House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 25 May 2004 (pt 40)

25 May 2004 : Column 1614W—continued

Defence Bases

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why his Department does not keep figures for the current number of (a) service and (b) civilian personnel based at (i) RAF Leeming, (ii) RAF Linton on Ouse, (iii) AAC Dishforth and (iv) Alanbrooke Barracks; and whether his Department has figures for the current number of (A) service and (B) civilian personnel at other defence establishments in the United Kingdom. [173935]

Mr. Caplin: Although individual Defence installations may hold some of this information at a local level, location statistics for Service Personnel are produced centrally by the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA). This is done by allocating individuals to a unit based on record of service data, and allocating the unit to a location based postal address. DASA are currently reviewing the source data and process by which these statistics are compiled. The target date for the completion of the review is December 2004. The most recently published location statistics are given in the July 2002 TSP10 publication, which is available in the House of Commons Library. New figures will not be available until the review is complete.

Information on civilians is regularly published by DASA at Government Office Region level where it is believed the data are of sufficient quality. Individual defence installations may hold data at a local level, but centralised systems are not able to provide a reliable breakdown to this level of detail. Individual defence

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installations do not routinely publish civilian data as different organisations and agencies are responsible for the same location or site.

Emergency Evacuation (Greater London)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters are available in the Greater London area for use in emergency evacuation of people who may be injured in a terrorist attack in London. [175137]

Mr. Ingram: No military helicopters are dedicated to the task of evacuating people who might be injured in a terrorist attack in London. However, there are a number of military helicopters based in the vicinity of Greater London that could be made available to assist the civil authorities if necessary.

Joint Strike Fighter

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Joint Strike Fighter's ability to take off from warships, with particular reference to (a) its expected performance in combat, (b) the final cost, (c) who is liable for the cost of reconfiguring the aircraft, (d) the final in service date and (e) the reasons for not identifying the take off problems earlier. [174632]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 May 2004, Official Report, column 221W to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch). The weight issue impacts most significantly on the landing and take off characteristics of the aircraft, while its combat performance is currently predicted to meet the original requirements. The potential for weight growth was identified at the time of the decision to select the variant, and this, in conjunction with our intention to maximise the flexibility of use of the future carriers (CVF) over their life, influenced our decision to opt for an 'adaptable' design for CVF.

I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 11 May 2004, Official Report, column 219W, regarding the projected final cost of the System Demonstration and Development phase of JSF. Under the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding, the non-US partners in the programme are not bound to contribute to cost increases.

The Future Joint Aircraft in service date, based on current planning assumptions, is 2012.

Medals

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the case for awarding an Arctic medal was last reviewed; by whom it was done; at whose request; and if he will make a statement. [175062]

Mr. Caplin: A review of the case for the retrospective institution of a new medal specifically to recognise wartime service in Arctic waters was carried out by the Ministry of Defence earlier this year at the request of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

The conclusion of that review remained that there was no case that could or should be put to the HD Committee for an Arctic Convoy Medal and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave in the House on

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1 March 2004, Official Report, column 595W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr Allen).

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 26 April 2004, Official Report, column 728W, to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler) on the Suez Medal, what practical constraints limit the issuing of the Suez Canal Zone General Service Medal; and if he will establish a timetable for the completion of distribution to current applicants. [175422]

Mr. Caplin: The constraints are numbers of trained personnel, availability of machinery and funding. It is not practical to establish a timetable for Canal Zone medal applications as each case is unique and it is not possible to say in advance how long it will take to determine each applicant's eligibility for the medal.

Merlin Helicopters

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Merlin helicopters have been (a) ordered, (b) purchased, (c) delivered and (d) brought into full service for the Royal Navy since the decision was first made to purchase the Merlin. [174882]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 21 May 2004]: A total of 44 Merlin Mk1 aircraft have been ordered, purchased and delivered to the Ministry of Defence. 39 helicopters have entered service with the Royal Navy, of which two have been subsequently lost as a result of accidents. The remaining five helicopters are currently being used as trials and development aircraft.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) original budget was and (b) the total cost has been of purchasing and fully commissioning the Merlin helicopter for the Royal Navy, both as (i) a total amount and (ii) an amount per aircraft in service. [174884]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 21 May 2004]: The original budget allocated to the Merlin Mk1 programme was £1.1 billion (VAT inclusive) at 1982 prices. Since that time our requirement has matured and as a result the programme has changed considerably. The final cost of purchasing and commissioning the Merlin Mk1 fleet of 44 aircraft was just over £4.6 billion (VAT inclusive), which equates to approximately £105 million per helicopter.

Missile Defence Interceptor Sites

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the US authorities about basing missile defence interceptor sites in the UK. [174567]

Mr. Hoon: The Ministry of Defence continues to discuss with the United States a wide range of ballistic missile defence issues. The Government have not yet decided whether the United Kingdom requires its own missile defence, and these discussions do not therefore involve specific architectures or basing assumptions.

Nuclear Power Stations

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rules govern the rights of (a) RAF and

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(b) US Air Force aircraft to fly over (i) nuclear power stations and (ii) residential areas; and what breaches of such rules there have been in the past six months in (A) the United Kingdom and (B) Gloucestershire. [173199]

Mr. Ingram: Both Royal Air Force and United States Air Force aircraft operate with the same restrictions in respect of overflights of nuclear installations and residential areas. Nuclear installations are to be avoided by a radius of two nautical miles from a fixed centre-point or a height of 2,000 ft, by all types of aircraft. In respect of "residential areas" we grant avoidances in the United Kingdom military low-flying system to towns with a population of 10,000 or more, as well as everything within certain major avoidance areas. Towns granted avoidances are to be overflown at not less than 1,000 ft by helicopters, and not less than 2,000 ft by fixed wing aircraft. Since the beginning of November 2003 the following breaches of regulations have been established.

Date Place Nuclear Town UK Gloucestershire

17 November 2003 Dungeness, Kent ⁽³⁸⁾— ⁽³⁸⁾—

26 November 2003 Berkeley, Gloucestershire ⁽³⁸⁾— ⁽³⁸⁾—

8 January 2004 Bath ⁽³⁸⁾— ⁽³⁸⁾—

⁽³⁸⁾ Breach

Date	Place	Nuclear	Town	UK	Gloucestershire
17 November 2003	Dungeness, Kent	⁽³⁸⁾—		⁽³⁸⁾—
26 November 2003	Berkeley, Gloucestershire	⁽³⁸⁾—			⁽³⁸⁾—
8 January 2004	Bath		⁽³⁸⁾—	⁽³⁸⁾—

In addition, the following alleged breaches are still under investigation.

Date Place Nuclear Town UK Gloucestershire

21 January 2004 Holmfirth, Lancashire ⁽³⁹⁾— ⁽³⁹⁾—

10 February 2004 Swansea ⁽³⁹⁾— ⁽³⁹⁾—

18 February 2004 Teignmouth, Devon ⁽³⁹⁾— ⁽³⁹⁾—

⁽³⁹⁾ Alleged breach

Date	Place	Town	UK
21 January 2004	Holmfirth, Lancashire	⁽³⁹⁾—	⁽³⁹⁾—
10 February 2004	Swansea	⁽³⁹⁾—	⁽³⁹⁾—
18 February 2004	Teignmouth, Devon	⁽³⁹⁾—	⁽³⁹⁾—

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