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3 Nov 2003 : Column 427W—continued
Astute Class Submarines
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the construction of the (a) second and (b) third units of the Astute Class. [134955]
Mr. Ingram: Construction of the second and third Astute Class submarines is proceeding in accordance with the agreed programme.
The keel of the second submarine, HMS Ambush, was laid on 22 October 2003 by the Minister for Defence Procurement, at BAE Systems' shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness. Construction is progressing well and we are confident that the same high levels of fabrication quality seen on HMS Astute will be achieved on HMS Ambush.
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Construction of the third boat in the Class, HMS Artful, is underway, with the manufacture of hull rings and bulkheads progressing satisfactorily.
C130 Aircraft
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what have been the (a) highest and (b) lowest monitored mission readiness rates for RAF C130 aircraft of each type in the past three years. [134484]
Mr. Ingram: The required Readiness States for C130 Force Elements in each of the last three years have been met.
As monitored mission readiness rates is not a term with a precise military definition, I have interpreted this as serviceability rates, figures for which arebased on a snapshot of serviceability taken at 8:00 am each day. For the C-130J, these figures start from May 2002, when all aircraft had entered service; for the C-130K, they start from November 2001, as prior to this time a number of aircraft were out of service but awaiting return to Lockheed Martin.
| Highest serviceability rate (percentage) | Lowestserviceability rate (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|
| C-130J | 69 | 46 |
| C-130K | 76 | 37 |
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what problems have been experienced with the engines of the RAF's C130J aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [134485]
Mr. Ingram: The Hercules C-130J aircraft is powered by the Rolls-Royce Allison turbo prop engine. Some problems with the engine turbine blades have been identified when the engine is operated at maximum continuous power for long periods. Work is continuing with Lockheed Martin and Rolls-Royce to identify a solution.
Chartered Airlines
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which airlines have been chartered to fly British forces personnel to deployments in each of the past three years. [134460]
Mr. Ingram: During the past three financial years and during the current financial year to date, British Forces personnel have been deployed on aircraft chartered from the airlines set out below:
- Financial Year 2000–01
- Air 2000
- Air Atlanta
- Air Holland
- Air Mediterranee
- Airtours and Fly Fti
- British Midland
- British World Airways
- Channel Express
- Citybird
- Corsair
- EAAC
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- Emerald Airways
- Excel Airways
- Hapag Lloyd
- JMC
- Lauda Air
- Maersk
- Monarch
- Nortwest Airlines
- Prime Airlines
- Royal Brunei
- Sobelair
- Sterling European
- Titan Airways
- Financial Year 2001–2002
- Air 2000
- Air Atlanta
- Air Scandic
- Airtours and Fly Fti
- Britannia
- British Airways
- British World
- Airways
- Channel Express
- Corsair
- Cougar
- EAAC
- Excel Airways
- Lauda Air
- Maersk
- Monarch
- Mytravel
- Prime Airlines
- Royal Brunei
- Titan Airways
- Transavia
- Virgin Express
- Financial Year 2002–2003
- Air 2000
- Air Holland
- Air Luxor
- Astraeus
- Britannia
- British Airways
- Corsair
- EAAC
- Euro Atlantic
- Excel Airways
- JMC
- LTU INT
- Maersk
- Monarch
- Mytravel
- Prime Airlines
- Sobelair
- World Airways
- Yes Linhas Aereas
- Financial Year 2003–2004
- Air 2000
- Air Holland
- Air Luxor
- Air Plus Comet
- Air Scandic
3 Nov 2003 : Column 430W
- Britannia
- Condor
- Corsair
- EAAC
- Euro Atlantic
- Excel Airways
- Flyjet
- Lauda Air
- Maersk
- Monarch
- Mytravel
- Sobelair
- Titan Airways
- Yes Linhas Aereas
Civilian Rescues
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many civilians in non-war situations have been rescued or aided by the British armed forces (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) elsewhere in each of the last five years; and what the total cost to public funds was; [129609]
- (2) what plans he has to recover all or any of the cost of civilian rescues by the armed forces in non-war situations from (a) those rescued and (b) other third parties. [129610]
Mr. Ingram: The armed forces can rescue or aid civilians in a very wide range of circumstances, both at home and overseas.
With the exception of the RAF and Royal Navy's Search and Rescue (SAR) effort, information on the numbers of civilians rescued by the armed forces—for example during land-based peace keeping operations, or routine deployments by RN ships at sea—is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Although the military SAR teams' primary purpose is to recover aircrew from crashed military aircraft, over 90 per cent. of callouts each year are to civilian incidents. RAF and Royal Navy SAR units make an essential contribution to the search and rescue effort around the UK, forming part of the national UK SAR coverage throughout the year for air, land and maritime operations.
The following table gives the number of civilians assisted by Armed Forces Search and Rescue Units in the UK and abroad.
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Co-ordinated by UK RCC(31) | 1,137 | 1,108 | 1,254 | 1,134 | 1,171 |
| Co-ordinated by overseas RCCs(31) | |||||
| Cyprus | 21 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| Falklands | 24 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 12 |
| Co-ordinated by other overseas units | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(31) RCC—Rescue Co-ordination Centre
MOD policy on charging is based on Chapter 23 of "Government Accounting" (GA). Goods and services provided to the department or other agency or authority
3 Nov 2003 : Column 431W
having policy and therefore financial responsibility should be charged for unless there are exceptional circumstances.
In 2001 MOD simplified its charging regime in the UK for MACC assistance, allowing emergency assistance to be given free where there is a danger to life (rather than only "immediate" danger which applied previously), and at full cost once the danger has passed. Emergency MACC is a rapid response by the Services to sudden disaster. Search and rescue tasks in support of the UK Ambulance Authorities for Medevac transfers, attract a charge at the "no-loss cost" rate, that is levied by the MOD to recover its out of pocket expenses. The basis for other charges for search and rescue tasks is currently under review.
It is not possible to provide detailed information on the costs charged for Military Aid to the Civil Community (MACC). Costs of individual operations are by and large reimbursed direct to the budgets which incurred the costs.
Courts Martial (Scotland)
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the court martial trials conducted in Scotland since 1997; how many of these concluded in conviction of the accused; how many were dismissed; and if he will make a statement. [135201]
Mr. Caplin: The number of Service personnel tried by Courts-Martial held in Scotland since 1997 together with the number of convictions, acquittals and subsequent dismissals from the armed forces are as follows:
| Service personnel tried | Convictions | Subsequent dismissal | Acquittals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997(32) | 17 | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| 1998 | 22 | 17 | 6 | 5 |
| 1999 | 21 | 18 | 7 | 3 |
| 2000 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| 2001 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 2002 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
| 2003 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
(32) RAF figures cover the period 1 April to 31 December 1997.
These figures do not indicate the number of offences committed in Scotland. The majority of cases are heard in permanent court centres, of which there is none in Scotland.
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