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1 Nov 2004 : Column 105W—continued
Naval Procurement
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the fabrication of individual blocks, in addition to design, final assembly and integration, is covered by his commitment that warships for the Royal Navy will be built in the UK. [194449]
Mr. Ingram:
It is government policy that the fabrication and assembly of new Royal Navy warship hulls should be undertaken in United Kingdom yards. This includes the fabrication of individual blocks of warship hulls.
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Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his proposals for aligning the future naval procurement programme with UK domestic industrial capacity. [194452]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is currently engaged in discussions with appropriate members of United Kingdom industry to align the future naval procurement programme and available UK industrial capacity. The detail will be refined in the coming months as work to develop an industrial strategy for the UK naval shipbuilding industry matures.
Offshore Patrol Vessels
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the lease of the three River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels is due to expire; and what plans he has to (a) purchase these vessels, (b) extend their lease and (c) return them to Vosper Thorneycroft (UK) Ltd. [194681]
Mr. Ingram: The current lease for the three River class OPVs will expire in 2008. We have not yet taken any decisions regarding our future requirement for these ships.
Race Relations Act
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with the Commission for Racial Equality concerning the applicability of the Race Relations Act 1976 to service personnel serving on sovereign bases outside the European Union. [193710]
Mr. Caplin: There have been no such discussions to date. However, with the adoption of the EU Race Discrimination Directive in July 2003, the Race Relations Act has been amended, so that it would apply to service personnel serving on sovereign bases outside Great Britain, and in relation to allegations of race discrimination, which took or take place after the change in the law.
Scottish Regiments
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the percentage of personnel in each of the Scottish regiments are originally from (a) Scotland, (b) the rest of the United Kingdom and (c) overseas. [193162]
Mr. Caplin: The information is as follows:
(20) The sum of percentages may not add up to 100 per cent. due to rounding.
(21) Scottish includes those who have specified themselves as British/Scottish. It will not include those who are Scottish but recorded as British.
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The information in the table refers to the nationality recorded on the individual's Record of Service and is their current nationality, not necessarily their nationality at birth.
Figures do not include Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS), Gurkhas or mobilised reservists. The information relates to the strength of UK Trained Regular Army personnel in the Scottish Regiments, regardless of whether they serve away from the main body of the regiment. It does not include members of other regiments and arms/services attached to these regiments.
Seyntex
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2004, Official Report, column 950W, on Seyntex, if he will make a statement on the bid by Cookson and Clegg with specific reference to delivery. [194535]
Mr. Ingram: Cookson and Clegg did not bid in the competition to supply General Service Tents, to which my hon. Friend refers.
SFOR
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2004, Official Report, column 596W, on SFOR, how many of the 1000 UK personnel on the SFOR mission Operation Althea will be infantry. [194382]
Mr. Ingram: The EU-led Operation Althea will be launched on 2 December 2004, following the termination of NATO's SFOR mission. Manning levels will not change significantly from those in SFOR which, at 15 October 2004, were around 1,000 troops in theatre. The British contribution to Operation ALTHEA will include an infantry deployment of 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, which will comprise up to 500 personnel.
Submarines
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of the rescue operation for HMCS Chicoutimi and returning her safely to port; and if he will make a statement. [194440]
Mr. Ingram: The full internal costs for the rescue of the HMCS Chicoutimi are not yet available. The cost of the tow, including the hire of the tug, Anglian Princess, is an estimated £190,000. It is not MOD policy to recover costs for assistance in life threatening situations.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when ownership of HMS Upholder transferred from his Department. [194467]
Mr. Ingram:
The Ministry of Defence remains the owner of HMS Upholder. Canada is leasing the submarine, re-named as HMCS Chicoutimi, over an eight-year period which commenced at handover on 2 October 2004. Under the terms of the contract between the United Kingdom and Canada, Canada has the right to buy out the lease of the submarines at any time. Canada will pay a token £1 at the end of the lease period to assume full ownership.
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who was responsible for the cost of the (a) refit, (b) maintenance and (c) crew training for HMS Upholder. [194468]
Mr. Ingram: Prior to the handover to, and acceptance by Canada of, the Upholder Class Submarines, the Defence Procurement Agency was responsible for the costs of the reactivation (refurbishment) and maintenance of the submarines. Shore training associated with the lease of the submarines to Canada was covered in a separate contract between BAE Systems and Canada. To oversee the shore training, the Ministry of Defence created a specialist team that also provided further onboard training under a Memorandum of Understanding with Canada.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what payments have been received by the Government from the Canadian Government in respect of the Upholder class of submarines. [194469]
Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has received to date Canadian $310 million in respect of the lease to Canada of the four Upholder Class submarines.
Suez Medal
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many veterans who are eligible for the Suez medal he expects will (a) not have received them and (b) have received them by 14 November; [194925]
(2) what progress has been made in distributing the Suez medals; and when he estimates distribution will be completed. [194918]
Mr. Caplin: By 14 November 2004 it is estimated that 19,100 applications will be awaiting assessment. Assumptions based upon the ratio of veterans found eligible from applications assessed to date suggest that some 15,300 eligible veterans who have applied will not have received their Suez Medal. It is estimated that by 14 November some 18,600 medals will have been issued.
As at 22 October 17,291 Suez Medals had been issued, and it is estimated that all eligible personnel who have applied should have received their medals by December 2005.
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