorties were flown at low level during the recent operation in Iraq. The heights at which operational sorties are undertaken vary according to the assessed threat at the time. Details of the number of sorties and the heights at which they were flown are not held centrally.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements govern the training of foreign nationals in low flying military exercises by the RAF. [129203]
Mr. Caplin: Low flying in the United Kingdom by non UK-based foreign air forces, whether in RAF-led exercises or any other training, is closely controlled and generally only permitted on a reciprocal basis. Foreign aircrew are bound by the same restrictions as those that apply to UK aircrew, but additionally are not generally permitted to operate under more favourable conditions than those applied to our forces in the country concerned. All foreign aircrew receive a face to face brief from an appropriately qualified member of British forces before they can operate in the UK Low Flying System.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what percentage of low flying military aircraft exercises conducted in the United Kingdom in each of the past 10 years were undertaken by foreign nationals; [129204]
- (2) how many foreign pilots have been involved in low flying military training exercises in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Wales in each of the last 10 years. [129206]
Mr. Caplin: Low flying military exercises are not generally conducted by foreign air forces alone. The number of pilots involved in low flying is not recorded centrally. The amount of low flying by foreign military aircraft is typically less than 1 per cent. of all the low flying training that takes place in the United Kingdom.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many accidents involving low flying military aircraft in the United Kingdom have been reported in each of the past 10 years. [129205]
Mr. Caplin: The number of accidents recorded to aircraft in the United Kingdom Low Flying System in the last 10 training years is:
| April to March | Accidents |
|---|---|
| 1994–95 | 3 |
| 1995–96 | 3 |
| 1996–97 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | 1 |
| 1998–99 | 2 |
| 1999–2000 | 5 |
| 2000–01 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | 2 |
| April 2003–Present | 2 |
6 Oct 2003 : Column 1168W
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints his Department received with regard to military low flying aircraft in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last 10 years. [129208]
Mr. Caplin: The information is not held in the form requested. The number of individual complaints recorded for each county (based on the information supplied by the complainants) over the last three years is given in the following table. Detailed records are only retained for a three-year period.
6 Oct 2003 : Column 1169W
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of military low-flying services over the Welsh Military Tactical Training Area, this year was undertaken by foreign nationals. [129194]
Mr. Caplin: Foreign air forces are not permitted to operate in any of the three Tactical Training Areas including the one that exists over mid-Wales.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF low-flying sorties have been within three miles of (a) Kirkcudbright and (b) Gatehouse-of-Fleet in the last year. [130457]
Mr. Caplin: The hon. Member will be aware that Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse-of-Fleet lie within Low Flying Area (LFA) 16 and Tactical Training Area (TTA) 20T. In the last training year LFA 16 had a total of 3,535 hours of low flying activity booked of which 188 hours and 18 minutes were Operational Low Flying (OLF) activity which is carried out within the TTA boundary. These are the only figures available.
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