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22 Jun 2005 : Column 1063W—continued
DEFENCE
Afghanistan
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely cost of the additional troop deployments to Afghanistan; and whether costs will be met from existing departmental budgets. [5145]
Mr. Ingram: Planning continues for the deployment of the Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) Group to lead the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from May 2006. We are also developing plans for the deployment of forces to enable the United Kingdom to play a key role in Stage 3 of ISAF expansion in the south of Afghanistan.
Until that planning is complete, it would be premature and potentially misleading to speculate about the cost of potential deployments, which, as with all net additional costs of operations, we would expect to be funded from the reserve.
An announcement will be made to Parliament once decisions have been made.
Army Personnel Research Establishment
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of respondents to Army Personnel Research Establishment polls is. [5991]
Mr. Touhig: The Army Personnel Research Establishment no longer exists. The Services each have their own Continuous Attitude Surveys (CAS). The response figures for the two Army CAS surveys in 2004 is as follows:
| Army CAS surveys | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number surveyed | 7,182 | 9,672 |
| Average percentage respondents | 40 | 39 |
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how frequently Army Personnel Research Establishment polls are conducted. [5992]
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Mr. Touhig: The Army Continuous Attitude Survey core programme consists of the serving personnel survey which is conducted biannually, and the Territorial Army and families surveys (sent to spouses of married officers and soldiers), which are conducted annually.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will direct the Army Personnel Research Establishment to include a question in its next poll asking soldiers whether they had problems registering to vote in the 2005 general election; [6056]
(2) if he will make use of the Army Personnel Research Establishment polls to investigate how many soldiers were registered to vote in the 2005 general election. [6050]
Mr. Touhig: My noble Friend, the Minister for Defence Procurement (Lord Drayson) announced on 6 June 2005, Official Report, column WA62, in another place that we are presently looking at the possibility of carrying out a survey. All surveys need to be carefully framed and then considered as part of the normal sequence of information gathering and analysis. Any such survey would be conducted on a tri-Service basis and not confined to the Army, and would need to be justified by reference to needs, costs and likely benefits.
Compassionate Leave
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the grounds which constitute a basis for compassionate leave of absence from active military duty. [6410]
Mr. Touhig: The purpose of compassionate leave is to allow Service personnel an authorised period of absence to enable them to attend to a personal crisis. There is no definitive list of occasions when it is appropriate to allow compassionate leave to be taken as each case requires individual, objective and sensitive assessment.
Defence Systems and Equipment Exhibition
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers from his Department will be attending the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in September. [3941]
Mr. Ingram: Defence Ministers have previously attended this biennial event, but for safety and security reasons it is not our practice to publicise Ministers' forward programmes.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers from his Department attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in 2003; and which overseas delegates each met. [3942]
Mr. Ingram: My right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon), my noble Friend the Lord Bach of Lutterworth and I attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in 2003. Ministers or Ministry of Defence officials met delegations that were officially invited to the event. Official delegations attended from the following countries:
Fleet Submarines
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fleet submarines are operational. [5929]
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Mr. Ingram: On 17 June 2005, nine SSN (Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class) and three SSBN (Vanguard Class) submarines were available for tasking by CINCFLEET.
Forces Training
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the training schemes available to members of overseas armed forces (a) at his Department's establishments in the UK and (b) given by members of the UK armed forces overseas. [4812]
Mr. Touhig: The availability of training courses to members of overseas armed forces is administered though three single-Service Training Agencies. A summary of the types of courses which are available to members of overseas armed forces at establishments in the UK is shown in the following lists:
Types of training available to international students at UK establishments
International Defence Training (Royal Navy)
International Defence Training (Army)
International Defence Training (Royal Air Force)
Further details of this training can be found at the following websites:
Attendance on these courses is dependent upon the level of security clearance that has been afforded to the country requesting the training and the security level of the course content.
Details of training assistance currently given by members of the UK armed forces overseas are outlined in the following lists:
Types of training assistance given by members of the UK armed forces overseas
International Defence Training (Royal Navy)
International Defence Training (Army)
International Defence Training (Royal Air Force)
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