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10 Nov 2003 : Column 47W—continued
Dean Hill SSSI
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions Defence Estates has had with (a) the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and (b) the Hampshire Wildlife Trust about the future of the Dean Hill site of special scientific interest. [137462]
Mr. Caplin: English Nature have nominated the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust as a potential purchaser of land of high conservation value, including that part of Defence Munitions Dean Hill, which falls within the Brickworth Down and Dean Hill SSSI. Ministry of Defence officials have therefore had preliminary discussions with it and not with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Defence Budget (Wales)
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the defence budget was spent in Wales in the most recent year for which figures are available (a) in actual terms and (b) as a percentage of the total defence budget; and if he will make a statement. [137310]
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Mr. Ingram: This information is not held centrally in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Defence Export Contracts
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defence export contracts have been approved to each of the member states of the Economic Community of Central African States in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [136636]
Mr. Ingram: Government approval is not required for defence export contracts.
The Government do, however, control the transfer overseas of defence related goods through the export licensing system. Licence applications by country are reported in the Government's Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. Reports covering the period from May 1997 to December 2002 are available in the Library of the House.
Defence Fire Service
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the future of the Defence Fire Service; and if he will make a statement. [136729]
Mr. Ingram: I have received a number of representations about the future of the Defence Fire Service from Members of Parliament, trade unions and members of the Defence Fire Service. These have been in the form of an Adjournment debate, an early-day motion, parliamentary questions, letters and face to face meetings. The future of the Defence Fire Service will be determined by the outcome of the Airfield Support Services Project and the recommendations of Fire Study 2000.
Departmental Budget
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's budget was in the (a) 1998–99 financial year and (b) 2003–04 financial year at 1998–99 prices, excluding expenditure from the contingency reserve. [136740]
Mr. Ingram: The figure for 1998–99 is £22,240 million. That is a cash figure as the Department was controlled on a cash basis until the end of financial year 2000–01.
From 2001–02 onwards, Resource Accounting and Budgeting became the basis for planning and controlling public expenditure. From that year the Defence budget has been set on a Resource basis, which includes accrued costs rather than cash. The Budget figures for 2003–04 are therefore set on a completely different basis to those for 1998–99, and the two sets of figures are not directly comparable. The 2003–04 Budget consists of two separate elements, a Net Resource Cost budget of £31,903 billion and a Capital budget of £6,128 billion.
These figures are at current prices as there is little merit in providing them at the 1998–99 price base.
Figures for both years are exclusive of Armed Forces Pension Scheme amounts.
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Departmental Energy Use
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) electricity and (b) other energy his Department has used in each year since 1997 (i) in total and (ii) per square metre; what the projected use is for each of the following years for which forecasts are made; what plans he has to reduce usage; and if he will make a statement. [135050]
Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 3 November 2003, Official Report, columns 403–08W, by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State.
The current cross-government target is an on-going one per cent. per annum reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, expressed in terms of carbon saving. Since the target was introduced in 2000, the MOD has exceeded the target year on year and I expect this trend to continue. New targets for energy use on the Government Estate are being developed under the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. Once the new targets have been agreed, the MOD will publish an energy strategy outlining how they will be met.
Medical Discharges
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many female members of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force received early discharges on medical grounds in each of the last five years; how many complained of sexual harassment or assault; what (i) pension and (ii) benefit they received on discharge; and if he will make a statement. [136514]
Mr. Caplin: Medical discharges for female members of the armed forces (both trained and untrained United Kingdom regular personnel) in each of the last five years are as follows:
| Navy | Army | RAF | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 39 | 222 | 20 | 281 |
| 1999 | 52 | 259 | 35 | 346 |
| 2000 | 61 | 183 | 36 | 280 |
| 2001 | 52 | 160 | 29 | 241 |
| 2002(6) | 56 | 130 | 28 | 214 |
(6) Figures for 2002 have not yet been finalised and may be subject to alteration.
Information on whether any of the individuals complained of sexual harassment or assault is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Members of the armed forces who are medically discharged after at least two years' Service for reasons not attributable to their Service are awarded a Service Invaliding Pension (SIP) and a lump sum payment. Where the Veterans Agency accept the reasons for discharge as attributable to Service and pay a War Disablement Pension (WDP) under the War Pensions Scheme, the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) separately considers whether the injury or condition is due to Service. If this is accepted by the AFPS, the SIP
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is replaced by an enhanced Service Attributable Pension and an attributable lump sum is paid. These benefits are paid in addition to the Veterans Agency's WDP.
Expenditure
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the adjustments to in-year expenditure to remain within his Department's expenditure limits for the current year, showing in each case (a) what action is being taken and (b) what savings will be made. [137724]
Mr. Ingram: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence made clear in the debate on Defence Policy on 16 October 2003, Departments have to deal with fluctuating financial pressures while living within their budgets. This year the Ministry of Defence is facing, among other factors, better than expected recruiting and adverse exchange rate movements. The introduction this year of full Resource Accounting and Budgeting has also raised new issues. We are therefore making a range of mostly relatively small adjustments to previous expenditure plans across the Ministry of Defence's budgetary areas. These include reduction in training activities where this is not essential to sustain operations, and re-profiling some spending on new equipments and equipment support. These adjustments do not affect our commitment to operations in Iraq and elsewhere, the net additional costs of which are funded separately.
Halliburton (Contracts)
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the contracts (a) awarded to and (b) carried out by Halliburton since 1997, stating in each case (i) the nature of the work, (ii) the value of the contract and (iii) the duration; and if he will make a statement. [136576]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 6 November 2003]: The Ministry of Defence's business dealings have been with the Halliburton Brown and Root part of this company. Excluding a low value contract for the short-term lease of equipment, MOD has placed the following direct contract since 1997:
- Contract No. CSVHC/04
Nature of Work: Provision of Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) Services.
Duration: 2001 to 2021
Value: £290 million
Humanitarian Emergencies
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what programmes his Department is (a) running and (b) supporting aimed at (i) introducing the humanitarian community to the military and security technology available and (ii) familiarising the technology community with the scope and problems of those dealing
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with complex humanitarian emergencies and international refugee crises; how long these programmes have been running; and if he will make a statement. [136665]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence research and technology programme is geared towards providing the UK armed forces with battle-winning technology. A number of technologies developed under the auspices of this programme may have humanitarian applications, though the development of the technology for humanitarian purposes would fall to the Department for International Development (DfID).
Where possible the MOD aims to make the results of its research available to industry, through technology transfer and technology spin-out, where commercial development of the technology is best carried out.
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