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7 Apr 2005 : Column 1761W—continued

Sea King Helicopters

Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications for Royal Naval Aircraft Yard Fleetlands of the Government's proposals for the servicing of Sea King helicopters. [225031]

Mr. Ingram: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Sergeant Paul Connolly

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outcome of the investigation into the death of Sergeant Paul Connolly at Shaibah logistic base on 26 December 2004 was; on what date a Board of Inquiry was opened; where and on what date the funeral was; and whether there will be an inquest. [215700]

Mr. Ingram: The Service police investigation into the death of Sergeant Paul Connolly has not yet concluded. A Service Board Inquiry to examine the circumstances surrounding his death was convened on 28 January 2005.

The funeral arrangements are a matter for Sergeant Connolly's next of kin. The decision to hold an inquest is a matter for HM Coroner.

Space Technology

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial contribution his (a) Department and (b) non-departmental public bodies made to civil space technology in 2004–05; and what financial provision has been made for the period 2005–06 to 2009–10. [200545]

Mr. Ingram: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
 
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Sudan 1

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) the Food Standards Agency, (b) the Health Protection Agency, (c) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (d) the British Retail Consortium and (e) the Institute of Grocery Distribution Emergency Planning Liaison Group have had discussions with DSTL Porton Down in connection with contamination of the food chain by Sudan 1 dye; and if he will make a statement. [218625]

Mr. Ingram: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Surface Combatants

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1995–6W, on surface combatants, if he will list the members of the Surface Ships Support Study. [223563]

Mr. Ingram: In order to comply with our obligations to protect the identity of individuals, we will not be releasing the names of the members of the Surface Ship Support Study. This is consistent with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Sustainable Timber

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the refurbishment projects in his Department that (a) are in progress and (b) will start in the next six months; what action is being taken to ensure that these will procure timber from legal and sustainable sources; and whether guidance will be issued to contractors on each of these projects to ensure that the timber used on site during refurbishment also comes from legal and sustainable sources. [200576]

Mr. Caplin: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Swan Hunter

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2005, Official Report, column 1017W, on Swan Hunter, what the technical difficulties were; what the costs associated with each one were; whether there were technical difficulties relating to inaccuracies in measurements; and if he will make a statement. [220432]

Mr. Ingram: Swan Hunter's design for the LSD(A) vessels was based upon the modification of the Enforcer Class concept design by the Dutch Royal Schelde shipyard, which was itself based upon the proven HNLMS Rotterdam. The company's successful bid for the design and construction of the first two ships was to adapt this existing concept design to meet the Statement of Requirement specified in the MOD's Invitation To Tender. The company subsequently encountered difficulties in adapting the design to the UK specification as the concept itself and the modifications needed were shown not to be as mature as they had previously believed. This underestimation of the degree of design work needed resulted in additional work that
 
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had not been costed in the company's bid. In September 2003 when the full scale of the additional work became clear the company announced that it would be unable to complete the contract without an adjustment to the original price. The £84 million contract amendment agreed in December 2004 reflected the additional cost to the company needed to complete the programme and was awarded only after full consideration of the options, from which the MOD assessed that the contract amendment offered the optimum value for money solution in the delivery of the LSD(A) capability. In addition to the £84 million needed to address the Swan Hunter design difficulty, £3 million has been added since the start of the contract to address design changes as a consequence of Naval and statutory safety requirements that were not fully defined at the time of the original contract placement. The MOD is unaware of any significant difficulties relating to inaccuracies in measurements.

Taskforces

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on taskforces and similar bodies in each year since 1997. [204886]

Mr. Caplin [holding answer 20 December 2004]: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Tornado Crash

Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the complete RAF Board of Inquiry into the crash of RAF Tornado F3 ZH558 on 1 September 1994. [219357]

Mr. Ingram: I believe the right hon. Member may be confusing two different accidents. Tornado F3 ZH558 crashed in Cyprus on 8 July 1994, and on 1 September 1994 a Tornado GR1A crashed in Scotland.

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence replied to the right hon. Member on 8 March 2005, Official Report, column 1671W, about the crash which occurred on 8 July 1994, and on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1674W, about the crash which occurred on 1 September 1994.

Training Courses

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) cost to the Department, (b) title and (c) location was of each training course organised by his Department for its staff in each financial year since 1997–98. [200387]

Mr. Caplin: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial penalties were paid in each financial year since 1997–98 to training providers by the Department for training courses prepared for its staff which were subsequently cancelled at the Department's request. [200407]

 
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Mr. Caplin: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Trident

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which countries the arming, fusing and firing system components of Trident nuclear warheads are manufactured; and if he will make a statement. [214243]

Mr. Hoon: I am withholding the information requested as it relates to national security.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in which countries the (a) neutron generators and (b) the gas reservoirs of Trident nuclear warheads are manufactured; and if he will make a statement; [214244]

(2) in which countries the gas reservoirs for Trident nuclear warheads are filled with tritium; and if he will make a statement. [214245]

Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 8 July 2004, Official Report, columns 829–30W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr. Ingram).

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether nuclear material related to the Trident nuclear system is transported through Glasgow; and through which Scottish (a) constituencies and (b) local authorities nuclear material related to the Trident nuclear system has passed in each of the last five years. [218337]

Mr. Hoon: It is not Ministry of Defence policy to comment upon the timings or routes used during the transportation of nuclear material related to the Trident nuclear system as this would prejudice national security. However, I can confirm that nuclear material related to the Trident system may be transported through those areas as detailed in the publicly available Local Authority and Emergency Service Information (LAESI) Document.

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