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DEFENCE

Combat Clothing

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the combat clothing items delivered under the cut and sew contract have been supplied from China. [803]

Mr. Ingram: To date over 193,000 items (of which over 85,000 are combat clothing items) under the cut and sew contract, have been delivered within the prime contractors supply chain from a variety of sources, both in the UK and overseas. This includes around 70,000 items of combat clothing supplied from China.

Darfur

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts regarding a role for NATO in the Darfur region. [857]

Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom strongly supports the expansion of the African Union mission in Darfur and is working not just with NATO, but with the EU and the UN to find the best means by which the international community as a whole can support the African Union's objectives. The Secretary of State for Defence discussed the provision of support to the mission in Darfur with fellow EU Defence Ministers, the EU High Representative and the NATO Secretary-General at the meeting of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 23 May.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role he expects NATO to play in Darfur. [867]

Mr. Ingram: As requested by Mr. Alpha Oumar Konare, the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, NATO is considering, in close consultation with the EU and the UN, what logistical support it can best provide to the African Union's peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Full details of NATO's contribution will become clearer following a donor conference in Addis Ababa on 26 May 2005, but it is likely to include: assistance with the deployment of the expanded African Union mission, including strategic lift, and the training of African Union personnel to improve their capacity.

Departmental Estate

Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's properties and areas of land are (a) listed for disposal and (b) under consideration for disposal. [846]

 
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Mr. Touhig: Details of Ministry of Defence properties and land currently listed for disposal are available in the Library of the House. It should be noted however that the need to retain such properties and land is constantly under review. Consequently the list changes frequently and generally it is updated quarterly.

I regret that I am unable to provide a list of properties and land being considered for disposal due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information. I can however, assure the hon. Member that the Ministry of Defence does not seek to retain a site once it has been clearly established that there is no known defence requirement to do so.

MARS Programme

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the timetable is for the MARS programme. [1134]

Mr. Ingram: The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme is currently in the Concept Phase. We are planning for the Assessment Phase to commence shortly, and for the main investment decision to be made in 2008.

Parachute Centre, Acklington

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Department has objected to the planning application for a parachute jumping centre at Acklington, Northumberland on grounds of possible conflict with low-flying military aircraft. [1159]

Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has not raised any objection to the proposed parachute jumping centre at Acklington, Northumberland.

RAF Menwith Hill

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was reimbursed by the US authorities at RAF Menwith Hill in lieu of payment to the MoD Police Agency in each of the last five years. [847]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency received the following amounts from the United States authorities in the last five years in relation to services provided at Menwith Hill.

	£
2004–05	5,898,000
2003–04	4,624,000
2002–03	4,514,000
2001–02	1,725,000
2000–01	1,660,000

Soldiers' Kit

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government is spending on improving the personal kit of soldiers in the armed forces. [294]

Mr. Ingram: Last year the Ministry of Defence spent around £1.3 million on developing improvements to clothing and other personal equipment. In addition over £8 million was spent to provide additional enhancements to personal equipment for personnel deployed on operations.
 
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Future requirements are planned to be met by the personal equipment and common operational clothing (PECOC) programme which will deliver a coherent and integrated system of operational clothing and equipment, including improved ballistic protection, meeting the needs of service personnel in the next decade and beyond.

TREASURY

Revenue and Customs Offices (Wales)

7. Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the future use of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs offices in Wales. [998]

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs is preparing business plans to meet its efficiency savings for 2005–08. It is too early to say how this might affect any particular office.

National Insurance Contributions

8. Mr. Lilley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the rate of national insurance contributions. [999]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to the hon. Members for Congleton (Ann Winterton) and for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley).

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the rate of National Insurance contributions. [1005]

Dawn Primarolo: The national insurance contribution rates are set in the Budget.

G7 Presidency

11. Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the UK's aims for progress towards the millennium development goals under its presidency of the G7. [1002]

Mr. Gordon Brown: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan).

Government Borrowing

16. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of Government net borrowing. [1007]

Mr. Des Browne: Budget projections show that net borrowing is expected to fall to a prudent level of 1.5 per cent. of GDP by 2009–10.

Aviation (Emissions)

18. Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further plans he has to use economic instruments to minimise climate change-related emissions from the aviation sector. [1009]

 
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John Healey: The Government are committed to aviation joining the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter. This will be a priority for the UK's presidency of the EU later this year.

The Air Transport White Paper also said that Government would press for other emissions reducing actions by the industry, and continue to explore options for the use of other economic instruments.

Manufacturing Growth

19. Mr. Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of rates of growth in manufacturing in the last year for which figures are available. [1010]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Official figures, published by the Office for National Statistics suggest that in 2004 manufacturing output rose by 1.4 per cent. manufacturing productivity rose by 5.3 per cent., manufacturing exports increased by 2 per cent. and business investment in the manufacturing sector rose by 3.2 per cent.—its highest growth rate for six years.

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