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Royal Parks

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) salary and (b) bonuses were paid to (i) the Chief Executive and (ii) the senior staff of the Royal Parks Agency in the latest year for which figures are available. [154769]

Mr. Caborn: The latest year for which details are available of the salary and bonuses paid to the Chief Executive and senior staff of the Royal Parks Agency is financial year 2002–03. Details are set out in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) animals and (b) birds were culled in the Royal Parks in the last two years, broken down by (i) species, (ii) culling method used and (iii) use made of the carcass. [154770]

Mr. Caborn: Responsibility for this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency, under its Chief Executive, William Weston.

Letter from William Weston to Mr. Norman Baker:

I have been asked by the Secretary of State to reply to your Parliamentary Question about animals and birds culled in the Royal Parks in the past two years, and the use made of their carcasses.

A total of 149 Red deer and 287 Fallow deer were shot during the annual deer culls; their carcasses were sold as venison, and the antlers for use in the craft trade. In addition, 37 adult Canada Geese were shot and 60 Canada Geese eggs pricked to prevent hatching. The bird carcasses were destroyed.

DEFENCE

45 Commando

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to relocate 45 Commando from RM Condor. [155875]

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Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence keeps the size and location of its estate under constant review. Following on from Department-wide studies undertaken last year, the MOD is currently examining areas where rationalisation of the estate may be possible. RM Condor, Arbroath, which is the home of 45 Commando Royal Marines and 7 Battery Royal Artillery, is included in one such piece of work. A report has yet to be submitted, however, and no decisions have been taken on the future of this establishment. Any proposals arising from this—and any other study—will be subjected to full consultation.

Airfield Support Services Project

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a decision on whether to proceed with a public private partnership solution for the Airfield Support Services Project. [155790]

Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave him on 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 1307.

Astute Class Submarine

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will place an order for long lead items for the fourth Astute Class boat; and whether he has assessed the impact on the supply chain of delay in placing such an order. [147610]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has been working closely with UK industry to assess the implications for sub component suppliers arising from delays to the Astute submarine programme. Purchase of some long lead items for the fourth boat has begun and further measures are under consideration.

Education

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to make changes to boarding school allowances; and if he will make a statement. [155183]

Mr. Caplin: Education allowances are provided to assist parents in ensuring continuity of education for their children, where it would otherwise be unacceptably disrupted by postings at home or abroad. There are no plans to change this approach.

Commanding Officers' Advice

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons a number of commanding officers have been told that individuals who have given notice to terminate their engagement may be given the option to leave sooner. [155269]

Mr. Caplin: As a result of the success we have had in recent years with various measures aimed at improving recruitment and retention, in-year targets have been exceeded and measures are therefore being taken to control whole Army strength. Commanding Officers have been told that individuals who have already given notice to terminate their service before 30 September 2004 may be permitted to depart early if this is acceptable to both the individual and the unit.

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Dark Winter Anti-terrorist Exercise

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the conduct of, and lessons learned from, the Dark Winter anti-terrorist exercise. [155863]

Mr. Ingram: We have no record of a United Kingdom anti-terrorist exercise called Dark Winter. The United States authorities did, however, carry out an exercise with that name in 2001.

Defence Estates Core Sites

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) RAF Brampton and (b) RAF Wyton have been designated as core sites within the Defence Estates Core Sites Report of March 2003. [155555]

Mr. Caplin: I can confirm that RAF Brampton and RAF Wyton were designated as Core Sites, although following the recent announcement by the Chief of Defence Logistics about a proposed framework of changes to the current structure of the Defence Logistics Organisation, further work is in hand to assess the feasibility of collocating additional parts of the DLO alongside or close to the existing Ministry of Defence site at Abbeywood in Bristol. This will be followed by more detailed work which will also consider whether there are alternative Defence uses for RAF Brampton and RAF Wyton.

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants have been employed at (a) RAF Wyton and (b) the MOD premises at Abbeywood in each of the last five years. [155551]

Mr. Caplin: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Department Branding

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on branding the Department between 1997–98 and 2003–04, broken down by (a) consultancy fees, (b) design and orders for new stationery, (c) website design and (d) other material featuring new logos. [154073]

Mr. Caplin: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Property

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will publish his review into Ministry of Defence property. [155876]

Mr. Caplin: In the Estate Strategy, "In Trust and On Trust" the Department defined its mainland Great Britain sites as "core" or "non-core" sites. Initial classification work was conducted last year but it is not our intention to publish the list. This is a working document and subject to constant detailed revision as the Department undertakes further work to clarify where estate rationalisation may be possible.

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Depleted Uranium Oversight Board

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Depleted Uranium Oversight board (a) to report and (b) to be wound up; and when it last met. [155801]

Mr. Caplin: Under its terms of reference, the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (DUOB) is required to report to the Under-Secretary of State for Defence on its progress, and additionally reports its proceedings publicly on the internet at www.duob.org.uk

The DUOB last met on 27 January 2004. The main DU testing programme is expected to begin in mid 2004. The period over which testing will continue will depend on demand. It is not possible to say at this stage when the DUOB will be in a position to summarise its findings or when it might be wound up.

EU Defence

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military capabilities that have been fully implemented as specified in the (a) Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue 2003, (b) the Helsinki Force Catalogue and (c) the Helsinki Progress Catalogue. [155203]

Mr. Hoon: There is no Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue 2003. The Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue first compiled in 2000, and refined in 2001 and 2002, lists 144 military capability areas required of the EU in order to conduct the Petersberg Tasks within recognised crisis management scenarios. The Helsinki Force Catalogue 2003 and Supplementary Catalogue—which together list the actual forces and capabilities offered by member, accession and third states—show that at least 118 of these capability areas have been met. The Helsinki Progress Catalogue 2003 assesses the progress made overall in the delivery of Headline and Capability Goals, and outlines when new capabilities will feed in to the Force Catalogue. Work now continues—in conjunction with the European Capabilities Action Plan—to address those shortfalls that remain. New Force and Progress Catalogues are expected later this year, and will incorporate the offers made by the ten new members of the EU.

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes have been introduced in the implementation of the EU Headline Goal; and if he will make a statement. [155209]

Mr. Hoon: No changes have been introduced to the implementation of the Helsinki Headline Goal. However, with the evolution of the strategic environment and of technology, and following the inter-governmental conference and redefinition of the Petersberg Tasks, and with EU accession, continued progress in the European Capabilities Action Plan, the elaboration of rapid response elements, a European Security Strategy, and further work on rotation, readiness, concurrency and redundancy, a successor Headline Goal is now under discussion, with a target date of 2010. This Goal will place a new emphasis on interoperability, deployability and sustainability as its major themes. We anticipate an announcement at the European Council in June.

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