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16 Mar 2004 : Column 202W—continued
Naval Personnel (Asbestos)
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department will review the disabled pension paid to ex-Naval servicemen suffering lung problems resulting from asbestos insulation in ships. [147851]
Mr. Caplin: Ex-Naval servicemen suffering as a result of their service from lung problems resulting from asbestos insulation in ships have the same entitlement to disablement pensions as any other ex-Servicemen suffering from injury or illness due to service. We have no plan to change these entitlements retrospectively. The House will be aware that for the future we have recognised the need to review our arrangements to bring them into line with modern good practice as part of the Armed Forces Pensions and Compensation Bill currently before the House.
Officer Numbers
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the expected retirement dates of all officers above the rank of OF 2 in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF, broken down by rank; and if he will make a statement. [161058]
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Mr. Caplin: It is not possible to provide meaningful aggregated information due to the complexity of service conditions relating to retirement. Each of the services has its individual regulations and, indeed, within each service retirement criteria can vary considerably depending on factors such as length of service, rank and professional speciality.
Procurement
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total expenditure was on procurement by each of the services in the last year for which figures are available; and how much of the procurement budget for each was spent in Scotland. [159304]
Mr. Ingram: Details of procurement expenditure are not available broken down by service. Up to 1998–99 United Kingdom Defence Statistics, published annually by the Defence Analytical Services Agency in UK Defence Statistics (available in the Library of the House), identified expenditure on equipment for the "Sea", "Land" and "Air" environments together with "other" equipment not specific to an environment. This division does not necessarily match the end destination of the equipment. For example not all aerospace equipment is used solely by the RAF. Since 1998–99 the format for recording expenditure has changed following the introduction of Smart Acquisition and the move from cash to Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB). Expenditure on procurement is now subsumed within the Principal Headings of the Defence Budget (Table 1.3 of the 2003 UK Defence Statistics). The Government's most recent expenditure plans for Defence (Cm 5912) published in May 2003 also identify procurement expenditure under the RAB regime. The 2002–03 accounts of the Defence Procurement Agency, HC2, are available in the Library of the House, and provide a summary of its expenditure on equipment procurement against the major Defence capability areas. Detail of equipment expenditure by region has not been included in the UK Defence Statistics since 2001.
Regimental Unit Designations
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will use the opportunity of unit re-organisations consequent to the Defence White Paper better to reflect and recognise the lineage of current regiments, including regiments disbanded under previous re-organisations, in the designation of companies and other units below regiment level. [161221]
Mr. Caplin: Any re-organisation would be based on the need to ensure that the Army is able to respond to the changing strategic environment and meet the operational challenges of the future. This is vital if the armed forces are to be prepared for the broad range of operational tasks that they are likely to be engaged in. However, history and tradition are, of course, also important and are always considered.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what requirement has been established for unmanned aerial vehicles; and what timetable has been set for the requirement; [158512]
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- (2) what plans there are for unmanned aerial vehicles to operate from aircraft carriers. [158513]
Mr. Ingram: We currently have a requirement to provide for the land environment accurate, timely and high quality imagery to UK commanders. To meet this requirement the Watchkeeper programme is on track to deliver from 2006 an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (IS TAR) system using tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Watchkeeper will subsume the in-service Phoenix UAV capability. In response to an urgent operational requirement arising in Iraq, we have acquired Desert Hawk mini-UAVs from the United States. I am withholding details about their use in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for reasons of operational security.
There are currently no plans to procure other operational UAVs. We have established the Joint UAV Experimentation Programme (JUEP) to explore the wider operational utility of UAV systems in the joint battlespace, including an investigation into the utility of UAVs for maritime operations. Under the Future Offensive Air System programme we expect to look at a potential mix of platforms, including Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), to meet our future strike capability from around the end of the next decade.
Wind Farms
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many formal applications for wind power projects were opposed by his Department in each of the last five years. [159734]
Mr. Caplin: The number of formal applications for wind power projects objected to by the MOD is detailed as follows:
| Number of objections | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 2 |
| 2002 | 3 |
| 2003 | 4 |
Note:
1. No figures available prior to 2001.
Zimbabwe
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of people living in Zimbabwe who are entitled to a British Army pension. [160729]
Mr. Caplin: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Afghanistan
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on elections in Afghanistan. [157466]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK supports the efforts being taken by the UN and the Afghan Transitional Administration to prepare for elections later this year.
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The UK has contributed £3 million to these preparations to date, and DFID are considering committing further funds. We encourage the international community to fully support the Afghan Government and the UN in their preparations for the elections. This will be one of the issues covered at the Berlin Conference on Afghanistan on 31 March—1 April, which I will attend.
Bangladesh
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Bangladesh about the protection of human rights of members of the Ahmadiyya community. [160764]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1302W.
Beef
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2004, Official Report, column 1188W, on beef, what the monetary value of the contract with the principal supplier is in relation to beef. [161418]
Mr. Rammell: The supplier spends approximately £20,000 per annum on beef bought in relation to its contract with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Burma
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his European counterparts regarding economic sanctions on Burma. [161333]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The EU Common Position aims to target the military regime and its associates while avoiding measures that hurt, as far as possible, the Burmese people. We have regular discussions with our EU partners on this.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Burmese Government regarding human rights in that country. [161379]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I regularly raise the Government's concerns on human rights in Burma with the Burmese authorities, most recently when I met the Burmese Ambassador on 23 February. We co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Human Rights Resolution on Burma last December and will play an active role in the forthcoming UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. We strongly support the efforts of Sergio Pinheiro the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has made to the Burmese Government on the prolonged detention under Article 10a of the 1975 State Protection Act of political prisoners who have already served their sentences; [161491]
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- (2) what representations he has made to the Government of Burma on the (a) detention and (b) imprisonment of 52 persons after 30 May 2003. [161492]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have repeatedly called on the Burmese regime to release fully all political prisoners and to allow them to play an active role in national reconciliation in Burma.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he received on the construction of a new road by the Burma Army south-east from Mawchi. [161494]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I am aware of a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, compiled on the basis of information from Karenni groups, of a road being built by the Burmese army to access a mine south east of Mawchi in Kayah State. Security restrictions prevent staff from our embassy from travelling to this area to verify this information.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Myanmar regarding the (a) civil and (b) political rights of the Karen people. [161648]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are concerned by the issue of ethnic minority rights and the abuses suffered by ethnic groups in Burma including the Karen people. The UK has repeatedly called on the Burmese military regime to enter into genuine and substantive dialogue with all political parties and ethnic groups in Burma leading to national reconciliation.
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