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26 Jan 2005 : Column 334W—continued
Military Exercises (Deaths)
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have been killed while on military exercises in each of the last three years. [205922]
Mr. Caplin: Between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2003 (the last three years for which validated figures are held), nine Service personnel have died from injury or poisoning-related causes whilst on military exercises. Of these, six died in 2001, two in 2002 and one in 2003.
Procurement Budget
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 12 January 2005, Official Report, column 574W, on the procurement budget, how the figure of £300 million is comprised; from what sources he has calculated that figure; and if he will make a statement. [209953]
Mr. Ingram: Our estimate that some £300 million annually is saved to the defence procurement budget has been constructed using information received from the defence industry on the value of export orders won, and on the share of fixed overhead costs in defence exports. Defence exports comprise services as well as goods, and the estimate also reflects an assumption that the value of non-equipment exports contain no fixed overhead costs.
Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what means he communicated his decision to disband the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment to serving officers and men. [208829]
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps were taken to inform members of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment that they would be disbanded in advance of the commanding officer's televised announcement. [209193]
Mr. Ingram:
As the professional head of the Army, the Chief of the General Staff had responsibility for communicating the decision to disband the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment down the chain of command. On the morning of the announcement, the Chief of the General Staff personally telephoned the Colonel Commandant of the Prince of Wales's Division and, in this instance, also the Colonel of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire
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Regiment to inform them of the decision and pending announcement. This was then relayed to the rest of the regiment by the Regiment's Commanding Officer.
Submarines
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many submarines are in service in the Royal Navy; and what the age is of each vessel. [210311]
Mr. Ingram: The Royal Navy has four Vanguard class (SSBN) and 11 Swiftsure and Trafalgar class (SSN) submarines in service. Based on their in service dates the age of each boat in 2005 is as follows:
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Boscastle
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) financial and (b) other assistance the Government has (i) made available and (ii) promised to the community of Boscastle in Cornwall following the flood last year; and if she will make a statement. [209781]
Mr. Morley: Defra has overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk in England. Defra funds most of the Environment Agency's flood management activities in England and provides grant aid on a project by project basis to the other flood and coastal defence operating authorities (local authorities and internal drainage boards) to support their investment in improvement projects to manage flood and coastal erosion risk.
The Government are assisting, in whatever ways they can, local efforts to help the community of Boscastle recover from the flooding on 16 August.
A Bellwin scheme of emergency financial assistance to North Cornwall District Council (NCDC) has been announced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in respect of the immediate action the Council took to safeguard life and property and the clear up costs it has incurred. NCDC has submitted a claim and the ODPM made an interim payment on 20 January 2005.
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Business Link (operated by the Small Business Service, an Agency of the DTI) is providing a dedicated Business Adviser to Boscastle for a 12 month period and has made arrangements to cover interest and administration charges for any affected small or medium-sized enterprise requiring additional bank borrowing as a consequence of the floods.
The Government Office for the South West, Regional Development Agency, Business Link and other local agencies are working through a Boscastle Regeneration Steering Group to consider and address the short and longer term regeneration needs of the community and support for its businesses. Objective 1 funding has been offered towards a £20,000 Framework Plan commissioned by North Cornwall District Council for the regeneration needs of the area and £93,000 towards a £300,000 tourism recovery initiative.
Bovine TB
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the latest figures are for the incidence of bovine TB, broken down by holding. [211080]
Mr. Bradshaw: Bovine tuberculosis surveillance data are not available on a holding basis. However, detailed TB statistics, broken down by county in areas of high TB incidence, or by Animal Health Divisional Office (AHDO) in other areas, are published each month on the Defra website at:
The published data include the number of TB herd breakdowns in each county or AHDO area.
Departmental Advertising
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the devolved administrations concerning the content, frequency and timing of television advertisements placed by her Department on UK-wide satellite television channels. [201322]
Alun Michael: Defra has never placed television advertisements on UK-wide satellite television channels.
Environmental Scheme Costs
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the fees charged for the administration and supervision of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. [209846]
Mr. Morley:
The subsistence charging amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations went out to consultation in October last year (22 October–3 December). Approximately 30responses from companies have been received. Defra will be publishing a response to some of the questions raised on its website shortly, and the consultation responses will be made available in the Defra library in due course.
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EU Emissions Trading Scheme
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or what reasons she does not envisage a level playing field for the implementation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for shipping and aviation. [202198]
Mr. Morley: We do envisage a level playing field for intra-EU aviation flights and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. As outlined in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper, The Future of Air Transport", the Government are actively pursuing the inclusion of intra-EU aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and progress on this policy will be a priority for the UK Presidency of the EU in 2005. If the UK is successful, it is hoped that intra-EU aviation could be included within the second phase of the Scheme, from 2008 or soon after.
Dealing with all matters maritime, including emissions from ships, is a competence at IMO (the International Maritime Organisation). The nature of international shipping is such that it needs to be treated very differently to all other modes of transport. This is important, as most ships are registered outside of the EU (e.g. Panama). We continue to lobby member states of the IMO to tackle this issue. To date this has met with little success, as the political discussions surrounding environment issues are often blocked outright.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will enter into force. [209848]
Mr. Morley: The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations (2003) state:
No person shall carry out a Schedule 1 activity resulting in specified emissions after 1 January 2005, except under and to the extent authorised by a greenhouse gas emissions permit."
UK Regulators have issued about 1,150 permits, and conditions under those permits require installations covered by the Scheme to monitor and report their emissions of carbon dioxide.
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