| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1240W—continued
Numeracy/Literacy
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the (a) numeracy and (b) literacy of recruits to each of the three services; and what programmes are available to those who need to raise their level of attainment. [182327]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 5 July 2004]: Basic Skills (numeracy and literacy) are assessed on entry to all three Services. An assessment for the Royal Navy earlier this year, found that some 20 per cent. of recruits were at or below National Basic Skills Entry Level 3 and an assessment by the Army in October 2003 indicated that some 50 per cent. of their recruits were at or below this standard. No significant problem has been identified in the RAF.
In the Royal Navy, Basic Skills are addressed within training according to individual need and from September 2004, there will be a separate training phase for those identified as having a Basic Skills gap. In the Army, Basic Skills support and assistance is provided locally at around 164 Educational Centres, ICT-based learning centres and Initial Training Units. In the RAF, those who require improvements to their Basic Skills are given assistance via the RAF Learndirect Hub.
All three Services are major providers of Modem Apprenticeships. These require individuals to achieve at least Key Skills Level 1 in both numeracy and literacy.
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1241W
Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence personnel are performing peace maintaining roles, broken down by country. [183694]
Mr. Ingram: United Kingdom armed forces are engaged abroad in supporting the development and maintenance of peace in the following countries:
| Approximate personnel numbers | |
|---|---|
| Middle East(2) | 9,500 |
| Bosnia | 800 |
| Afghanistan | 700 |
| Cyprus | 410 |
| Kosovo | 190 |
| Georgia | 7 |
| Sierra Leone | 20 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 5 |
| Ethiopia/Eritrea | 4 |
| Liberia | 3 |
(2) Including Iraq
The UK's contribution to these opera·tins is kept under regular review.
PFI/PPP Contracts
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts have been let by his Department in each financial year since 2001–02 to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte and Touche, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young for advising his Department on private finance initiative and public private partnership contracts; and what fees were paid in each case. [182265]
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1242W
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has enabling contracts with a number of companies, including those listed, to provide specialist financial advice to projects on PFI and partnering issues. These contracts, of four years duration, were placed in January 2002 following competition in accordance with MOD's normal procedures. They will be recompeted in 2005 with a view to replacement contracts being let in January 2006. Work is commissioned under the contracts through individual Tasking Orders placed by project teams. The value of total payments under these contracts to the end of financial year 2003–04, to the nearest £0.5 million in each case, was:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| PricewaterhouseCooper | 23 |
| Deloitte and Touche | 4 |
| KPMG | 12 |
| Ernst and Young | 0.5 |
Service Periods
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the most recent figure is for the average length of service in the British Army of soldiers who are (a) United Kingdom citizens, (b) Commonwealth citizens and (c) foreign citizens, broken down by regiment. [183250]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 12 July 2004]: The following table gives the Mean Length of Reckonable service for all trained soldiers in all Arms/Services as at 1 June 2004.
Note that the data presented represents the situation as at 1 June 2004 and the relatively low Length of Service of Commonwealth citizens reflects the fact that many of them are recently joined.
| UK | Commonwealth (excluding UK) | Eire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H CAV | 8 years 4 months | 2 years 3 months | (3)— |
| RAC | 8 years 4 months | 3 years 4 months | 10 years 4 months |
| RA | 8 years 7 months | 2 years 6 months | 7 years 4 months |
| RE | 9 years | 3 years 1 month | 9 years 5 months |
| R Signals | 8 years 4 months | 3 years 7 months | 7 years 8 months |
| Footguards | 7 years 8 months | 2 years 9 months | (4)— |
| Scots DIV | 8 years 1 month | 3 years 6 months | (4)— |
| Queens DIV | 7 years 10 months | 2 years 7 months | 14 years 6 months |
| Kings DIV | 1 years 6 months | 2 years 8 months | (4)— |
| POW DIV | 7 years 7 months | 2 years 10 months | (4)— |
| Light DIV | 7 years 6 months | 2 years 1 month | (4)— |
| R Irish(GS) | 8 years 2 months | 3 years 5 months | (4)— |
| Para | 7 years 8 months | 3 years 8 months | 10 years 11 months |
| Infantry total | 7 years 9 months | 2 years 10 months | 9 years 11 months |
| AAC | 10 years 4 months | 2 years 9 months | (4)— |
| RLC | 9 years 8 months | 2 years 2 months | 9 years 11 months |
| RAMC | 9 years 10 months | 2 years 11 months | (4)— |
| REME | 10 years 8 months | 3 years 7 months | 10 years 11 months |
| AG Corps(PRO) | 9 years 9 months | 6 years 2 months | (4)— |
| AG Corps(SPS) | 11 years 11 months | 1 year 10 months | 11 years 5 months |
| AG Corps(MPS) | 17 years 8 months | (3)— | (3)— |
| RAVC | 8 years 1 month | (4)— | (3)— |
| SASC | 16 years 10 months | (3)— | (3)— |
| RADC | 10 years 4 months | 3 years 1 month | (3)— |
| INT Corps | 10 years 6 months | (3)— | (3)— |
| APTC | 15 years 11 months | (4)— | (3)— |
| QARANC | 8 years 3 months | 3 years 5 months | (3)— |
| CA Mus | 12 years 4 months | 3 years 10 months | (4)— |
| LS List | 27 years 5 months | (4)— | (3)— |
| Total | 9 years 3 months | 2 years 7 months | 9 years 10 months |
(3) Represents zero occurrences in a particular category.
(4) Represents less than five occurrences in a particular category.
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1243W
Length of Service averages have only been calculated for categories containing five or more individuals. There is no Arm/Service with five or more foreign citizens.
The average Length of Service of all foreign citizens is seven years one month.
The only UK dependency with five or more individuals are St. Helenians whose average Length of Service is two years 10 months. The average Length of Service of all UK dependencies is four years.
Sonar 2087
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what frequency is used by Royal Navy Frigates, including any variation, for the purposes of the Sonar 2087 broadcasts. [183702]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 13 July 2004]: Sonar 2087 is a Low Frequency Active Sonar which operates below 3Khz. The precise frequency and bandwidth are classified. I am therefore withholding this information in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information which relates to defence.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the use of the Sonar 2087 by the Royal Navy in Scotland's North West Approaches. [183704]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 13 July 2004]: Acceptance trials of Sonar 2087 are scheduled to be conducted in the North West Approaches in July 2005 and mid 2006.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what parts of his Department's estate will not be covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. [181415]
Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence is fully committed to the requirements set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's policy statement of 7 July 2000 on the management of safety and environmental protection in the MOD stated that
"within the United Kingdom, MOD will comply with the Government's Strategy for Sustainable development. Overseas the Department will apply UK standards where reasonably practical and in addition comply with the relevant host nations' standards."
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |