---

19 Oct 2004 : Column 592W—continued

Helicopter Procurement

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on future helicopter procurement; and what the estimated cost of the replacement for (a) Lynx, (b) Puma and (c) Gazelle is. [191107]

Mr. Ingram: As we announced in the July Supplement to the Defence White Paper "Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities", we are reviewing thoroughly our overall helicopter capability requirements and our forward plans. We expect to have a clearer way forward by summer next year. Over the
 
19 Oct 2004 : Column 593W
 
next ten years, we plan to invest some £3 billion in helicopter platforms to replace and enhance our existing capability. This substantial investment offers an opportunity to maximise efficiencies and coherence across our future helicopter fleet in the key capability areas of lift, reconnaissance and attack, which will be central to future expeditionary operations.

HMCS Chicoutimi

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the circumstances surrounding the (a) sale, (b) refit and (c) recent accident involving HMCS Chicoutimi. [190782]

Mr. Ingram: In 1993 the then Government decided, as part of its Strategic Defence Review, to withdraw the four Upholder Submarines from service. The vessels were actively marketed to overseas Governments and in 1998 the United Kingdom agreed a lease-to-buy arrangement with the Canadian Government.

The submarines were refurbished to meet all Royal Navy operational standards before handover to the Canadians. The submarines also received minor equipment updates and modifications to meet Canadian requirements.

The fourth submarine, HMS Upholder, was accepted by, and handed over to Canada on 2 October 2004, when she became HMCS Chicoutimi. She began her transit to Halifax, Nova Scotia from the Faslane Submarine Base in Scotland on 4 October. A fire broke out onboard HMCS Chicoutimi when she was some 120 miles west of the Irish coast. A full rescue and recovery was initiated and coordinated by the UKMOD's Fleet Operations at Northwood. HMS Montrose, who sailed from Faslane, was the first maritime unit on the scene. There were nine casualties from smoke inhalation. Three of these gave cause for concern and were evacuated to Sligo Hospital; sadly one of the casualties, Lt(N) Chris Saunders, died while the evacuation was under way.

Despite extremely difficult weather conditions, HMCS Chicoutimi was taken under tow and arrived in Faslane on 10 October. The Canadian Authorities are now assessing the damage to the submarine and have convened a Board of Inquiry to determine the cause of the accident.

Medical Downgrading

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officers and (b) other ranks in each service were medically downgraded as unfit for front-line duties at 1 April in each of the last five years; in how many cases (i) the downgrading was attributable to service and (ii) the injuries were (A) temporary and (B) permanent; and if he will make a statement. [183346]

Mr. Caplin: Information on medical downgradings is set out in the table.

Information on whether medical downgradings have been attributable to Service could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
 
19 Oct 2004 : Column 594W
 

UK regular forces medically downgraded 1

	July 2001			April 2002
	Total	Permanent	Temporary	Total	Permanent	Temporary
Officers
RN(17)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
RM(17)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Army3,4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
RAF(20)	580	230	320	580	230	340
Other ranks
RN(17)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
RM(17)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Army3,4	9,650	n/a	n/a	10,210	n/a	n/a
RAF(20)	3,360	690	2,660	3,390	740	2,650

UK regular forces medically downgraded 1

	April 2003			April 2004
	Total	Permanent	Temporary	Total	Permanent	Temporary
Officers
RN(17)	280	30	250	290	40	250
RM(17)	20	(21)—	10	20	(21)—	20
Army3,4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
RAF(20)	610	220	390	630	230	400
Other ranks
RN(17)	2,190	260	1,930	2,480	300	2,180
RM(17)	560	200	360	720	200	520
Army3,4	11,990	n/a	n/a	12,530	n/a	n/a
RAF(20)	3,610	900	2,710	3,840	910	2,930

⁽¹⁶⁾ Data for medically downgraded personnel within the Royal Navy and Royal Marines is not available before April 2003.
⁽¹⁷⁾ Army Officer data is not available from April 2001 due to a coding error. This error has now been rectified and new data should be available from August 2004 (1 July position).
⁽¹⁸⁾ The Army does not categorise medical downgrading as either permanent or temporary.
⁽¹⁹⁾ RAF totals include Officers and Other Ranks classed as "other".
⁽²⁰⁾ Denotes zero or rounded to zero.
Note:
N/a denotes not available.

Nuclear Submarine Bases

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list fires that have occurred at the nuclear submarine bases at (a) Faslane and (b) Coulport since 1 January 2003; and if he will make a statement on the dangers posed to these bases from fires. [190683]

Mr. Ingram: Since January 2003, there have been nine minor fires at HM Naval Base Clyde's sites at Faslane and Coulport. All were extinguished promptly and posed no threat to personnel, equipment or facilities, including ships and submarines. The details are as follows:
Faslane

Date	Incident
September 2003	Timber frame onboard a vessel set alight by an electrical welding heating blanket
January 2004	Small electrical fire in auxiliary machinery space onboard a vessel.
March 2004	Small fire caused by sparks from grinding equipment onboard a vessel
July 2004	Small switchboard fire onboard a vessel

 
19 Oct 2004 : Column 595W
 

Coulport

Date	Incident
September 2003	Small fire in staff restaurant
December 2003	Small fire in the engine compartment of a vehicle caused by faulty wiring
December 2003	Fire in a waste bin outside a building
February 2004	Leaves ignited by welding equipment
March 2004	Small fire in cigarette disposal bin

In addition, there were 13 minor incidents (four at Faslane and nine at Coulport) involving overheating, smoke or the smell of burning from equipment, which required the deployment of fire prevention equipment or the isolation of the equipment to prevent further overheating. All were promptly dealt with before a fire developed.

As well as being the homeport of the Vanguard and Swiftsure Class submarines, HM Naval Base Clyde is also a large industrial site and home to a large number of service personnel. As such, it is operated to the highest safety standards, which includes a regime of continuing safety improvements. It benefits from its own Defence Fire Service, and extensive and sensitive fire detection systems. These ensure that all incidents are responded to promptly and minimise the risk to personnel, equipment and facilities.

Overseas Postings (Armed Services)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which overseas countries members of HM Services have served at any time during 2004. [192447]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Private Charlie Sellar

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the result was of the investigation into the circumstances of the death of Private Charlie Sellar of the 1st Battalion Duke of Wellington Regiment in Germany in February. [175199]

Mr. Ingram: Private Sellar was struck by a train on the Eversburg-Osnabruck railway line on 31 January 2004. A coroner's inquest is awaited.

RAF Lyneham

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Virgin Atlantic about further usage of RAF Lyneham. [192173]

Margaret Beckett: I have been asked to reply.

None.
 
19 Oct 2004 : Column 596W
 

---