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12 Feb 2004 : Column 1637W—continued
Israeli Defence Minister (UK Visit)
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has to discuss the supply of military and security equipment between Israel and the
12 Feb 2004 : Column 1638W
UK with the Israeli Defence Minister during his forthcoming visit to the UK; and if he will make a statement; [153692]
- (2) what issues he plans to discuss with the Israeli Defence Minister during his forthcoming visit to the UK; [153693]
(3) if he will make a written statement to the House following the forthcoming visit of the Israeli Defence Minister concerning the issues he discussed with him and the outcome of those discussions. [153694]
Mr. Hoon: I expect to cover a range of issues of interest with Mr. Mofaz including bilateral relations, Middle East Peace Process and other regional issues of common concern.
Joint Strike Fighter
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many joint strike fighters will be ordered; and what the percentage work share of BAE Systems is. [154683]
Mr. Ingram: While no final decisions have been taken, our current planning assumption is that we will buy up to 150 Short Take Off and Vertical Landing variants of the Joint Strike Fighter to meet our Future Joint Combat Aircraft requirements.
There is no formal workshare arrangement in the Joint Strike Fighter programme. All work being undertaken by United Kingdom companies, including BAE Systems, has been won in open competition.
Offshore Patrol Ships
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether there is a need to increase the number of offshore patrol ships. [154281]
Mr. Ingram: The number of Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessels is driven by the operational requirement. As with all aspects of our defence capability they are regularly examined to ensure that they meet the requirement in the most effective way. On current plans the present force level will be maintained.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the Private Finance Initiative projects let by his Department since 1997; how long each process took; and who the contractors were. [154754]
Mr. Ingram: The Private Finance Initiative projects that have been let since 1997 are listed as follows. The table indicates the successful consortium/contractor and identifies the length of the process from project initiation to contract award.
The project initiation date is not known for the RAF Fylingdales Power Station project.
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Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the Private Finance Initiative projects that are in the competition stage; and when each competition was opened. [154755]
Mr. Ingram: The Private Finance Initiative projects that are in the competitive stage and the dates that competition was opened are listed as follows. The Invitation To Negotiate issue date has been used as the date when competition started, as this is the date that competition effectively commenced.
| Project | Competition start date |
|---|---|
| Armoured Vehicle Training Service | 28 February 2001 |
| Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft | 21 December 2000 |
| Northwood HQ PPP Project | 18 February 2003 |
| Devonport Support Services | 22 June 2001 |
| Portsmouth 2—Housing | 29 April 2003 |
| Project ALLENBY/CONNAUGHT | 31 July 2002 |
| Royal School of Military Engineers | 07 July 2000 |
| MOD-wide Water and Wastewater (Project Aquatrine)—Package C | 31 July 2002 |
| MOD-wide Water and Wastewater (Project Aquatrine)—Package B | 10 July 2002 |
| C Vehicles | 23 March 2001 |
| Tri-service Airfield Support Services | 20 September 2001 |
Recruitment
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) a recruitment freeze is in operation in the Scottish regiments and (b) there was a recruitment freeze in operation in the Scottish regiments in 2003. [154483]
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Mr. Caplin: The information is as follows:
- (a) No.
- (b) No.
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Scottish army regiments on recruitment. [154484]
Reserve Forces
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 29 January 2004, Official Report, column 505W, on reservists, how many reservists were called out immediately following demobilisation in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004; and if he will make a statement. [153281]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 11 February 2004]: Of the 9,550 reservists mobilised in 2003, some 90 were called-out again shortly after being demobilised. To date, none have been in 2004.
Royal College of Defence Medicine
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what accommodation for personnel exists at the Royal College of Defence Medicine; and what plans he has for future accommodation. [153885]
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Mr. Caplin: Staff and students at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine are mainly housed in leased accommodation. The Ministry of Defence is considering a number of options for the future provision of Service accommodation in the Birmingham area.
Shipbuilding Industry
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the RAND Report on capacity in the UK shipbuilding industry. [153792]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has commissioned the RAND organisation to carry out a range of studies of the UK shipbuilding industry, including one examining the capacity, in terms of workforce and facilities, required to deliver the demanding future warship programme. RAND are due to report later this year.
Suez Medal
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medals have been awarded for service in the Suez Canal Zone 1951–54; how many are still to be awarded to (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force personnel; and what the timescale is for completing the presentation of outstanding awards. [153786]
Mr. Caplin: By the week ending 6 February 2004 a total of 3,901 Canal Zone clasps, either together with the Naval General Service Medal 1915–62 and General Service Medal 1918–62, as appropriate, or alone where the recipient had already received the medal for other campaign service, had been issued by the Ministry of Defence's four single Service medal offices.
It is not possible to say how many medals will be awarded for service in the Canal Zone between 1951–54 as it will depend entirely upon the number of valid claims that are received from veterans and their families in the coming months. However, such has been the success of our efforts to advertise the availability of the new clasp that nearly 33,000 applications have now been received.
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the timetable for the awards to be made to those qualifying for a Suez Medal. [154751]
Mr. Caplin: There is no timetable for the award of the medal for service in the Suez Canal Zone.
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