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14 May 2004 : Column 598W—continued

Defence Fire Service

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the size is of the backlog of members of the Defence Fire Service, RAF fire-fighters and contractors' personnel from military sites for their four-yearly residential refresher training at DFS Central Training Establishment at RAF Manston. [172523]

Mr. Ingram: It is estimated that there are around 1,200 fire fighters whose refresher training is now overdue. This has been caused by a temporary shortage of instructors at the Defence Fire Service Training Establishment at RAF Manston, a situation we expect to remedy over the next three months.

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on his Department's consideration of the option to transfer Defence Fire Service and related training from Manston to the Fire Service College at Moreton-in-Marsh. [172525]

Mr. Ingram: Fire fighter training is included within the scope of the Airfield Support Services Project which is seeking to establish the most cost effective method of providing airfield support, and wider fire services, without compromising operational effectiveness. We are currently in the process of reviewing the bids we have received from the competing consortia and the Public Sector Comparator. Should it be determined that the Defence Fire Services will remain within the public sector we can then reassess the position with regard to the future provision of fire fighter training.

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the temporary use of the Fire Service College to clear any backlog in refresher training at the Defence Fire Service Central Training Establishment. [172526]

Mr. Ingram: There are no plans for the temporary use of the Fire Service College to deliver the Ministry of Defence refresher training. To provide such training at the Fire Service College would require personnel,
 
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equipment and vehicles to be transferred to that location, which would then have a direct impact on other specialist fire training that is undertaken at the Defence Fire Service Central Training Establishment.

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on releasing data on the amount of munitions containing depleted uranium used by US forces during the Iraq war. [166868]

Mr. Ingram: There have been no such discussions as this is a matter for the United States Government. However, officials have advised their US counterparts of the information published by the Ministry of Defence on 1 September 2003, Official Report, column 900W, on the amount of depleted uranium used by United Kingdom forces during the recent conflict in Iraq.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British forces were engaged in the siege of Fallujah. [171924]

Mr. Ingram: No.

Kosovo

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the deployment of troops in Kosovo. [173374]

Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom normally contributes around 200 personnel to the NATO KFOR mission in Kosovo. In response to the outbreak of violence in mid-March, we deployed the Ready Battalion—the UK contribution to NATO's Over the   Horizon reserve for the Balkans—to Kosovo on 17 March to assist in calming tensions. This additional deployment ceased on 17 April 2004.

Support Vehicles

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when a decision will be made on the support vehicle contract; and if he will make a statement. [171574]

Mr. Ingram: On current plans an announcement on the preferred bidder is scheduled for the early summer.

WALES

Departmental Procurement

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of the (a) crockery, (b) cutlery and (c) glassware procured by his Department over the last five years is of British manufacture. [170809]

Mr. Touhig: The overriding principle for all purchases by the Wales Office is value for money. It holds a stock of crockery, cutlery and glassware, some of which was manufactured in Britain.

Late Payments

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many invoices were not paid by the Wales Office
 
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within the target of 30 days in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost was of the late payment of these invoices. [172760]

Mr. Touhig : Of 1,686 invoices paid by the Wales Office in the 2003–04 financial year, 67 or just under 4 per cent. were paid late, with the remainder paid promptly within 30 days.

The Office is not aware of any charge being incurred as a result of these late payments.

Official Vehicles

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of official vehicles used by the Wales Office are run on (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) liquid petroleum gas and (d) compressed natural gas. [172776]

Mr. Hain: The Government Car Service provides the Wales Office with two ministerial cars, both run on petrol.

University Students

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the average university student debt in Wales was in each year since 1997. [172590]

Mr. Touhig: General measures relating to student finance have not yet been devolved to the National Assembly for Wales.

The latest data issued by the Department for Education and Skills (from the Student Income and Expenditure Survey) revealed that the average anticipated student debt from all sources for students graduating in 2002–03 was 8,666 compared with 3,150 (3,465 in real terms) in 1998–99.

The previous survey was in 1995–96.

There are no separate figures for Welsh students or students studying at Welsh Institutions.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many students whose home is in Wales were at (a) universities in Wales and (b) universities in England in each year since 1997. [172592]

Mr. Touhig: Welsh domiciled full time higher education enrolments at Welsh and English Higher Education Institutions ¹ is as follows.

Academic year	Studying in Wales	Studying in England
1996–97	27,980	20,565
1997–98	28,715	20,650
1998–99	29,785	20,340
1999–2000	29,675	20,035
2000–01	30,595	19,900
2001–02	32,300	19,495
2002–03	33,295	19,725

⁽¹⁾ As at December.
Notes:
All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
Includes undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments.
Source:
HESA Student Record





 
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business Regulation

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place in the Library a copy of the Regulatory Impact Assessment accompanying the Conduct Regulations for Employment Agencies. [168610]

Mr. Sutcliffe: A copy of the Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 was deposited in the Libraries of the House on 27 November 2003. The title of the RIA is the Revision of Regulations for the Private Recruitment Industry.

Dairy Industry

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received on competition issues in the dairy industry. [170182]

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.

Over time we have received a number of representations from hon. Members and others that have raised matters to do with competition issues in the dairy sector. Where appropriate we have taken these up with the DTI and competition authorities who are responsible for competition policy and its administration.

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