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30 Oct 2003 : Column 325W—continued
Armed Forces Pensions
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the armed forces' daily pay rate is deducted for the purpose of contributing to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme. [134493]
Mr. Caplin: No deduction is made from the pay of Volunteer Reservists for the purpose of contributing to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what mechanisms (a) have existed since 1973 and (b) exist to ensure that all members of the armed forces are fully informed of their pension entitlements on leaving the services; and if he will make a statement; [134918]
- (2) what incidences there are of members of the armed forces not being informed of their pension entitlements on leaving the services; and if he will make a statement. [134919]
Mr. Caplin: Mechanisms have been in existence since 1973, to inform, by letter, all members of the armed forces of their pension entitlements on leaving the Services. Computer generated printouts for each Service advise the pension divisions of the requirement to produce this letter.
A problem has been identified affecting some former service personnel with less than two years service, who may not have received their entitlements to an Armed Forces Pension Scheme attributable gratuity, or pension. We expect the great majority of omissions to have been rectified by January 2004. Procedures have been tightened to prevent a reoccurrence.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what rights members of the armed forces (a) have and (b) have had to backdate their pensions if they were not informed of their pension entitlements on leaving the services; and if he will make a statement; [134920]
- (2) under what circumstances a former member of the armed forces who has not collected their pension from the first date at which there were entitled to it can receive backdated payments; and if he will make a statement. [134921]
Mr. Caplin: Members who have not claimed their pension entitlement on leaving the armed forces, or have not claimed when their entitlement becomes due, have a right to receive payments backdated to six years, in line with the Statute of Limitations Act 1980. However, Ministry of Defence and HM Treasury may authorise that payments be backdated further, depending on the merits of each case. Payments are usually backdated in full and are always so where non-payment was due to a mistake on the part of MOD.
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Cadet Forces
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) pay and (b) conditions are offered to those that assist in running cadet forces. [133751]
Mr. Caplin: Certain categories of helpers (of which there are many) with the Cadet forces can be paid for a certain number of days per year for training and to cover expenses such as travelling and subsistence.
Conditions for the cadet services vary according to type of volunteer. Military status volunteers are subject to military Service Regulations while civilians are subject to the appropriate Civil Service regulations.
Depleted Uranium
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 8 July 2003, Official Report, column 701W, on depleted uranium, what conclusions and agreements have been reached with the United States following these discussions. [135038]
Mr. Caplin: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1159W.
Iraq
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in (a) securing and (b) protecting evidence of human rights abuses in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's regime; what evidence has been handed to the relevant prosecuting authorities; and what the relevant prosecuting authorities are. [133831]
Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has been working with the Governing Council, the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry, and local and international organisations to put in place the necessary procedures for collecting and securing evidence. The CPA has so far investigated 128 of the 250 reported mass grave sites and seized thousands of potentially relevant documents. CPA efforts are also focused on building the capacity of Iraqis to investigate the crimes committed by the former regime for both historical and prosecution purposes.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to send (a) additional and (b) replacement troops to Iraq; which units are to be sent and when; and if he will make a statement. [135450]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to my Written Statement of 28 October 2003, Official Report, columns 7–8WS.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the reason no action was taken to take into account (a) factual errors and (b) suggested errors of interpretation brought to the attention of their seniors by concerned defence intelligence officers in respect of the draft dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction of September 2002, prior to its final publication; and when he was first informed of the misgivings of the defence intelligence staff officers relating to the draft. [131108]
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Mr. Hoon: As indicated in my evidence to Lord Hutton's Inquiry on 27 August 2003, I was first informed in a minute dated 18 July 2003 that two officials in the Defence Intelligence Staff had expressed some concerns about certain language used in the dossier. I set out the action taken as a result of those concerns in my remarks in the House on 11 September 2003, Official Report, columns 491–95.
Service Accommodation
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new build units in the married quarters estate are planned by his Department in each of the next three years; and how many houses this will replace from the existing married quarters estate. [133381]
Mr. Caplin: The numbers of new build Service family houses planned in mainland UK for the next three years, through both capital projects and PFI are as follows:
| Year | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 391 |
| 2004–05 | 500 |
| 2005–06 | 315 |
| Total | 1,206 |
Further to the answer given by the then Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend for Kirkcadly (Dr. Moonie) on 13 May Official Report, column 152–153W, the expected completion date for 24 properties has changed from 2003–04 to 2004–05.
It is difficult to specify how many existing family houses these new builds will replace. New build is often at locations where the requirements for Service housing are new or increasing, and therefore the new houses are not intended as replacements, but they may indirectly replace housing at other locations where requirements are declining.
Territorial Army (Northern Ireland)
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have been recruited to the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; what steps he is taking to increase these figures; and if he will make a statement. [134827]
Mr. Caplin: The number of people recruited into the Territorial Army (TA) in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years are shown in the following table.
| 1 April to 31 March | Officers | Soldiers |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 30 | 297 |
| 1999–2000 | 45 | 272 |
| 2000–01 | 33 | 279 |
| 2001–02 | 42 | 235 |
| 2002–03 | 39 | 218 |
| 2003–04 to date | 24 | 153 |
TA recruiting is a continual process throughout the year and is generally conducted geographically by local TA centres. A local TA recruiting campaign has recently been run, supplementing the national radio, television and internet recruiting campaigns. This involved open days in the TA Centres following advertisements placed
30 Oct 2003 : Column 328W
in the local press and on the radio. Considerable interest was generated from potential recruits, which included approximately 100 inquiries emanating from the North Down Constituency.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's latest estimate is of those states that are (a) known and (b) suspected of pursuing (i) nuclear, (ii) chemical and (iii) biological weapons programmes; and if he will list them. [133721]
Mr. Hoon: Under the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, China and Russia are legally entitled to possess nuclear weapons. Additionally, India and Pakistan have tested nuclear devices. We continue to encourage Israel to resolve international concerns about its nuclear status by acceding to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state.
There are five states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention that have declared possession of chemical weapons. They are currently in the process of destroying them in accordance with their obligations under the Convention.
The Government have made clear in recent months that we continue to believe that Iraq had produced and had active programmes for production of WMD. We are also aware of, and very concerned by, persistent reports that Iran, The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Libya and Syria are pursuing programmes to develop WMD and the means for their delivery.
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