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Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total expenditure on (a) information campaigns and (b) advertising was for his Department for each year since 1997. [145405]

Mr. Straw [holding answer 6 January 2004]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's planned expenditure on information campaigns in financial year 2003–04 is £6,485,000.00, which includes:

£1.9 million on a "Think UK" campaign in China, plus £360,000 for the development of campaigns in Central Europe (partnerships with accession states) and North America (UK Science and Technology) to run in 2004;


A £2.4 million public diplomacy challenge fund which will support 81 projects in 51 different countries;


£825,000 on a major FCO web infrastructure project, which includes www.i-uk.com; a central portal site to promote the UK overseas jointly with our public diplomacy partners (British Council, UK Trade and Investment and VisitBritain);


£600,000 on generic public diplomacy publications.


£200,000 for public diplomacy activity promoting the UK's science and technology achievements overseas.


£200,000 to raise public awareness within the UK of the benefits and opportunities of EU enlargement.

In addition, the FCO provides grant-in-aid of:

£166.04 million to the British Council


£220 million to the BBC World Service

In the year 2002–03 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's separately identifiable expenditure on advertising totalled £602,670. The bulk of this comprised of media spend for consular publicity campaigns, which are aimed at encouraging UK travellers to be better prepared before going overseas, and advertising for recruitment purposes.

In the year 2003–04 planned separately identifiable expenditure on advertising totals £317,000.

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Bill Rammell) gave to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Julie Kirkbride) today (UIN145801) for details of expenditure on recruitment advertisement between April 2002 and March 2003.

To provide a breakdown of expenditure each year since 1997 could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Israel

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the UK voted on UN General Assembly Resolution 144–4 which demanded that Israel stop and reverse construction of the separation wall. [146207]

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Mr. Rammell: The UK, in common with EU Partners, voted in favour of a UN General Assembly Resolution on 21 October 2003 demanding that Israel stop and reverse the construction of the wall.

DEFENCE

Body Armour

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the whereabouts of the sets of body armour bought since 1999. [145642]

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

HMS Bridport

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether HMS Bridport will be made available for use by sea cadets. [145647]

Mr. Ingram: There are no plans to make HMS Bridport available for use by sea cadets.

Iraq

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to upgrade the living accommodation of service personnel in Iraq. [141061]

Mr. Ingram: A programme of improvements is underway. Hard-walled accommodation for 3,000 personnel who had previously been in tented accommodation has been moved to Iraq. We have also supplied and are in the process of installing air conditioning for all the accommodation used by UK forces personnel.

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid to Iraqi families by the Government following incidents involving fatalities allegedly involving British forces since 1 May 2003. [141690]

Mr. Ingram: United Kingdom authorities have paid £8,125 to Iraqi families following alleged fatalities involving British forces since the 1 May 2003.

Medical Supplies Agency

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has to change the system of budget and stock controls undertaken by (a) the Medical Supplies Agency and (b) military units whom they serve in the ordering, delivery, storage and use of materials, equipment, drugs and other medical items; and if he will make a statement; [145346]

(2) what budget and stock controls are undertaken by (a) the Medical Supplies Agency and (b) military units whom they serve in the ordering, delivery, storage and use of materials, equipment, drugs and other medical items; and if he will make a statement. [145347]

Mr. Caplin: The Medical Supplies Agency (MSA) budget and stock controls are governed by HM Treasury direction on accounts prepared to comply with Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, MOD

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Financial Management Policy contained in JSP 462 and MOD Resource Accounting Policy contained in JSP 472. There are currently no plans to change these procedures.

MSA produce Agency Annual Accounts audited by the National Audit Office, the most recent Accounts for financial year 2002–03 were laid before Parliament on 16 July 2003 under reference number HC 805.

MSA is not responsible for the internal budget and stock controls in respect of the military units whom they serve.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his proposals are for the future of (a) medical distribution centres and (b) the Medical Supplies Agency. [145348]

Mr. Caplin: No decisions or any proposals for the future of (a) medical distribution centres or (b) the Medical Supplies Agency have been taken.

A review is being undertaken and is expected to conclude in the near future. A further announcement will be made to the House when appropriate.

Reservists

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what briefings are given to reservists on the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985. [146182]

Mr. Caplin: When called-out, reservists are provided with a copy of Joint Service Publication (JSP) 532 Guidance for reservists returning to civilian employment following a period of mobilised service. This publication explains the re- employment rights of reservists and, if necessary, how to go about formally seeking reinstatement under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985.

SA80 Rifles

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many modifications have been carried out to the SA80 rifle in the last five years. [145743]

Mr. Ingram: In the last five years the SA80 has been subject to a major modification programme to improve its reliability by either replacing or reengineering components. Work began in 2001 and is scheduled to be completed by May 2006. Approximately 93,000 modified weapons have been issued to date. The basic design and concept of the modified SA80—the SA80 A2—remains the same, but there are significant engineering improvements to the internal gas systems, firing pin, bolt, hammer and barrel. The cocking lever has been redesigned to deflect spent cases and reduce the chance of stoppages, and the new magazine is more reliable and robust. Work has also been undertaken on the safety catch/plunger, and following successful trials of a revised safety plunger during Op TELIC, a contract will be let shortly to procure a sufficient quantity to modify all weapons.

The modification programme also includes enhanced ancillaries. An Operational Cleaning Kit has been developed which enables the user to undertake an

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operational clean without dismantling the weapon. This is being issued to all troops deployed on Op TELIC in the infantry role.

Ships (Pay-off Dates)

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the pay-off dates are for (a) HMS Sovereign, (b) HMS Superb, (c) HMS Spartan, (d) HMS Sceptre, (e) HMS Invincible, (f) HMS Newcastle, (g) HMS Cardiff, (h) HMS Glasgow, (i) HMS Liverpool, (j) HMS Exeter, (k) HMS Southampton, (l) HMS Nottingham, (m) HMS Manchester, (n) HMS Gloucester, (o) HMS Edinburgh and (p) HMS York. [145652]

Mr. Ingram: The present planned decommissioning dates for each of the Royal Navy vessels listed are given in the following table.

HMS	Year
Swiftsure Class submarine:
Sovereign	2006
Superb	2008
Spartan	2006
Sceptre	2010
Invincible Class aircraft carrier:
Invincible	2010
Type 42 Destroyer:
Newcastle	2007
Cardiff	2008
Glasgow	2009
Liverpool	2009
Exeter	2010
Southampton	2011
Nottingham	2012
Manchester	2012
Gloucester	2013
Edinburgh	2014
York	2013

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