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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 23 March 2004

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the initial achievements of (a) the Provisional Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e-Sharif and (b) the other provisional reconstruction teams. [162966]

Mr. Ingram: In its first eight months the United Kingdom-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Mazar-e Sharif has made good progress against all its objectives. The achievements of other PRTs is a matter for their own Lead Nations but, collectively, they all contribute towards the wider goal of restoring a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) where and on what date (a) Rhadi Nama, (b) Ahmed Jabber Karrem, (c) Nadhem Abdulla, (d) Abd Al Jalba Mouse Ali, (e) Hazma Abdul Hussein Al-Askary, (f) Waed Jabber Raheem and (g) Jasim Yassim Jabbar Al-Shuirillway died; and what the cause of death was in each case; [154352]

(2) where and on what date (a) Hussan Said Shaba Al-Bata, (b) Said Shabram, (c) Waleed Fiaz Mejban, (d) Bala Nasheem Mohammed, (e) Hassan Abbad Saied, (f) Ather Karen Al-Mowafetaia, (g) Ali Salaam Ayi Mohammed and (h) Dyab Rehman Nasser died; and what the cause of death was in each case. [154357]

Mr. Ingram: The deaths occurred within the United Kingdom Area of Operations, though it is not the purpose of the SIB inquiry to determine the cause of death.

Name	Date of death
Rhadi Nama	8 May 2003
Ahmed Jabber Kareem	8 May 2003
Nadhem Abdullah	11 May 2003
Abd Al Jubba Mousa Ali	17 May 2003
Hazma Abdul Hussein Al-Askery	18 May 2003
Waed Jabber Raheem	26 May 2003
Jasim Yassim Jabber Al-Shimillwy	15 June 2003
Hussan Said Shaba Al-Bata	24 October 2003
Said Shabram	24 May 2003
Waleed Fiaz Mezban	2 September 2003
Baha Nasheem Mohammed	15 September 2003
Hassan Abbad Said	2 August 2003
Ather Karen Al-Mowafakia	29 April 2003
Ali Salaam Aziz Mohammed	3 May 2003
Dyab Rahman Nasser	5 May 2003

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Chris Rowlands

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the discharge of Chris Rowlands from the Army. [162402]

Mr. Caplin: In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, I am unable to make public any personal data relating to Chris Rowlands unless the hon. Member has his explicit consent.

Service Communications

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many departmental personnel are involved in communications activities for the (a) Naval Service, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force. [162960]

Mr. Caplin: Within the Ministry of Defence headquarters' corporate communications organisation there are a number of staff employed primarily on the communications activities of the three single Services. As at 22 March 2004 the number of such personnel (including support staff and photographers) was:

	Number
(a) Royal Navy	(1)19
(b) Army	11
(c) Royal Air Force	13

⁽¹⁾ This includes a team of four Naval photographers who undertake a number of joint service tasks.

Kosovo

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met his European Union counterparts to discuss matters relating to the security situation in (a) Kosovo and (b) Serbia-Montenegro. [163223]

Mr. Hoon: I regularly meet my European Union counterparts to discuss defence matters, including those relating to the Balkans. In particular, I attended the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 17–18 November 2003, at which security issues in the Balkans were discussed.

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the Government of Serbia-Montenegro regarding Prime Minister Kostunica's proposal for the deployment of Serbian forces to Kosovo. [163224]

Mr. Hoon: I discussed recent events in Kosovo with the Serbia and Montenegro Defence Minister, Boris Tadic. The issue of deploying Serbian troops to Kosovo was not raised.

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the extent to which the borders between (a) Kosovo and Albania and (b) Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are adequately secured; and who controls them. [163225]

Mr. Hoon: Responsibility for border control points in Kosovo is held by the Kosovo Police Service under the authority of the UN Interim Administration Mission In Kosovo (UNMIK). Responsibility for the territorial integrity of Kosovo, including adjacent to the border with Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of

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Macedonia (FYROM), rests with KFOR. On the Macedonian side of the border, the responsibility for border crossing points rests with by the FYROM Border Police and for the rest of the border with the First Army Brigade. On the Albanian side of the Kosovo—Albanian border, the Albanian Police have responsibility for border control.

We assess that Kosovo's borders with both Albania and FYROM are adequately secured.

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in the Kosovo towns of (a) Mitrovica, (b) Orahovac and (c) Pristina. [163226]

Mr. Hoon: The security situation in Kosovo, including the towns of Mitrovica, Orahovac and Pristina, is calm following the violent events of last week. NATO, including KFOR forces on the ground, continues to monitor the situation.

Leslie John Douglas

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outcome was of the investigation into the death of Mr. Leslie John Douglas; when a Board of Inquiry was convened; what its recommendations were; and what further action has been taken. [162259]

Mr. Ingram: The Royal Military Police Special Investigation, despite extensive witness interviews and forensic examination, was inconclusive.

A Board of Inquiry (BOI) into Cpl Douglas's death was convened in November 2001. It made the following recommendations on range safety:

that reminders of key Range Planning and Safety Regulations should be issued periodically to the Chain of Command;

that Guidance on safe bayonet fitting drills should be reviewed;

that measures be taken to reinforce the need for completion of all aspects of Stage 4 Transition to Field Firing training, prior to commencing Stage 5 Field Firing.

The following actions have been taken:

periodic reminders of key Range Planning and Safety Regulations are now issued to the chain of command;

guidance on safe bayonet fitting was reviewed and amended;

all training authorities are now reminded periodically of the need to ensure proper progression of training.

Medical Reservists

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medical reservists there were in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003; and if he will make a statement. [158621]

Mr. Caplin: The following table provides information on the number of medical reservists as at 1 April 1997 and 1 April 2003. Figures for 1997 are not available for the Royal Navy Reserves.

Service	1997	2003
Territorial Army	4,440	3,680
Royal Navy Reserves	—	156
RauxAF	144	138

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Sean Benton

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recommendations were made by the Board of Inquiry into the death of Sean Benton concerning security instructions and orders governing armed guard duties at Deepcut barracks; and what action has subsequently been taken on the implementation of each of these recommendations. [162267]

Mr. Ingram: During its investigation the Board of Inquiry (BOI) highlighted a number of concerns, largely relating to security orders and procedures within the Guardroom. Direction was given for the following actions to be taken, and these were implemented by the end of August 1995:

review all security and guard procedures to ensure that they are relevant and in accordance with the current regulations and instructions;

review all instructions within the Guardroom, and in particular instructions given to the guard and other duty personnel;

issue clear orders relating to the issue of weapons and ammunition and the safeguarding of such weapons while they are in an individuals charge;

review procedures for the posting of relief guards.

In its concluding report, the BOI also made the following recommendations, all of which have been implemented:

adequate instructions should exist for all sentry posts;

reliefs should be posted by the Guard Commander, Guard 2IC or Regimental Police Duty staff;

a standardized Guard Commanders Order to the guard format should be adopted;

guards should be clearly told that they are not to handover their weapons or ammunition unless specifically ordered to do so by a member of the Regimental Police Staff, Guard Commander or Guard 2IC;

orders should be clearly displayed in the Guardroom;

the Guard and Guard Reserve should be paraded as two separate contingents;

guards should be rotated between posts during their period of duty thereby safeguarding against complacency.

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