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Airborne Forces

Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) soldiers and (b) officers in the Army are employed on full-time duties concerned with maintaining airborne forces in role. [200999]

Mr. Caplin: Within Joint Helicopter Command, which is responsible for delivering the Army's airborne capability, there are 118 officer and 2,536 soldier posts of REME and RLC combined.

Anthrax Vaccines (Gulf Wars)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on adverse reactions by service personnel and their families who received anthrax vaccines prior to each war in the Gulf. [213342]

Mr. Caplin: Potential adverse reactions to the anthrax vaccine are well known and may include a mild rash or swelling at the site of injection or at the site of an earlier injection and may last for a couple of days. More rarely, swollen glands, mild fever, flu-like symptoms, rash, itching or other allergic reactions may occur. No representations on adverse reactions, other than a small number for those issues described above, have been received.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel and their families involved in each war in the Gulf who received anthrax vaccine have reported (a) miscarriages, (b) infant mortalities and (c) other illnesses; and if he will make a statement. [213376]

Mr. Caplin: Responsibility for treating Service and ex-Service personnel and their families and reporting adverse reactions rests with Service Medical Officers and GPs. The Ministry of Defence has received no reports of miscarriages, infant mortalities or other illnesses from personnel who received the Anthrax vaccine, other than the expected minor side-effects. The Health Protection Agency has advised that there is no biologically plausible mechanism to explain how a baby could be harmed by an inactivated (non-live) vaccine such as Anthrax given pre-conception to either parent.
 
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received from the US Administration or its agencies relating to illnesses suffered by service people and their families as a result of anthrax vaccinations. [213378]

Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence's information from the United States on such matters has been drawn from published sources.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the constituent parts of the anthrax vaccine given to Defence personnel were in each war in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement. [213379]

Mr. Caplin: The anthrax vaccine given to United Kingdom defence personnel is the same as that used for civilians in the UK and its composition has not changed since the vaccine was licensed in 1979. The active ingredient is a sterile filtrate of an alum precipitated anthrax antigen in a solution for injection. The other ingredients are aluminium potassium sulphate, sodium chloride and purified water and the preservative is thiomersal at 0.005 per cent. The composition of the current UK licensed anthrax vaccine is available on the Health Protection Agency website.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence has been (a) found by and (b) reported to his Department's medical services of clusters of persons suffering ill health who were associated with the anthrax vaccine given to service personnel in each of the wars in the Gulf. [213568]

Mr. Caplin: None.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will commission research into whether carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome has been a result of reactions to the anthrax vaccine given to personnel in each war in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement. [213569]

Mr. Caplin: We are aware of no published clinical evidence to support an association between carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome and the anthrax vaccine and are not commissioning any research.

Chartered Aircraft

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money his Department has spent on chartering aircraft in each of the past five years. [213707]

Mr. Ingram: In financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04, the Ministry of Defence spent some £59.811 million and £56.408 million respectively on chartering aircraft. These figures are provisional and subject to final audit. In the current financial year ending March 2005, it is estimated that the likely spend will be some £33.986 million. The files on aircraft charters in previous financial years are now archived and the costs of those charters are not held in a form which could be easily extracted and without disproportionate cost.

Defence Agencies' Staff

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the (a) Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency, (b) Defence Housing Executive and (c) Defence
 
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Intelligence and Security Centre; how many are employed in Scotland; and what the personnel costs of each agency (i) are in 2004–05 and (ii) were in 2003–04. [213920]

Mr. Caplin: As of 1 April 2004, the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency (DGIA) employed 1,450 staff, though none in Scotland. The Defence Housing Executive (DHE) merged with Defence Estates on 1 April 2004 and meaningful current staff figures cannot therefore be provided. However, on 1 April 2003 DHE employed 880 staff, all civilians, of which 90 were based in Scotland. As of 1 April 2004, the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC) employed 470 staff, though none in Scotland.

The personnel costs for DGIA and DISC in 2004–05 will be available in their respective 2004–05 annual reports and accounts, which will be published later this year.

The personnel costs for DGIA, DISC, and DHE in 2003–04 can be found in the Agencies' Annual Reports and Accounts, which are available in the Library of the House.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget the Defence Medical Education and Training Agency spent in Scotland in (a) monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [213921]

Mr. Caplin: The Defence Medical Education and Training Agency (DMETA) was established on 1 April 2003, so no figures are available for the 2002–03 financial year. In the financial year 2003–04 DMETA spent £80,000 on personnel in Scotland, which is 0.08 per cent. of the agency's total personnel budget.

Defence Contracts

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies hold the largest defence contract with his Department. [214084]

Mr. Ingram: The company with the largest defence contract, by value, placed by the Ministry of Defence is with QinetiQ and covers a Long Term Partnering Agreement for Test and Training Support Services.

Defence Employment (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the MoD Police; 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. [212156]

Mr. Caplin: The number of personnel working for the Ministry of Defence Police (police officers and civilians) in financial year 2004–05 was 3,736.8 as at 31 December 2004.

The number of personnel working for the MOD Police in Scotland in financial year 2004–05 was 828 as at 31 December 2004.
 
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The full personnel costs of the Agency will not be known until the end of the financial year, the budget in financial year 2004–05 is £158.644 million.

The number of personnel working for the MOD Police in January 2004 was 3,650.5.

The number of personnel working for the MOD Police in Scotland in January 2004 were 835.5. The personnel costs of the Agency in January 2004 were £13.018 million.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Estates Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; and what the personnel costs of the agency (i) are in 2004–05 and (ii) were in 2003–04. [213084]

Mr. Caplin: The Agency currently employs 2,480 civilian and service staff of which 230 civilians are based in Scotland. UK location data of Service personnel are published in the document governing UK Regular Forces Distribution across the UK. The Defence Analytical Services Agency is, however, currently reviewing the source data and process by which location statistics are produced. The outcome of this review is due to be announced shortly.

The personnel costs of the Agency were £86 million in 2003–04, including salaries, performance pay or bonuses, overtime, allowances, social security costs and other pension costs but excluding the costs of any early retirements.

Personnel costs for 2004–05 will not be finalised until April 2005. These costs will, however, appear in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts which will be published before the summer recess and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

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