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22 Mar 2004 : Column 543W—continued
Civilian Posts
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many (a) service and (b) of his Department's civilian posts have been transferred to the private sector in each year since 1997 for the (i) Royal Navy, (ii) Army and (iii) Royal Air Force; [154628]
- (2) how many (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy, (c) Royal Air Force and (d) of his Department's civilian posts have been transferred to the private sector in each year since 1997. [160904]
Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the accession of new members to NATO on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty; and if he will make a statement. [160325]
Mr. Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
We look forward to the new members joining NATO on 29 March. Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia are already States Parties to the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and
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Slovenia cannot join the CFE Treaty yet, but will be eligible to join the Adapted CFE Treaty when it comes into force. NATO Allies will not ratify the Adapted CFE Treaty until Russia has met the commitments it made to Georgia and Moldova at the OSCE Summit in Istanbul in November 1999. NATO Allies have made clear their intention to ratify the Adapted CFE Treaty once these commitments have been met and we hope that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia will sign up to the Adapted CFE Treaty as soon as they are able to do so.
Deepcut Barracks
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours per week on average each Royal Logistic Corps trainee at Deepcut barracks was required to perform guard duty in the last year for which figures are available. [162268]
Mr. Ingram: Detailed information on this is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, in line with individual training programmes each soldier undergoing phase 2 training at the Princess Royal Barracks Deepcut can expect to spend on average some 84 hours on guard duties.
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Defence Intelligence Services
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Defence Intelligence Services. [162299]
Mr. Hoon: The Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) is an integral part of the Ministry of Defence and plays an essential role in achieving the UK's defence objectives. It is a key contributor to the successful prosecution of military operations. As emphasised in the recent Defence White Paper "Delivering Security in a Changing World", the strategic environment is increasingly uncertain and comprises a diverse range of threats which require intelligence-led responses.
The DIS will therefore continue to be an important element of our overall defence capability.
Departmental Communications
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff are employed in the Department to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others. [158164]
Mr. Caplin: As of 15 March 2004, there were 130 people employed within the communications organisation in the Ministry of Defence Headquarters. Of these, 24 are members of the Government Information and Communication Service. Of the remainder, seven work in the Press Office and the others are employed on a wide range of tasks including design, publicity, marketing, internal communications and strategic planning.
Ministers in the department have two special advisers, neither of whom are members of the communications organisation. The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister and this includes communications activity.
In addition to the above, a number of people are employed, either wholly or partly, in communications related work throughout defence. These include staff
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working in defence agencies, the permanent joint Headquarters, single service commands and individual military units. Accurate information on all of these posts is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total expenditure on communications for his Department has been in 2003–04, broken down by expenditure on (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others. [158211]
Mr. Caplin: The cost of staff employed within the communications organisation in the Ministry of Defence headquarters is expected to be in the region of £5.9 million for 2003–04; of this, around £1 million is attributable to members of the Government Information and Communication Service (GICS). Of the remainder, around £0.3 million relates to non-GICS staff in the press office and the balance of the cost is for staff employed on a wide range of tasks including design, publicity, marketing, internal communications and strategic planning.
The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister and this includes communications activity. Details of the costs of special advisers are given on an annual basis. Information for the financial year 2003–04 will be published in due course.
Costs for staff employed in communications elsewhere in the Department are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Drugs
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel tested positive for the use of each controlled substance, broken down by unit, in calendar year 2003. [161307]
Mr. Caplin: The number of positive results for the use of controlled substances in each of the Services in 2003 are shown in the following tables. In all cases, positive results indicate the number of substances detected, not necessarily the number of personnel. The Naval Service
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| Station/Unit | Cannabis | Ecstasy |
|---|---|---|
| RAF Leeming | 1 | |
| RAF Cosford | 2 | |
| RAF St. Athan | 1 | |
| RAF Coningsby | 1 | |
| RAF Uxbridge | 1 | |
| RAF Halton | 3 | |
| RAF Cottesmore | 3 | |
| RAF Wittering | 1 | |
| RAF Buchan | 1 | |
| RAF Marham | 1 | |
| RAF Benson | 1 | |
| RAF Lyneham | 1 | |
| RAF Kinloss | 1 | |
| RAF Leuchars | 1 | |
| DST Leconfield | 1 | |
| Totals | 16 | 4 |
The Army do not record data in the same way as the other two Services. A detailed breakdown of positive results by substance detected is not held centrally. Centralised statistics are available only by corps and divisions of infantry which for 2003 are as follows:
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