---

4 Apr 2005 : Column 1210W—continued

Contracts (Rolls-Royce)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of each of his Department's contracts with the Rolls Royce Group was in each year since 1997. [223758]

Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Deaths in Service

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the full coroner's inquest will be held into the death of Paul Justin Connolly at Shaibah Logistics Base, Iraq on 26 December 2004. [224479]

Mr. Ingram: These arrangements are a matter for HM Coroner in line with the coroners' system in England and Wales.

Defence Estate

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average rent charged by his Department to farmers for land was per hectare in each county in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available. [222832]

Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence does not own land in every county in the United Kingdom and thus does not record or retain information on that basis. Land is held for purposes of military training and is made available without detriment to such training. Rent is set according to the conditions with which the Department is content to let the land, and this therefore becomes the market rent for that land taking into consideration these conditions. To provide the information requested, given that it is not held for defence purposes, would require disproportionate cost and effort.
 
4 Apr 2005 : Column 1211W
 

Departmental Costs

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of staff surveys in the Department was in each year since 1997. [213675]

Mr. Caplin: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Eurofighter

Mr. Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate how many UK jobs have been created by the supplementary order for Eurofighter aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [224140]

Mr. Ingram: Industry estimate that the Typhoon Tranche 2 order will, at the peak of manufacture, create or sustain some 16,000 jobs with United Kingdom defence manufacturers, many in areas of high technology, plus a significant number of jobs in supporting industries across the economy more widely.

Flight Refuelling (Brize Norton)

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the change of responsibilities for the flight refuelling fleet at Brize Norton. [223890]

Mr. Ingram: There has been no change of responsibilities for the air-to-air refuelling fleet at RAF Brize Norton.

Gulf War Veterans

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Gulf War veterans have committed suicide; [223887]

(2) what estimate he has made of how many Gulf War veterans have committed suicide in prison. [223888]

Mr. Caplin: As at 31 December 2004, there had been 120 deaths due to intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent (suicides and open verdict deaths) among veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict, compared with an estimate of 112 in the comparison group of Service personnel who did not deploy.

From the information available to the Defence Analytical Services Agency, of the 120 deaths, the number where the recorded place of death is stated as a HM Prison is less than five; it is not appropriate to give the precise number for these events for reasons of confidentiality. In a number of the 120 cases, the place of death is not apparent.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons arrested by British service personnel in Iraq have been in custody for over a year without charges having been brought against them. [215479]

Mr. Ingram: Two internees originally taken into custody by the United Kingdom have been held for more than a year. Both are held at the Divisional Temporary Detention Facility in Basrah Province. They were interned on the basis that they represented an imperative threat to security and not on the basis that they were suspected of any specific criminal offence.
 
4 Apr 2005 : Column 1212W
 

Medals

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of paper records of medals issued to First World War combatants; what electronic records are kept of these medals; whether those records contain all the information contained in the paper records; and what arrangements he is making to ensure that records of these medals are not lost. [223633]

Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence, together with The National Archives, has been actively seeking to identify a suitable institution prepared to take these cards. So far, a home for just a small part of the collection has been found. No decision on the retention or destruction of the cards will be taken until all such avenues have been explored.

However, the information from the front of the First World War medal index cards is already preserved in a microfilmed format and is available to researchers at The National Archives (in Class WO 372) and through the National Archives website online.

During microfilming the reverse side of the cards was not copied as the vast majority of them are blank. Sampling found that information on the reverse is restricted to about 1 per cent. of the cards.

Northern Ireland (Royal Navy)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Naval vessels are assigned to duties in Northern Ireland for 2004–05; and how many Royal Naval vessels are planned to be assigned to duties in Northern Ireland in each of the next five years. [223294]

Mr. Ingram: The Northern Ireland Patrol Vessel (NIPV) Squadron comprises three re-roled Hunt Class Mine Counter-Measure Vessels (HMS Brecon, HMS Dulverton and HMS Cottesmore) with one ship usually on station at any given time. I announced on 23 March 2005, Official Report, column 69WS, that we have decided that the vessels will be decommissioned in September 2005. While there will be no permanent assignments of Royal Navy vessels for Northern Ireland following their release by the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland, the Chief Constable is satisfied that routine Royal Navy activities around the UK and specific intelligence-led maritime operations will deliver an appropriate level of support to the police in countering terrorism.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what duties are performed by (a) land-based Royal Naval personnel and (b) ship-based Royal Naval personnel based in Northern Ireland; and what plans he has to change the numbers of each category. [223295]

Mr. Ingram: Royal Navy (RN) personnel provide a Naval Intelligence unit within Headquarters Northern Ireland and administration of HMS Caroline (a Royal Naval Reserve establishment). RN personnel also crew the Northern Ireland Patrol Vessel (NIPV) Squadron, with one ship usually on station at any one time. I announced on 23 March 2005, Official Report, column 69WS, that we have decided that the NIPV vessels will be decommissioned in September 2005
 
4 Apr 2005 : Column 1213W
 
releasing the crews for other duties. The removal of the NIPV may also result in changes in the number of land-based RN personnel.

Nuclear Test Veterans

Mrs. Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will carry out a study of the health of veterans of the British Nuclear Test Programme. [223378]

Mr. Caplin [holding answer 22 March 2005]: A study into the general health of Nuclear Test Veterans would involve major practical and methodological difficulties. Such a study would necessitate individual contact with participants in the study or their GPs. Not only would this be a very large exercise to organise and undertake successfully, but there would also be considerable risk of bias arising from the difficulties of identifying, contacting and recovering responses from a fully representative sample of veterans or their dependants.

The Government do not therefore intend to institute such a study.

---