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Royal Centre for Defence Medicine

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average waiting time was for military personnel attending the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Selly Oak to be given an appointment with a civilian consultant in the last period for which figures are available. [10412]

Mr. Touhig: The routinely collected data on waiting times for out-patients are specifically aimed at monitoring performance against the stated DMS targets.

DMS targets are for 45 per cent. of all referrals to be seen within four weeks and 85 per cent. within 13 weeks. The waiting times for the period April 2003 to March
 
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2004 show that 52.9 per cent. of referrals were seen within four weeks and 92.24 per cent. within the 13 week target.

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average time taken to process a military patient through the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Selly Oak was in the last period for which figures are available; what assessment he has made of the operational implications of the waiting time; and if he will make a statement. [10413]

Mr. Touhig: It is not possible to give the average time taken to process military patients through the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine because of the wide variety of conditions that referred patients suffer from. At one end of the spectrum there may be, for example, patients with simple skin complaints who are seen and dealt with in a single out-patients. At the other extreme are patients with more complex or serious health problems which may be associated with a need for on going management programmes that can continue for months and even years.

No specific assessment has been made of the operational impact of the patient processing times at the Royal College of Defence Medicine.

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the longest time taken for the result of a blood test for a military patient to be processed by the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Selly Oak has been since the centre was established. [10414]

Mr. Touhig: RCDM does not collect information on the time taken to process blood tests for their patients.

As with all blood tests the speed of the result depends upon the clinical priority of the patient and the type of blood test required.

This ranges from within four hours for an in-patient/emergency patient to two to three weeks for more specialised blood tests.

If an out-patient requires urgent testing they are sent to the blood department by the consultant and samples are taken there and then.

Scottish Infantry Recruitment

Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defencehow much funding has been allocated for the recruitment of soldiers to the Scottish Infantry Regiments in 2005; what strategies have been employed to boost recruitment levels; and if he will make a statement. [10055]

Mr. Touhig: The Army's overall recruiting budget for the financial year 2005–06 is £85.355 million. It is not possible to accurately identify expenditure by region or for specific areas of the British Army.

The current recruiting climate is a demanding one and the Army is working hard to meet its enlistment targets. In Scotland, a multi-media marketing campaign was conducted between October 2004 and April 2005 with the aim of improving recruitment into the Scottish
 
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Infantry. A further campaign began in April 2005 and will run until Match 2006 to support all aspects of Army recruiting in Scotland.

Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new soldiers have been recruited in Scotland since January; what targets were set; and if he will make a statement. [10056]

Mr. Touhig: Overall manning targets are set on the Army Training and Recruiting Agency by Director Manning (Army). This takes account both of the forecast of the numbers required and the financial allocations for any given year.

Subsequently, HQ Recruiting Group allocates an indicative target to each of its 10 regional recruiting commands, of which Scotland is one.

The table shows the results for Scotland for all Arms and Services against the indicative targets for each quarter (Quarter) in financial year 2004–05 and the first quarter of 2005–06.

Financial year	Indicative target	Enlisted soldiers	Percentage achieved
2004–05
Quarter l	160	200	123
Quarter 2	500	400	80
Quarter 3	150	180	124
Quarter 4	470	360	76
2005–06
Quarter l	210	150	69

Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the levels of recruitment to the Scottish Infantry Regiments in 2005; and if he will make a statement. [10057]

Mr. Touhig: None.

Shackleton Planes (Hearing Loss)

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from veterans who claim to have been affected by hearing loss as a result of flying in Shackleton planes; and what estimate he has made of the number of veterans who have so far been affected. [7724]

Mr. Touhig: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 22 June 2005, Official Report, column 1067. The additional information requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trident

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what considerations he took into account in deciding to stop targeting the Trident nuclear deterrent. [9805]

John Reid: The missiles have been detargetted since 1994. The policy of detargetting the United Kingdom's Trident missiles was confirmed in the 1998 strategic defence review, to reflect improvements in the strategic environment since the end of the cold war.
 
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Bulgaria (EU Accession)

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the outstanding areas of concern relating to Bulgaria's accession to the European Union. [9764]

Mr. Douglas Alexander [holding answer 5 July 2005]: The European Commission wrote to the Bulgarian Government at the start of June 2005. It stated that Bulgaria is 'generally on track in meeting its commitments and requirements arising from the accession negotiations in most areas'. But it noted that Bulgaria still needs to implement important elements of the acquis and identified five key areas requiring particular attention:

1. freedom to provide services;

2. company law;

3. agriculture;

4. environment;

5. justice and home affairs.

Common Foreign and Security Policy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's position is on the development and capability of the Common Foreign and Security Policy; and if he will make a statement. [9974]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: As stated in the White Paper issued on 30 June 2005, the Government are a strong supporter of developing more active, coherent and capable EU external policies, including the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as set out in the European Security Strategy of December 2003. The Government's priorities in this area are set out in paragraphs 75 to 101 of the White Paper. The Government are also committed to enhancing the military and civilian capabilities from member states available for missions carried out under the European Security and Defence Policy, as an integral part of an active Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Departmental Conferences

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department spent on organising or sponsoring conferences for each of the last five years. [10273]

Mr. Straw: Details of these events are not held centrally within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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