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Off-shore Wind Farms

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the extent of interference with maritime navigational instruments from wind farms placed in UK territorial waters. [168262]

Mr. Darling: The Government will examine the extent of interference with maritime navigational instruments caused by wind farms. We will want to draw on international experience, for instance in Denmark, and also learn as much as possible from our own installations. We will use the offshore wind farm at North Hoyle as a test facility to provide input into the study. We intend to begin work as soon as possible so that the results are known before any consents to build wind farms under the second round of offshore development.

Piracy

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to issue an advice leaflet to the crews of British flagged ships concerning how best to defend themselves against piracy. [170055]

Mr. Jamieson: Detailed guidance already exists in the form of Marine Guidance Note MGN 241 (M)—(Measures to Counter Piracy, Armed Robbery and other acts of Violence against Merchant Shipping), published in November 2002 and issued to over 16,000 UK mariners. There are no immediate plans to re-issue the guidance but this is being kept under review.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he has taken to help British flagged ships that sail (a) near Malaysia and (b) through the Straits of Malacca defend themselves against piracy. [170056]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to my earlier answer given today (ref 170055). The Department for Transport has issued comprehensive guidance to UK mariners regarding the measures that UK flagged vessels should take to defend against acts of piracy while passing through the Malacca Straits. Additionally, the DfT will be represented at the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy conference being held in Kuala Lumpur at the end of June. We will be highlighting and making a persuasive case for a more robust and co-ordinated international effort to crack down on piracy in the world's main hotspots such as the Straits of Malacca.

All British flagged ships are required under the new International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code to appoint a Ship Security Officer (SSO) and submit a Ship Security Plan (SSP) to the DfT. Officials examine these plans and verify them on board prior to issuing the International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC), if appropriate. SSPs and vessels have to meet UK security standards and the plans contain many elements of good security practice, which help SSOs ensure ships are adequately protected.
 
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Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of piracy were reported as having taken place against British vessels in 2003. [170063]

Mr. Jamieson: There were 17 incidents of piracy reported by the IMB against British vessels in 2003. This figure includes incidents against vessels flagged in UK and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of piracy were discovered at UK seaports by (a) UK border controls and (b) the Royal Navy in 2003. [170064]

Mr. Jamieson: There were no incidents of piracy discovered at UK seaports in 2003 by either UK border controls or the Royal Navy. There were also no piracy related incident reports for the UK, and the IMB annual report confirms that no such incidents were recorded for 2003.

DEFENCE

Accommodation

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1604W, on accommodation costs, what the housing needs of the Service personnel living in private rented accommodation are; [169472]

(2) pursuant to his answer of 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1604W, on accommodation costs, what plans he has to provide sufficient service accommodation in the Greater Portsmouth area to obviate the need for service personnel to rent in the private sector. [169444]

Mr. Caplin: All families housed in Substitute Service Family Accommodation (SSFA) in the Portsmouth area at present are in need of 4-bedroomed houses. Two PFI projects will provide a total of 148 x 4-bedroomed houses at the former HMS Daedalus site in Gosport, which should eliminate the need for privately rented accommodation, even allowing for an expected increase in Portsmouth-based personnel. The new properties are scheduled to be constructed within about 18 months.

In addition, there is currently a need for Substitute Single Service Accommodation in Portsmouth, for personnel temporarily displaced by Project EMMA, a major project replacing 1960s tower blocks with new accommodation, projected to provide a suitable level of accommodation for many years to come. A Portsmouth Single Living Accommodation Study is on-going, designed to assess the single accommodation need in the Portsmouth area and ensure that best use is made of existing accommodation.

Aircraft Carriers

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the benefits of full-sized aircraft carriers. [161245]

Mr. Ingram: The Strategic Defence Review concluded that the current Invincible class carriers should be replaced by two larger, more versatile, aircraft carriers capable of carrying a more powerful embarked air
 
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component. The carriers would have broad utility across a range of roles, consistent with the focus of maritime forces towards rapid deployment operations and wider power projection.

Size is not, however, an end in itself and the Department has not sought to fix the dimensions of these new aircraft carriers during the Assessment Phase of the CVF project. Parameters such as the ships size will instead reflect the design needed to meet the level of capability sought. It is to be expected that the design, and therefore size, of the ships will evolve as the Department seeks to balance, in conjunction with industry, overall performance, time and cost as part of normal Assessment Phase activity.

Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the BAE Systems and Thales partnership is still his preferred prime contractor for the aircraft carrier programme; what alternatives are under consideration; when the appointment will be confirmed; and if he will make a statement. [166013]

Mr. Ingram: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 30 January 2003, the best means of delivering the carrier programme is via an alliance approach involving BAE Systems, Thales UK and the Ministry of Defence.

The alliance approach remains the best way to deliver the programme within the time and cost parameters, and we continue to engage in discussions on the alliancing strategy to determine roles and responsibilities. Ministers are currently considering proposals on the overall CVF programme, the alliance strategy, and on when to proceed to the Demonstration and Manufacture phases.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to ensure that (a) the entire value of future aircraft carriers will be spent in the UK and (b) in the event that overseas suppliers are necessary, 100 per cent. of the value of such contracts will be offset by purchases from the UK. [167641]

Mr. Ingram: It is intended that the Future Aircraft Carriers will be acquired in accordance with defence industrial policy and also to provide the armed forces with the equipment they require at the best value for money for the taxpayer. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 January 2003, Official Report, column 404W to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle).

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make it his policy to ensure that the final assembly and integration of modules of all future aircraft carriers will be at a UK shipyard; and if he will list the UK shipyards which have this capability; [167642]

(2) if he will list those companies which he has assessed as having the capability to construct the principal modules which will make up future aircraft carriers. [167643]

Mr. Ingram: In accordance with Government policy for the construction of Royal Navy warships, the Future Aircraft Carriers will be built in UK shipyards. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 30 January 2003, a combination of four UK shipyards potentially offer the best way forward to build and
 
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assemble the vessels: BAE Systems Naval Ships at Govan, Vosper Thornycroft at Portsmouth, Swan Hunter on Tyneside and Babcock BES at Rosyth. We have not, however, ruled out the involvement of other yards and facilities depending on the build strategy that is selected. Final decisions on the potential four shipyards and other manufacturing facilities will be made based on achieving value for money while taking due cognisance of capability, capacity and resources across the UK shipbuilding industry.

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