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23 Oct 2003 : Column 659W—continued

Chemical Weapons

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1111W, on chemical weapons, what further discussions have taken place as part of the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea; what the British contribution was; whether all Government documents relating to the dumping of chemical weapons in the sea after World War Two have been supplied; what proposals he has to assist in the monitoring and prevention of the leakage of chemicals from dumped weapons stock sunk in Skagerrak after World War Two; if he will make a statement on the environmental risks from the chemical weapons dumped in the Baltic and Skagerrak after World War Two; and what is being done to combat dangers to human and marine life. [133202]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Airfield Support Services Projects

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees he estimates are likely to be transferred into the private sector under the Airfield Support Services Projects; and how many of these are employed by his Department's Fire Service. [133429]

Mr. Ingram: No decisions about ASSP will be made until the Consortia bids have been fully evaluated. We would need to be satisfied that a Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership solution offered the most cost-effective solution for the provision of airfield support and wider fire services without compromising operational effectiveness or safety before we decided to outsource this activity. Should a PFI/PPP solution be adopted approximately 2,100 civilian staff would be affected, of which it is estimated that some 1,800 would be eligible for transfer (under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Act 1981). Of the latter some 1,500 are Defence Fire Service personnel.

Arms Exports

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to support an international arms treaty by 2006 to prevent the export of arms where they contribute to violations of human rights and humanitarian law; and if he will make a statement. [132556]

Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply.

The Government fully support the aim of raising export control standards internationally. The UK operates the most vigorous export control policies in the world and actively works to encourage other states to apply similar principles. Any instrument that has the support of all major arms exporting states would be an important step towards this goal. The Government are still considering the ramifications of the proposed

23 Oct 2003 : Column 660W

treaty; however, it is clearly an important contribution to the international debate on arms export control issues.

Cadet Forces

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Army personnel were previously members of the cadet forces. [133754]

Mr. Caplin: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Campaign Medal (Iraq)

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to award a campaign medal for servicemen and women who have served in Iraq. [133756]

Mr. Caplin: Following my announcement to the House on 8 July 2003, Official Report, column 47WS, that a campaign medal would be awarded for service during the recent operations in Iraq, officials have been preparing the detailed eligibility criteria to be associated with this award. Once determined, they have to be agreed by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals and then passed to Her Majesty the Queen for her approval. The work is progressing well and I hope to make a further announcement shortly.

Corporal Anthony Green

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the rank and regiment was of each officer present and involved in (a) initial questioning of Private William Graham following the fatal shooting of Private Anthony Green, (b) attending the formal interview and (c) attending each interview conducted by the civilian police. [132195]

Mr. Caplin: All of these matters concern the detail of the investigation into the death of Corporal Anthony Green and are matters for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Defence Fire Service

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at which locations overseas elements of his Department's Fire Service have been based in each of the last five years. [133419]

Mr. Ingram: Military and civilian personnel have been based, in each of the last five years, in the Falkland Islands, Cyprus, Germany, Gibraltar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia and Kosovo, and in Iraq since February this year. In addition, there have been the following deployments:

	Location
1999	Italy
1999	Turkey
1999–2000	Croatia
2001	Oman
2002	Afghanistan
2002	United States of America
2003	Republic of South Africa

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Departmental Staff (Medical Retirement)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees of the Ministry of Defence have applied for early retirement on medical grounds in each of the last five years; and how many have been (a) granted and (b) refused. [133499]

Mr. Caplin: The information requested is shown in the table.

Year	Applied for Medical Retirement	Approved	Refused
1999	613	550	63
2000	584	480	104
2001	629	465	164
2002	468	326	142
2003(10)	383	227	156

⁽¹⁰⁾ Up to 20 October

Figures for 2003 relate to cases where a decision has been made.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role is of BMI Ltd in the process of determining applications for medical retirement from the Ministry of Defence; what the average length of time has been for determining these applications; what the rights of appeal are; and if he will make a statement. [133503]

Mr. Caplin: BMTs role in relation to ill-health retirement is in advising employers about whether or not applicants meet the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme's criteria for access to this benefit, from a medical perspective. The final decision on each ill-health retirement rests with the employer.

Figures for the average length of time it takes to process applications to retire on health grounds are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

An employee who has additional medical evidence to support his or her case may appeal through a three stage process culminating in a Medical Appeal Board. The employee can appeal against:

termination of employment on medical grounds during probation;

a decision by the Department to retire them on medical grounds;

a refusal by the Department to retire them on medical grounds.

Depleted Uranium

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many rounds of depleted uranium ammunitions were (a) deployed to the Gulf region in 2002, (b) deployed to the Gulf region in 2003, (c) fired during the conflict in Iraq and (d) recovered during UK-led clean-up operations; and if he will make a statement. [133712]

Mr. Ingram: I am withholding information about numbers of rounds of depleted uranium (DU) munitions deployed on operations in accordance with exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. With regards to DU firings during the recent conflict in Iraq, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence on 4 June 2003.

23 Oct 2003 : Column 662W

Official Report, column 445W to the hon. Member for Islington North (Mr. Corbyn). Surface-lying DU fragments continue to be removed from the battlefield as they are discovered, however the details of DU findings are not held centrally.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what programmes his Department has (a) planned, (b) discussed, (c) initiated and (d) concluded to (i) locate and (ii) collect depleted uranium (A) ammunition and (B) ammunition fragments in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [133713]

Mr. Ingram: All surplus depleted uranium (DU) ammunition has now been returned to the UK. Obvious surface-lying DU fragments continue to be removed from the battlefield as they are discovered.

Deployment

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the deployment of UK forces around the world. [132124]

Mr. Ingram: As of September 2003, some 20,200 British armed forces personnel were deployed on operations and other military tasks around the world, including:

Location	Approximate numbers
Iraq	10,500
Cyprus	3,300
Bosnia	1,430
Brunei	1,120
Falkland Islands	1,120
UN deployments	460
Afghanistan	400
Kosovo	330
Gibraltar	370

In addition, some 11,500 British armed forces personnel are currently stationed in Germany.

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