---

3 Feb 2005 : Column 1011W—continued

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Anti-bribery/Corruption Procedures

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place in the Library the comparison of the Export Credits Guarantee Department revised anti-bribery and corruption procedures with G7 counterparts. [202945]

Mr. Alexander: ECGD is among the leading Export Credit Agencies in the world with regard to its position on bribery and corruption.

ECGD's counterparts agreed to provide details of their anti-bribery and corruption procedures to ECGD in confidence on the understanding that the information would not be made public.

Arms Sales

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much agent's commission the Export Credits Guarantee Department covered on the sale of Scorpion and Stormer vehicles to Indonesia; and what percentage of the contract the commission represented. [206131]

Mr. Alexander: Details of contractual arrangements (including agent's commission) are commercial in confidence.

DEFENCE

Annington Homes

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the payments under the Profit Share Agreement with Annington Homes Ltd. were invoked for (a) Gunwharf, Portsmouth, (b) Royal Clarence Yard, Gosport, (c) Peninsular Barracks, Winchester
 
3 Feb 2005 : Column 1012W
 
and (d) Ashford Barracks, Kent; and whether the Agreement has ever been invoked more than once on the same site. [213321]

Mr. Caplin: None of the sites listed in the question were included in the 1996 sale of Service Families Accommodation to Annington Homes Ltd. They were disposed of through normal open market procedures. Consequently they did not attract payments under the Profit Share Agreement.

A sale of married quarters in Winchester (close to Peninsular Barracks) was included in the sale and may have attracted payments under the Profit Share Agreement. Details are not immediately available, but I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Army Prosecuting Authority

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) for what reasons the Army Prosecuting Authority was not involved in the case of a private in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in Northern Ireland in November 2003, whose name has been communicated to him; [212044]

(2) for what reasons the Commanding Officer of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders based at Palace Barracks, Holywood between 2002 and 2003 did not refer the case of the private in his regiment who was later convicted of causing death by dangerous driving to the Army Prosecuting Authority. [212048]

Mr. Caplin [holding answer 1 February 2005]: The Army Prosecuting Authority only deal with cases that are referred to them by the Army's Chain of Command. If the UK civil authorities are dealing with a case, then the Army Chain of Command will not normally seek to intervene. Queens Regulation 7.007b, which refers to dangerous driving as involving a risk to the general public, points to such a case being dealt with by the civil authorities.

In terms of jurisdiction, Section 70 of the Army Act 1955 applies the range of criminal offences to all personnel subject to military law, rendering a soldier liable for trial by court-martial for an offence contrary to English criminal law. Exceptions to this apply to a number of serious offences, which if they are alleged to have been committed in the UK must be tried by the civil authorities. Other offences alleged to have been committed in the UK may alternatively be tried by the civil authorities.

Army Recruitment

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the monthly recruitment figures for the regular Army were during 2004. [211253]

Mr. Caplin: Figures for intake from civilian life" are published monthly in Tri-Service Publication 1 (TSP1), a copy of which is in the Library of the House. TSP1 provides updated annual figures on a monthly basis. The following table gives individual monthly intakes for the 12 months up to 1 December 2004. This is the latest data available.
 
3 Feb 2005 : Column 1013W
 

	Number
December 2003	500
January 2004	2,100
February 2004	1,130
March 2004	1,030
April 2004	800
May 2004	960
June 2004	620
July 2004	580
August 2004	990
September 2004	2,050
October 2004	740
November 2004	1,080

Figures show all Officer and Soldier intake to the United Kingdom Regular Forces including re-enlistments and rejoined reservists.

All data have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in 5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association

Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last reviewed the evidence relating to the compensation claims of the British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association. [210689]

Mr. Caplin: A formal Letter of Claim was received on 16 December 2004 from solicitors representing individual veterans of the British nuclear test programme in a potential compensation claim against the Ministry of Defence. An acknowledgement has been sent. A substantive response is now under consideration.

Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 7 December 2004 with regard to (a) Mr. M. Thompson and (b) Mr. J. Laycock; [209861]

(2) when he intends to answer the letter dated7 December 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J. Laycock; [210841]

(3) when he will reply to the letter dated 7 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. M Thompson; [212284]

(4) when he will reply to the letter dated 7 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J Laycock. [212285]

Mr. Hoon: I sent replies to my right hon. Friend on 27 January 2005.

Defence Employment (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the figures were in each case in January 2004; what the personnel costs of the agency are in 2004–05; and what they were in 2003–04. [212153]

 
3 Feb 2005 : Column 1014W
 

Mr. Caplin: The number of people working for the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency and the number are employed in Scotland is published in United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2004, Table 2.6 and Table 2.36 which is available in the Library of the House.

The overall personnel numbers and costs of the agency are published in AFPAA's Annual Report and Accounts. The 2004–05 edition is being prepared and will be available in the Library of the House before the summer recess.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04 the MOD Police spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget; and if he will make a statement. [212155]

Mr. Caplin: The information requested is shown in the following table:

Financial year	Spend for Scotland	Percentage of budget
2002–03	32.273	22
2003–04	33.427	23

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what percentage of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2002–03 the Defence Estates Agency spent in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [213083]

Mr. Caplin: The Defence Estates Agency incurred expenditure in Scotland on personnel costs as follows:

(a) 2003–04: £2.332 million representing 4.5 per cent. of the Defence Estates Agency personnel budget;

(b) 2002–03: £4.866 million representing 8.2 per cent. of the Defence Estates Agency personnel budget.

---