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16 Oct 2003 : Column 319W—continued
Crime (Merseyside)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were successfully prosecuted in April 2003; and what the average sentence (a) given and (b) served was in (i) England and Wales and (ii) Crosby. [129476]
Paul Goggins: Statistics of court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn of 2004.
Illegal Firearms
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of illegal firearms in circulation in each year since 1997 in (a) the UK, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Essex, (e) Cambridgeshire and (f) Bury St Edmunds. [131843]
Caroline Flint: There are no reliable estimates of the number of firearms held illegally either on a national basis or in particular areas. The overall level of crime involving guns is low but we are developing a range of measures in conjunction with all interested parties to address the recent unacceptable rise in firearms offences.
Passports
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the United Kingdom will meet the 1 October 2004 deadline imposed by the United States which requires biometric technology to be embedded in United Kingdom passports so that the bearers do not need to apply for a visa. [128662]
Beverley Hughes: As we have previously said, biometrics on UK passports will begin to be implemented in 2005.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is organising representations to the United States Government with the aim of ensuring UK passport holders retain visa waiver status, on the basis that realistic programme and implementation plans will be in place by the US deadline.
Terrorist Munitions
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures have been taken to prevent terrorist munitions being smuggled into the UK via container traffic; [128659]
- (2) what measures have been taken to prevent weapons of mass destruction being smuggled into the United Kingdom. [128660]
Mr. Blunkett: Since the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001, the Government have conducted a thorough and comprehensive review of all
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preventative measures to counter terrorism to better protect this country from the threat from international terrorism.
We have taken major steps to enhance the security of the UK's borders. There are extensive powers for counter-terrorist policing at our ports and our border agencies work closely together in sharing intelligence and operations.
We are also working closely with our international colleagues to implement a range of measures to improve port security and reduce the likelihood of the illicit movement of materials.
The Home Office leads on countering the potential threat from CBRN material. I refer the hon. Gentleman to my statement of 3 July 2003 in which I spoke about the introduction of routine screening of port traffic for the illicit movement of radiological materials (to reduce the threat from nuclear or radiological attack). This technology will greatly improve our existing capacity to detect and prevent the illicit importation of material into the UK. This is a significant part of the £330 million additional counter terrorism money announced in the Budget.
It has never been government policy to release details of our contingency plans for security reasons but, as I told the House on 20 March 2003, we have taken precautionary measures to deal with the events we can anticipate. We cannot guarantee 100 per cent. security but we deal rapidly with change and will keep all aspects of our planning under review and will keep Parliament, and the public, informed of any significant developments.
DEFENCE
Council Tax
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many armed service personnel serving abroad in the last 12 months for which figures are available paid council tax contributions; [132305]
- (2) what the average council tax contribution paid by armed services personnel was while serving abroad in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [132306]
Mr. Caplin: Service personnel living in service accommodation pay a contribution in lieu of council tax (CILOCT) in circumstances where they are liable for payment of an accommodation charge. As at 1 April 2003, of those serving abroad some 11,500 service personnel were paying CIEOCT for service families accommodation, and some 6,000 for single living accommodation. Armed service personnel serving abroad may also be liable for council tax on their own property within Great Britain. No information is held on the number of people who fall into this category.
The average daily contribution in lieu of council tax (CILOCT) paid overseas by service personnel, based on 2003–04 charges for the most commonly occupied service accommodation as at 1 April 2003 are:
- £3.27—Officers Service Families' Accommodation
£2.56—Other Ranks Service Families' Accommodation
£0.21—Officers Single Living Accommodation, and
£0.06—Other Ranks Single Living Accommodation.
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Iraq
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 24 September on deployment of military personnel in Iraq, reference 129882, how much the logistical help provided in Multinational Division South East will cost. [132415]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence identifies the costs of operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs which the MOD would have incurred had the operation not been undertaken—expenditure on wages and salaries or on conducting training exercises, for example—are deducted from the total costs of the operation.
For the most part, the costs incurred will be those arising from the deployment and activities of the United Kingdom's force elements in Iraq. The same principle will apply to other nations contributing forces. There may be occasions when other nations draw food or fuel from UK sources. On such occasions, those drawing the supplies will be charged at an appropriate rate to recover UK's costs. Therefore the provision of this service will not incur additional cost. There may be other occasions where other nations make use of UK transport facilities where spare capacity exists. In such circumstances, a charge will not be levied. These are all reciprocal arrangements intended to make the most effective use of resources while not disadvantaging any of the troop contributing nations. Any attempt to apportion costs for this arrangement would be impractical.
It is too early to estimate the costs likely to arise from UK military operations in Iraq in 2003–04. Once these are known, additional funding will be sought in the normal way through Supplementary Estimates.
War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people (a) of all ages and (b) aged over 65 years are in receipt of war pensioner's mobility supplement. [132376]
Mr. Caplin: As at 30 June 2003, the total number of war pensioners of all ages in receipt of war pensioners mobility supplement was 18,340. Information is not available for those aged over 65 years and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
Afghanistan
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's military operations in Afghanistan. [132127]
Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom's military operations in Afghanistan are focused primarily upon the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. We also lead the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e Sharif and provide staff officers to support the coalition headquarters at Bagram.
Army Personnel (Self-harm)
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 16 September,
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Official Report, column 703W, on Army personnel (self-harm), if he will place the information in the Library as soon as it becomes available; [131935]
- (2) pursuant to his answer of 16 September 2003, Official Report, column 703W, on self-harm, if he will place the information in the Library when it becomes available. [132488]
Mr. Caplin: The work to trial the collection and analysis of the existing information on incidents of deliberate self harm in the Army has only just begun. The purpose of the work is to develop the Department's understanding of the scale of the problem and to inform the development of policies and practices within the armed forces. There is no current intention to place this information in the Library of the House.
Defence Attaches
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of (a) defence attachés and (b) the Defence Export Services Organisation in each financial year since 1997–98. [132153]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 14 October 2003]: Costs readily available for Defence Attachés in each financial year since 1997–98 are as follows:
| Financial year | Costs identified (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 30.6 |
| 1998–99 | 31.7 |
| 1999–2000 | 32.4 |
| 2000–01 | 34 |
| 2001–02 | 37.2 |
| 2002–03 | 37.1 |
Operating costs for DESO in each year since financial year 1997–98 are as follows:
| Financial year | Expenditure | Receipts | Net operation costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | —(2) | —(2) | 14.380 |
| 1998–99 | 45.359 | -29.342 | 16.017 |
| 1999–2000 | 46.473 | -34.977 | 11.496 |
| 2000–01 | 55.81 | -41.430 | 14.380 |
| 2001–02 | 48.930 | -37.853 | 11.077 |
| 2002–03 | 56.944 | -44.407 | 12.537 |
(2) Full details of costs in this year are no longer available.
The net operating costs are more than offset by benefits to the Defence budget arising from DESO's activities. Main sources of offsetting income from DESO are three Government-to-Government project offices, where the customer country pays Ministry of Defence costs, and the Disposal Services Agency, where costs are met from revenue.
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