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Nuclear Weapons

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what sections of the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty the collaborative work between AWE and weapons laboratories in the United States is being undertaken. [119075]

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

Operation Telic

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether morphine, and antidotes to provide post attack therapy against nerve agents, were available to all front line personnel serving on Operation Telic. [126095]

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

Overseas Deployments

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are deployed in (a) East Timor, (b) the Democratic Republic of the Congo and (c) Kuwait. [132270]

Mr. Ingram: The UK currently has no service personnel deployed in East Timor. Five service personnel are deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and around 260 personnel are deployed in Kuwait.

Performance Monitoring

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was of (a) setting, (b) monitoring and (c) measuring the performance targets for his Department in 2002–03; and how many and what grades of civil servants monitor these targets. [137972]

Mr. Caplin: Performance targets for the department were agreed as part of Spending Review 2002. The monitoring and measurement of PSA targets forms part of departmental performance management. Performance management is an integral part of the day to day running of the Department, and covers a wide range of data for internal management purposes in addition to that required for PSA monitoring. Monitoring and measuring performance is therefore undertaken by a wide variety of staff at all levels of the organisation, and it is not possible to separate out discrete costs. The Department's top level performance management system, including reports against PSA targets, is co-ordinated by a dedicated section of five civilian and military personnel within the Directorate of Performance and Analysis in the Ministry of Defence Head Office.

Personal Injuries Scheme

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Amendment Scheme. [107782]

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

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Service Accommodation

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been spent upgrading and building accommodation for the junior ranks of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force in each of the last three years; what is to be provided in the forward programme; and if he will make a statement. [136520]

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

Social Conduct Code

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance has been issued by the Director General of Service Personnel Policy based on the reviewed Code of Social Conduct; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [112621]

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

Submarines

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many SSNs would be capable of continuous deployment in cycles based on an SSN fleet of (a) four, (b) five and (c) six such boats. [139595]

Mr. Ingram: The number of Royal Navy attack submarines required to maintain a continuous deployment depends on the nature of the deployment and the operational circumstances pertaining at the time. In the future, the new Astute class will bring improved capability and increased availability for Royal Navy SSN deployments.

Surplus Arms Stores (Developing Countries)

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects on the security of British soldiers deployed overseas of measures to reduce surplus arms stores in developing countries. [131129]

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

Sustainable Development

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what remit relating to sustainable development is required by his Department's (a) executive agencies, (b) advisory non-departmental bodies, (c) executive non-departmental bodies, (d) tribunals, (e) public corporations and (f) other bodies. [116673]

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

Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which United Kingdom commitments arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (a) have been incorporated into the Department's existing delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements and

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(b) will be incorporated in its delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements in advance of the 2004 Spending Review. [113881]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Territorial Army

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army soldiers are (a) in the Gulf and (b) overseas; and how many are preparing for deployment in the Gulf. [138952]

Mr. Caplin: As at 13 November 2003, 1,780 members of the Territorial Army (TA) are currently serving in the Gulf, with a further 295 serving elsewhere overseas. 580 members of the TA are currently preparing to deploy to the Gulf, although many of these individuals will not arrive in theatre until after the Christmas period.

Training Establishments

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made by principal personnel officers of the resources needed to bring medical facilities at training establishments up to required minimum standards; and how many and what percentage of establishments fall below those standards. [112628]

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

Transport Aircraft

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many transport aircraft, and of what type, are used by the armed forces. [98294]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his expenditure plans are for transport aircraft in the next five years. [98295]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Voluntary Organisations

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding programmes are operated by his Department to support voluntary organisations working with young people; and what the level of support has been over the last three years. [116490]

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

Vulcan Sky Trust

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support has been given to the Vulcan Sky Trust. [138836]

Mr. Ingram: None.

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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bank Accounts (Post Offices)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of basic bank accounts available are accessible at post offices; and of those, what proportion offer balance inquiries services at post offices. [140095]

Mr. Timms: These are matters that fall within the day-to-day responsibility of Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Alstom Transport UK

Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how often and on what dates during the last year she has met Mr. Paul Barron, Vice President of Alstom Transport UK, to discuss the future of the Alstom factory at Crashwood Heath in Birmingham; and what the outcome of these discussions was. [139301]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 18 November 2003]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry met Paul Barron on 6 May 2003 to discuss Alstom's general restructuring plans and their impact on the company's operations in the UK, including Washwood Heath. Details of discussions between Ministers and company representatives must, for commercial reasons, remain confidential under Exemption 13—Third Party's Commercial confidences, of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, but Mr. Barron stressed the need for the company to undertake global restructuring in order to address mounting debts and ensure a viable future. The Secretary of State has had discussions with Mr. Barron on a number of other occasions and these were detailed in her letter to you of 1 September 2003.

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