---

4 Dec 2003 : Column 127W—continued

Joint Strike Fighter

Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on technology transfer agreements which have been concluded between BAE systems and the US Administration on the Joint Strike Fighter Project. [141922]

Mr. Ingram: BAE Systems has recently concluded negotiation of an updated technology transfer agreement, marking a significant step on the path towards achievement of its full participation in the Joint

4 Dec 2003 : Column 128W

Strike Fighter development programme. With the involvement of the company, a plan has been drawn up to identify future key technology transfer milestones, in order to ensure that further updates are signed when required.

Legislation

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pages of (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation his Department put through Parliament in 2002–03. [141124]

Mr. Ingram: My Department did not sponsor any primary legislation during the 2002–03 session.

In the case of secondary legislation my Department was responsible for the making of 11 General Statutory Instruments which would have been considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments or the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments. These instruments made a total of 53 pages.

Low-flying

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the NATO requirements for low-flying military training are for 2004; [140540]

(2) what discussions he has had with NATO colleagues on changes in the requirements for low-flying military training; [140541]

(3) what recent changes there have been in NATO policy on low-flying military training. [140543]

Mr. Caplin: NATO sets the minimum standards for low-flying military training but does not have a separate policy on how to achieve these standards. Nations are responsible for their own training to achieve what is required of them and make their own arrangements for any low-flying training which they deem necessary. There are no foreseeable changes to this position in 2004 and I have not been involved in discussions with NATO on this issue.

Military Deployment

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Air Force, (c) Army and (d) civilian MoD personnel are on deployment to (i) NATO HQ in Brussels (ii) NATO Southern Command and (iii) other NATO command centres; and if he will make a statement. [141346]

Mr. Ingram: As at 1 December 2003, the number of United Kingdom Ministry of Defence armed forces and civilian personnel in NATO HQs was as follows:

	Naval service	RAF	Army	Civilian	Total
NATO HQ	20	15	22	16	73
Southern Region	147	99	98	0	344
Other HQs	258	529	459	1	1,247
Total	425	643	579	17	1,664

In addition, the Ministry of Defence has a small number of people on secondment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that work within the NATO organisation.

4 Dec 2003 : Column 129W

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military diplomatic personnel have been deployed to the United States in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [141347]

Mr. Ingram: During the last five years since November 1998, 26 Service Attachés have been deployed to the United States. These are broken down as follows:

Three Defence Attachés (also the Head of the British Defence Staff, Washington)

Three Naval Attachés and five Assistant Naval Attachés

Three Military (Army) Attachés and three Assistant Military Attachés

Three Air Attachés and three Assistant Air Attachés

Three Heads of British Defence Intelligence Liaison Staff

There is overlap due to some of the Attachés commencing duty prior to November 1998.

Military Tours

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether a 24-month gap between tours has been achieved for (a) the 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots and (b) the 1st Battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [140454]

(2) what the (a) shortest and (b) longest gap between tours experienced by (i) the 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots and (ii) the 1st Battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers was since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [140455]

Mr. Ingram: The Army's Harmony guidelines recommend a tour interval of 24 months between each six month operational tour, per Army Battalion. Since 1997, the 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots and the 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers have both experienced a gap of at least 24 months between operational tours.

The 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots have undertaken two unaccompanied operational tours since 1997, with a gap of 36 months between them. In addition they have completed a two year residential (accompanied by families) tour in Northern Ireland.

The 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers, have completed four operational tours since 1997. The longest and shortest gaps between these tours are 26 months and 10 months respectively.

Milk Tankers

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many civilian milk tankers have been converted to military refuelling tankers; and how many of them have been deployed to Iraq; [141923]

(2) what the (a) cost and (b) life expectancy of a (i) converted milk tanker and (ii) custom built oil tanker is; and if he will make a statement. [141924]

Mr. Ingram: No civilian milk tankers have been converted to military refuelling tankers.

