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7 Jul 2004 : Column 721W—continued
Corporal Rees
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the result was of the investigation conducted by the Land Accident Investigation Team and the Health and Safety Executive following the death of Corporal Thomas Rees on 23 May 2003; and what the principal recommendations of the board of inquiry were. [176022]
Mr. Ingram:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 20 October 2003, Official Report, column 371W. Inquiries into the death of Corporal Rees are continuing and it would be inappropriate to comment until they are complete.
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Plastic Baton Rounds
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Service personnel serving in Iraq have been trained in the use of plastic baton rounds. [176090]
Mr. Ingram: Before deployment to Operation Telic all major units are subject to pre-deployment training and undergo a special weapons course, which includes training in the use of plastic baton rounds. From this training, further training is given in Iraq, as required. It is therefore not possible to give a precise figure on numbers of personnel who have been trained in the use of plastic baton rounds. Only those trained in the use of the baton rounds are permitted to use them on operations.
Porton Down
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give compensation to service personnel who say that they volunteered to take part in experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down when they believed that they were taking part in research to find a cure for the common cold; and if he will make a statement. [182252]
Mr. Caplin: Service personnel who suffered loss or injury as a result of negligence by the Ministry of Defence prior to May 1987 are prevented from pursuing claims for compensation from the Ministry of Defence by Section 10 of The Crown Proceedings Act 1947. Therefore any claims received from Porton Down veterans would be considered on the basis of whether or not the Ministry of Defence has a legal liability to pay compensation.
Compensation in the form of a War Pension is however, available to all former members of HM armed forces suffering from Service attributable to illness or injury. War Pensions are non-discretionary, not means tested and are made on a no-fault, tax free and retrospective basis.
RAF Cottesmore
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy personnel are serving at RAF Cottesmore. [180641]
Mr. Ingram: As at 1 June 2004, 96 Royal Navy personnel were serving at RAF Cottesmore plus one junior rating on full time Reserve Service.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the premature voluntary release rate at RAF Cottesmore has changed since the relocation of the Harrier work from Defence Aviation Repair Agency, RAF St. Athan. [180642]
Mr. Ingram: No Harrier work has yet transferred from DARA, St. Athan to RAF Cottesmore.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many additional RAF personnel have been employed at RAF Cottesmore since the Harrier work was relocated from Defence Aviation Repair Agency, RAF St Athan. [180643]
Mr. Ingram:
None. No Harrier work has yet transferred from DARA, St Athan to RAF Cottesmore.
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Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what improvement there has been in fleet equivalent extension since the relocation of all Harrier work to RAF Cottesmore from Defence Aviation Repair Agency, RAF St. Athan; and whether the servicing backlog has been reduced. [180645]
Mr. Ingram: Harrier engineering work, currently carried out at DARA, RAF St. Athan, will not commence at RAF Cottesmore until November 2004.
The Harrier servicing backlog has reduced since the high activity levels of Operation Telic but has risen this month, largely due to the need to undertake preparatory work at RAF Cottesmore in readiness for the relocation of engineering work from St. Athan.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what demonstrated (a) turn-round times and (b) manpower reductions have been achieved from the pulse line at RAF Cottesmore. [180646]
Mr. Ingram: The pulse line at RAF Cottesmore has to date achieved a reduction in aircraft turn-round times of about 45 days (some 40 per cent.) for scheduled maintenance. Six fewer personnel are now directly employed on aircraft maintenance.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the Harrier integrated project team is allocating work to BAE Warton and not RAF Cottesmore, as recommended in the E2E Harrier Investment Appraisal. [180647]
Mr. Ingram: The Harrier Modification Programme Number 3 identified that aircraft early in the programme must be contracted to BAE Systems Warton to achieve the Harrier GR9 in-service date and de-risk the transition to the Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme. Later aircraft will be allocated to RAF Cottesmore.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total implementation costs were for the pulse line at RAF Cottesmore, including the cost of consultants, the hangar floor and air trolleys. [181261]
Mr. Ingram: The implementation costs for the hangar floor and air trolleys amounted to some £600,000 excluding VAT. Consultancy support was used for all aircraft business improvements at RAF Cottesmore and to separately identify the costs for the pulse line would be time consuming and could only be achieved at disproportionate cost. These three elements constitute the full implementation cost of the pulse line.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether avionics and electrical tradesmen are being relocated from front line squadrons to assist the pulse line at RAF Cottesmore without the approval or authority of Strike Command. [181262]
Mr. Ingram:
No.
7 Jul 2004 : Column 724W
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the 80 day turn-round time has been achieved at RAF Cottesmore. [181264]
Mr. Ingram: Yes. The pulse line at RAF Cottesmore has to date achieved an average turn-round time of 75 days for scheduled maintenance.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the extent is of double shift working on Harrier aircraft at RAF Cottesmore. [181265]
Mr. Ingram: 'Double shift working' is taken to mean either two shifts of personnel working concurrently or personnel working both shifts in the same day. Since Op, no personnel at RAF Cottesmore have undertaken double shifts to maintain Harrier aircraft.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft were repaired at RAF Cottesmore in the financial year 2003–04. [181266]
Mr. Ingram: During financial year 2003–04 some 60 Harrier aircraft permanently based at RAF Cottesmore and RAF Wittering were subject to first line servicing and repair at the Stations. First line servicing includes daily inspections, fluid replenishments, component replacement and minor structural repair. In addition, 13 aircraft completed their servicing in the pulse line during FY 2003–04, a further seven aircraft began their servicing in FY 2002–03 and were completed in FY 2003–04 and five aircraft started servicing in FY 2003–04 but have not yet been completed.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the target number of aircraft to be repaired at RAF Cottesmore was in the financial year 2003–04. [181269]
Mr. Ingram: There are no targets set for the number of aircraft to be repaired at RAF Cottesmore. This is dependent on operational requirements and the management of the departmental fleet as a whole.
Staff Cars
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of the total of each different model of staff car was provided to officers of the armed forces in 2003, giving the country of manufacture of each model. [181450]
Mr. Caplin: The overwhelming majority of staff cars used by the Department are provided under the terms of two contracts for service provision. One contract provides a service in the UK and the other in Germany. Local arrangements apply in the smaller commands, such as Northern Ireland, but these have not been included in the answer.
The information regarding the models of staff car provided under the terms of the contracts in 2003 is given in the following tables:
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| Manufacturer | Model | Country of manufacture | Number | Percentage of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opel | Omega | Germany | 5 | 2.7 |
| Vectra | Germany | 170 | 91.9 | |
| VW | Passat | Germany | 10 | 5.4 |
| Total | 185 | 100 |
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