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Iraq
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) date and (b) nature was of each of the occasions, which are not currently before a court or a court martial but for which investigations have been launched into incidents where the actions of UK service personnel may have led directly to the death or injury of Iraqi civilians; what the status is of each investigation; what the name of the victim was in incidents where the victim is deceased; how many officers were reported or charged in connection with the incident; whether compensation or ex gratia payments were made in connection with the incident; and in relation to which of these incidents there is evidence of the deliberate abuse of Iraqis in British military custody. [211460]
Mr. Ingram: As at 21 February 2005, 164 investigations had been launched into the death, injury or alleged abuse of Iraqi civilians. The majority of these incidents occurred when UK forces returned fire after being attacked. The information requested is shown in a table which has been placed in the Library and excludes those cases which are currently or have recently been before a Court-Martial. Ex gratia payments were made in three cases, those of Waleed Sayay Muzban, Baha Musa and Hanan Matrud.
Maritime Coherence Study
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the purpose is of the Maritime Coherence Study; who has been commissioned to write it; when he expects it to be published; and if he will make a statement. [218446]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames) on 23 February 2005, Official Report, column 655W.
Military Bands
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military bands in (a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Army, (c) the Royal Air Force and (d) the Royal Marines are fully funded by his Department. [204944]
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Mr. Caplin: The information requested is shown as follows:
| Service | Number of bands |
|---|---|
| Royal Navy | 0 |
| Army | 29 |
| RAF | 3 |
| Royal Marines | 5 |
I also refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence made to the House on 16 December 2004, Official Report, column 1799, about the future structure of the Army.
Military Museums
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which military museums the Department makes grants; and how much the grant for each was in the last year for which figures are available. [218141]
Mr. Caplin: The Department provides grant in aid funding for the six principal service museums, detailed for financial year 2003–04 in the following table. In addition, there are 66 regimental and corps museums that receive public funding, through the provision of staff costs, property maintenance, etc.
Near Air Misses (Worcestershire)
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the number of near air misses between RAF aircraft and the Air Ambulance helicopters at Strensham, Worcestershire. [219546]
Mr. Caplin: There have been two airprox reports made to the Civil Aviation Authority's UK Airprox Board concerning incidents near Strensham Heliport on 14 December 2004 and 9 February 2005. It would be inappropriate to comment while the investigations into these incidents are still in progress.
Orion Laser Programme
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he is taking to ensure that the proposed Orion Laser programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston does not contravene Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. [218217]
Mr. Ingram:
A key objective of the proposed Orion Laser project is to have the ability to conduct our nuclear warhead assurance programme in compliance with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the project will achieve this. The use of the Orion Laser would not conflict with Article VI of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty.
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Procurement Costs
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current forecast cost is of the (a) Nimrod MRA4 and (b) Type 45 destroyer projects. [217962]
Mr. Ingram: The current forecast cost for the procurement of 12 Nimrod MRA4 aircraft as provided in Major Project Report 04 is £3.6 billion. The current forecast cost of the Type 45 Destroyer project is £5.8 billion based on the approved six ship programme.
Reservists
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists were deployed overseas as at 1 February, broken down by country. [219045]
Mr. Caplin: As at 1 February 2005 the number of Reservists deployed overseas by country was:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 31 |
| Bahrain | 1 |
| Bosnia | 69 |
| Cyprus | 2 |
| Dubai | 3 |
| Iraq | 811 |
| Kosovo | 11 |
| Kuwait | -1 |
| Netherlands | -1 |
| Oman | -3 |
| Qatar | -6 |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists have been sent overseas without an annual classification on personal weapons in the last 12 months. [219046]
Mr. Caplin: No reservists have been deployed overseas without a Weapons Handling Test.
Shoeburyness Ranges
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of (a) contamination which may have occurred as a result of the work carried out for the original nuclear weapons programme at the Shoeburyness ranges and (b) residual radioactive contamination at the site. [218572]
Mr. Caplin:
The Ministry of Defence has just started a land quality assessment (LQA) of the entire site at Shoeburyness, which will include areas formerly used for research in support of the development of nuclear weapons. The LQA process is a step-by-step investigation into historic contamination and, as they become known, the results will be made available to the public. The initial report should be available by May,
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although it is likely that, at that stage, the report will simply highlight areas where more intrusive investigations will be required.
Tornado
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for defence of the Tornado aircraft from missile attack of not fitting the Tornado advanced self-protection system. [219041]
Mr. Ingram: Full operational analysis is conducted when evaluating the military requirement and considering future equipment capability. The Tornado GR4 relies for its protection on a combination of defensive aids and use of appropriate tactics, concepts of operation and employment appropriate to the threat.
Trafalgar Submarines
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many of the Trafalgar class nuclear powered submarines are in active service and at sea; [216811]
(2) how many of the Trafalgar class submarines are in dock for (a) scheduled repairs and (b) refuelling; [216812]
(3) how many of the Trafalgar class submarines are not in service (a) undergoing and (b) awaiting unscheduled (i) inspection and (ii) repairs; [216813]
(4) what the nature is of the defect in the nuclear propulsion system of those Trafalgar class submarines undergoing (a) inspection and (b) repair; and when the boats of the Trafalgar class flotilla will be back to normal operating strength. [216814]
Mr. Ingram: There are seven Trafalgar Class submarines in active service of which four are currently available for FLEET programming. Of the remaining boats, two are in dock: one is undergoing a scheduled Long Overhaul Period, which includes a refuel (LOP(R)) and the other is undergoing a scheduled Revalidation and Assisted Maintenance Period (RAMP). A further boat is awaiting the start of Her LOP(R).
Two boats are currently subject to unscheduled operating restrictions, due to an emergent issue that was identified during routine reviews of their safety cases. Further safety justification work is under way and, while there has been no failure of components, until a robust safety case has been re-established the safest course of action is to limit their operation.
For the purposes of FLEET programming, no distinction is made between the Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class submarines. Consequently, there is not actually a full operating strength for the Trafalgar Class. A generic SSN Readiness Profile is used, but to release details of this would prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the SSN force, so this data is being withheld under exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act.
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