4 Dec 2003 : Column 130W

The Wheeled Tanker programme, which will provide 357 tankers to carry fuel (300) and water (57) at a cost of £171 million, is planned to come into service in February 2005 and will have a 15 year life.

Network-centric Warfare

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the potential of network-centric warfare in the future tactics of the (a) United Kingdom and (b) United States armed forces; and what plans he has to adopt it. [140567]

Mr. Hoon: Developing a networked capability is fundamental to achieving desired effects in joint and coalition warfighting. It offers the potential for dramatic increases in tempo—the ability to make better quality decisions and act more quickly and with greater agility, control and precision.

The Ministry of Defence has commissioned research to assess the positive impact of Network Centric Warfare, which we in the United Kingdom refer to as Networked Enabled Capability. At this stage, the preliminary results of this study indicate that Networked Enabled Capability will have a very positive impact on the operational effectiveness of our armed forces. The study is due to report next year and it is anticipated that it will produce detailed results demonstrating the benefit. Additionally, the MOD is collaborating and providing data for a United States Department of Defense (US DOD) study which is looking at the benefit delivered by Networked Enabled Capability. The outcome of this work is expected in the summer of next year.

Northern Ireland

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many soldiers from Scottish battalions have been stationed in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate his Department has made of the number of soldiers required in future years; [141656]

(2) how many British soldiers have been stationed in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate his Department has made of the number of soldiers required in future years. [141657]

Mr. Ingram: The number of Army personnel stationed in Northern Ireland, in each of the last 10 years, is as follows:

Date as at 31 October	Number of army personnel
1994	16,960
1995	15,680
1996	15,060
1997	15,250
1998	14,100
1999	13,130
2000	12,240
2001	12,540
2002	12,830
2003	12,300

Information on the exact number of soldiers from Scottish battalions who have been stationed in Northern Ireland in each of the last ten years, is not held centrally and could be provided only at

4 Dec 2003 : Column 131W

disproportionate cost. I can, however, list those Scottish battalions that have served in Northern Ireland over the last 10 years. The minimum manning strength for an infantry battalion in Northern Ireland is 550.

Date	Battalion
April 1992-December 1994	1st Battalion, The King's Owns Scottish Borderers
September 1992-March 1993	1st Battalion, The Royal Scots
November 1992-May 1993	1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Highlanders
May 1994-November 1994	1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
June 1994-December 1994	1st Battalion, The Scots Guards
December 1994-April 1995	1st Battalion, The Highlanders
May 1995-November 1995	1st Battalion, The Black Watch
September 1995-April 1997	1st Battalion, The Highlanders
October 1995-March 1996	1st Battalion, The Royal Scots
November 1995-May 1996	1st Battalion, The King's Owns Scottish Borderers
May 1996-November 1996	1st Battalion, The Scots Guards
February 1997-February 1999	1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
May 1997-November 1997	1st Battalion, The Royal Highland Fusiliers
June 1997-December 1997	1st Battalion, The Royal Scots
September 1997-March 1998	1st Battalion, The King's Owns Scottish Borderers
March 1998-March 2000	1st Battalion, The Scots Guards
June 1998-November 1998	1st Battalion, The Highlanders
December 1998-May 1999	1st Battalion, The Black Watch
March 1999-August 1999	1st Battalion, The Royal Scots
January 2000-April 2000	1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
June 2000-December 2000	1st Battalion, The Highlanders
September 2000-April 2002	1st Battalion, The Royal Scots
March 2001-March 2003	1st Battalion, The Royal Highland Fusiliers
March 2001-March 2003	1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
June 2001-November 2001	1st Battalion, The Scots Guards
September 2001-March 2002	1st Battalion, The King's Owns Scottish Borderers

All military force structures are based on operational need given the current and future security environment in which the armed forces are likely to operate. Until there is agreement on Security Normalisation in Northern Ireland, it would be premature to come to any conclusions on the future composition of the Northern Ireland garrison.

---