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Scottish Infantry Regiments

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recruitment targets were established for each of the six Scottish infantry regiments for each month since January 2003; what the level of recruitment was in each case; and if he will make a statement. [180541]

Mr. Caplin: The number of other rank enlistments for each of the six Scottish Infantry Regiments for each month since January 2003 are detailed in the following tables. The marked increase during the months of August-September and December- January are due to the fact that during these months there are additional Junior Entry Courses running, allowing a greater number of recruits to be enlisted. No monthly recruitment targets are set, therefore, the annual Financial Year targets are included in the tables. However, no target was set for individual Infantry Regiments in Financial Year 2002–03.
 
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Table 1: Financial year 2002–03

	Highlanders	Black Watch	Argyll and Southern Highlanders	Royal Scots	Royal Highland Fusiliers	Kings Own Scottish Borderers
Annual target	None	None	None	None	None	None
January	6	12	5	6	5	5
February	8	7	9	11	12	4
March	4	3	1	2	7	2
Total	18	22	15	19	24	11

Table 2: Financial year 2003–04

	Highlanders	Black Watch	Argyll and Southern Highlanders	Royal Scots	Royal Highland Fusiliers	Kings Own Scottish Borderers
Annual target	120	112	103	113	113	100
April	9	11	4	4	10	4
May	4	5	3	5	6	3
June	9	4	7	2	12	8
July	3	8	5	1	3	0
August	35	29	19	10	20	34
September	13	10	6	10	8	9
October	2	6	6	4	8	6
November	6	7	5	9	2	4
December	5	8	4	3	2	17
January	17	21	14	8	20	16
February	10	10	5	4	7	7
March	1	3	4	3	9	3
Total	114	122	82	63	107	111

Table 3: Financial year 2004–05

	Highlanders	Black Watch	Argyll and Southern Highlanders	Royal Scots	Royal Highland Fusiliers	Kings Own Scottish Borderers
Annual target	101	95	92	102	95	94
April	4	7	4	8	5	8
May	2	4	2	4	3	2
Total to date	6	11	6	12	8	10

Officers are not recruited in the same way. Selection by Regiment is made during Initial Training at Sandhurst and comparable information is therefore not available. The numbers commissioned into each of the Scottish Regiments in 2003 and 2004 to date is as follows:

	2003	2004 (To date)
Highlanders	4	2
Black Watch	7	1
Argyll and Southern Highlanders	6	1
Royal Scots	7	2
Royal Highland Fusiliers	4	1
Kings Own Scottish Borderers	4	1

Seyntex

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the supply of cloth for tentage awarded to Seyntex in 2001; and what specifications on quality were included in the invitation to tender. [181298]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 29 June 2004]: Seyntex NV is responsible for the supply of cloth used in the tents supplied to the Department under the terms of a contract placed in 2001. The Invitation to Tender included the detailed specification required for both fabric and manufacture and also specified the Quality Assurance conditions to be applied.

A copy of these will be placed in the Library of the House.
 
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Trident

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2004, Official Report, column 939W on Trident replacement, if he will list the design studies which have been undertaken to date; how much each has cost; what the (a) start date and (b) expected end date of each study is; and if he will make a statement. [180518]

Mr. Hoon: As stated in my previous answer, decisions on whether to replace Trident are likely to be needed in the next Parliament. We have also made clear that appropriate steps to keep options open will continue to be taken, and that we routinely undertake studies into the optimum operational life of key defence capabilities, including the Trident system. These included concept studies on options for platforms to carry the Trident missile in the longer term, which began in May 2002 and finished in May 2003, and involved extra-mural costs of around £560,000.

UN Operations

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications to exhume the bodies of Iraqis allegedly killed as a result of Coalition action have been made by British military officials; and what has been the result in each case. [158865]

Mr. Ingram: Six requests to exhume the bodies of Iraqis allegedly killed by UK armed forces have been made. In three of these cases the family's permission was withheld.
 
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Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many private companies are involved in the running of United Kingdom prisons in Iraq; and what the role of each is. [174001]

Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 28 June 2004, Official Report, columns 145–46W, to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch), the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Glenda Jackson) and the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mr. Hancock).

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when in September 2003 the practice of hooding detainees in Iraq was stopped. [174620]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 20 May 2004]: An amended Standard Operating Instruction was issued on 30 September 2003 detailing that the use of hoods on apprehended persons was to cease. This had been preceded by a verbal instruction several days earlier.
 
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WORK AND PENSIONS

New Deal for Lone Parents

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been through the New Deal for Lone Parents more than once (a) in total and (b) broken down by parliamentary constituency. [179786]

Jane Kennedy: Through the New Deal we have introduced a wide range of initiatives to help lone parents improve their employment prospects by giving them the skills, support and confidence they need to move into work. Since its introduction in October 1998, over 485,000 lone parents have participated in the New Deal for Lone Parents and over 260,000 lone parents have been helped into work.

The New Deal is a long-term investment to make a real difference to lone parents and their children. New Deal for Lone Parents more than doubles lone parents' chances of moving off income support. Those who do return to benefits after finding a job through New Deal have still added to their skills, confidence and experience, making it easier for them to find a job in the future.

The information has been placed in the Library.

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