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Unemployment Benefit

Tom Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are claiming benefit relating to unemployment in the Greater London area. [192679]

Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 19 October 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on the number of people claiming benefit relating to unemployment in the Greater London area. (192679)

In September 2004 there were 160,300 people resident in the Greater London region claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA) benefits. The data are seasonal adjusted.

DEFENCE

Al Yamamah

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to make the 1992 National Audit Office Report into Al Yamamah publicly available; and if he will make a statement. [191166]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 February 2003, Official Report, column 735W, to the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole (Mrs. Brooke).

Gibraltar

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy vessels have used the Gibraltar station in each of the last three years; and what repairs were carried out on them. [191446]

Mr. Ingram: For the calendar year 2001, there were 47 visits by Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels to Gibraltar. During 2002 there were 53 visits while 52 visits were undertaken during 2003. To date this year (up until 15 October) there have been 27 visits to Gibraltar by RN and RFA vessels. Ships
 
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often undertake periods of routine maintenance when in port and Gibraltar is no exception. Usually this is undertaken by the ship's engineering staff but where more extensive maintenance is required, or where urgent defects need to be rectified, a team of in-house specialists may be deployed from the United Kingdom or the work may be contracted out. The repair to the pintle weld in HMS Tireless alongside in Gibraltar during 2000–01 is a well publicised example. Records of routine repairs carried out in Gibraltar are, however, not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Battle of Trafalgar

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the national celebration of the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005. [191646]

Estelle Morris: I have been asked to reply.

SeaBritain 2005 is taking the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar as its inspiration to celebrate Britain's relationship with the sea. In partnership with the National Maritime Museum, VisitBritain, the Official Nelson Commemorations Committee, the Royal Navy, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and other national and local organisations, SeaBritain's Trafalgar Festival will celebrate the bicentenary with events and activities in the summer and autumn of 2005. As part of this, the Royal Navy's Trafalgar 200 programme will feature an International Fleet Review at Spithead, the International Festival of the Sea at Portsmouth and, on the anniversary day of 21 October 2005, a commemorative dinner in HMS Victory. A service of remembrance at St. Paul's Cathedral and celebrations in Trafalgar Square will follow on 23 October. The Trafalgar Festival will also include recreations of the delivery of Vice-Admiral Collingwood's Trafalgar Dispatch to London and Nelson's waterborne funeral procession from Greenwich to Whitehall, commemorative tree-plantings for schools in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, concerts, services, regattas, and exhibitions. SeaBritain 2005 encourages all to take part in the Festival or to develop their own events under its umbrella, with the aim of leaving a legacy that will stimulate interest in the sea and inland waters. Full details of all events planned as part of SeaBritain 2005, including the Trafalgar Festival, can be found on the SeaBritain web-site at www.SeaBritain2005.com

Bowman Radios

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the field trials of the Bowman Radio; whether problems have been experienced; and when he expects the trials to be complete. [191020]

Mr. Ingram: The reason we invest heavily in rigorous test and trials programmes is to ensure the Armed Forces get equipment that is fit for purpose and is as safe to use as is reasonably possible. The aim of subjecting a piece of equipment to a test and trials programme is to identify any weaknesses in a non-operational environment and to determine what cost-effective modifications might be required before it is taken into service.
 
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We continue to make good progress in introducing the Bowman tactical communications system to all three Armed Services as planned over the next three years. The programme is delivering its full operational capability incrementally and each stage is subject to a comprehensive test and trials programme. Trials completed so far have been successful in their aim of identifying what works well, and what requires further attention. We expect the trials programme to continue until full operational capability is delivered to support land, amphibious and air manoeuvre warfare.

Cut and Sew Tender

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he made of the cost to his Department of (a) granting to Cookson and Clegg Category One of the contract for the Cut and Sew Tender DC4 BESL/1002 and granting the other four categories to E Walters and (b) placing the contract with Cooneen Watts and Stone. [191588]

Mr. Ingram: The selected contractor was assessed as having the best overall ranking against the published award criteria. They also offered the best price. There was, therefore, no need to estimate the difference in cost to the Ministry of Defence of the split award suggested.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has (a) seen and (b) tested camouflage fabric intended to be produced under the Cut and Sew DC4 BESL/1002 contract; and what assessment he has made of the ability of the Chinese company concerned to supply fabric to the correct specification. [191589]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has not yet seen or tested the final fabric that the prime contractor intends to use to produce the items required against this contract.

The Chinese sub-contractor has not been directly assessed by the MOD in respect of its ability to supply fabric to the correct specification. This is the responsibility of our prime contractor with whom we maintain a close dialogue.

Deepcut Barracks

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of commissioning polling questions to determine public attitudes towards deaths in army barracks; how many and what proportion of questions refer to Deepcut barracks; and if he will place (a) the text of these questions and (b) the results of the polling when available in the Library. [176326]

Mr. Ingram: A corporate level survey on public perceptions of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces undertaken in December 2003 included one question (Q52) relating to the deaths at Deepcut. The results of this survey were placed in the Library of the House following a written statement by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Caplin) on 30 April 2004 Official Report, columns 65–66WS.We are not aware of any specific polling questions on public attitudes towards deaths in Army barracks. However, two surveys commissioned by the Army have asked
 
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members of the public questions relating to the Deepcut issue and copies of the results of these are being placed in the Library of the House today.

The cost of these surveys is withheld under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (commercial confidences).

Former Service Personnel (Employment)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records he maintains of job placements obtained by the Army for former service personnel. [183386]

Mr. Ingram: None. The Army provides resettlement advice to service personnel but does not obtain job placements for them. Service personnel have responsibility for finding their own employment.

Future Rapid Effects System

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Future Rapid Effects System requirement includes a requirement for a multi-feed processing system and a real time intelligence capability similar to that envisaged as part of the US FCS programme. [190059]

Mr. Ingram: The Future Rapid Effect System requirement is for a family of fighting platforms (including a range of Ground Manoeuvre Reconnaissance roles), which only when integrated with a variety of other capabilities produces a complete system of systems. It will seek to make full use of any intelligence-gathering capabilities that are, or become, available. However, the project is still in the early stages of its Assessment Phase and therefore the precise nature of the interface with other capabilities is not yet determined. The Assessment Phase will consider any relevant comparisons with the US PCS programme, along with other similar programmes.

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation the Government has had with European Governments about the Future Rapid Effects System requirement and about the possibility of collaboration to meet this requirement. [190074]

Mr. Ingram: We are already exploring areas of common interest for co-operative activities with Sweden on its SEP concept, and sharing information on studies carried out to date. Detailed studies during the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) initial Assessment Phase will investigate whether international collaboration offers a potential solution for FRES.

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