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13 Jul 2005 : Column 1083W—continued
RAF Aircraft
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft are in flight with the Royal Air Force, broken down by type. [9578]
Mr. Ingram: The following tables shows the numbers of aircraft planned to be in service with the RAF by the end of the present financial year, broken down by type.
| Aircraft type | Total fleet |
|---|---|
| Sea King HAR3 | 19 |
| Sea King HAR 3A | 6 |
| Aircraft type | Total fleet |
|---|---|
| Spitfire | 5 |
| Hurricane | 2 |
| Chipmunk | 2 |
| Dakota | 1 |
| Lancaster | 1 |
| Aircraft type | Total fleet |
|---|---|
| Firefly | 24 |
| Griffin | 11 |
| King Air | 7 |
| Single Squirrel | 37 |
| Twin Squirrel | 3 |
| Tutor | 94 |
13 Jul 2005 : Column 1084W
Regimental Mergers/Uniforms
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reconsider the new name for the planned merger of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, King's Own Borders Regiment and King's Regiment. [11172]
Mr. Ingram: The title of the King's, Lancashire and Border Regiment has been chosen by the Regimental Councils of the three antecedent regiments themselves and fully meets the requirements of precedent and history. It is unlikely that this will change, although it is subject to confirmation, along with the new titles of the other new regiments, by the Army Honours and Distinctions Committee, who will in turn refer it to the Executive Committee of the Army Board and thence through Ministers to HM the Queen for her final approval.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2005, Official Report, columns 1568–69W, on regimental uniforms, (1)what the annual tax credit is; whether it varies with rank; and what the average cost of commissioning (a) Service uniform, (b) Blues and (c) Mess dress were, excluding the Foot Guards and Highland Regiments, in the last year for which figures were available; [10442]
(2) when he expects the next increase in Army officers' outfit allowance to be made. [10443]
Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence does not calculate the average cost of uniform because this is a private transaction between an officer and their tailor. Nevertheless, the officers outfit allowance is awarded on first commissioning to offset this expenditure.
There are no current plans to increase the officers outfit allowance, although consideration will be given to adjusting the allowance in the light of changes to the organisation of the infantry as part of the Future Infantry Structure.
An annual tax credit is awarded to all officers to assist with the cost of maintaining, repairing and, when necessary, replacing uniform. The annual rate for all dismounted male officers below the rank of Colonel—and therefore all officers serving with an infantry regiment—is £589.29, against which an officer receives income tax relief.
Sensitive Documents
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the use of private companies to destroy sensitive departmental documents. [10294]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 7 July 2005]: The Ministry of Defence has a policy on the minimum standards to be applied for the destruction of protectively-marked material which comply with the standards laid down for Government by the Cabinet Office. A number of private companies have been certified as meeting those standards and are listed in a government-wide catalogue of security equipment and services. Subordinate commanders are permitted to decide whether to destroy protectively-marked documents using their own resources, or utilise those of an approved private company listed in the Government-wide catalogue.
13 Jul 2005 : Column 1085W
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the potential risk to national security posed by the failure to destroy Naval Support Command documents recently discovered abandoned in an Essex garage; [10297]
(2) if he will make a statement on past arrangements for secure disposal of sensitive documents from Naval Support Command by IMTEC Data Services. [10296]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 7 July 2005]: The company involved were IMTEC Holding plc. Under the contract with the company documents were to be scanned onto CD ROM and subsequently disposed of by shredding once this scanning was complete. This was the first time that the team concerned had used the company.
The material was reviewed by the MOD prior to despatch to the company to remove any sensitive data. It is considered that the risk to national security to be very low as a consequence of the failure to destroy the documents as required.
Ship Disposal
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress on disposal of (a) HMS Grafton, (b) HMS Marlborough and (c) HMS Norfolk; and whether it is intended to sell each of the ships complete with their weapons systems. [10796]
Mr. Ingram: Following discussions with a number of countries, the Ministry of Defence has agreed to sell these three Type 23 Frigates to the Government of Chile. A Letter of Intent is in place, supported by a deposit. Final negotiations are now being undertaken. The precise equipment fit of the ships at the point of transfer to Chile has yet to be finalised.
Surveys
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the exit surveys for the (a) Naval Service and (b) Royal Air Force since 1997. [8619]
Mr. Touhig: The exit surveys in question are currently being studied to ensure that they do not contain information on individuals that it would be inappropriate to disclose. When this process is completed I will inform the hon. Member.
Trafalgar Review
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) hon. Members and (b) Members of the European Parliament were invited to Her Majesty the Queen's Trafalgar review. [9091]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 July 2005]: 50 hon. Members (including Ministers) and three Members of the European Parliament were invited to attend Her Majesty the Queen's Trafalgar review on 28 June 2005.
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many unelected guests were invited to Her Majesty the Queen's Trafalgar review; and at what cost to the public purse. [9092]
13 Jul 2005 : Column 1086W
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The number of unelected guests invited to the review on 28 June 2005 was 383, which included royal family members and heads of navies. The cost to the public purse was £13,750.
Trident
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cumulative costs have been of the Trident nuclear deterrent in each year since it became operational; [9737]
(2) what the running cost of the Trident nuclear deterrent was in 2004–05; and if he will make a statement; [9801]
(3) what proportion of Royal Navy spending was allocated to the Trident nuclear deterrent in 2004–05. [9800]
John Reid: The latest annual statement to Parliament about the acquisition cost of the Trident programme was made on 18 January 2005, Official Report, column 30WS.
Since the Trident nuclear deterrent became operational in 1994, the annual expenditure for capital and running costs has ranged between 2 and 4 per cent. of the annual defence budget, up to and including financial year 2004–05.
Specifically the running costs for financial year 2004–05 were 2 per cent. of the annual defence budget. Royal Navy spending allocated to the Trident nuclear deterrent amounted to 3 per cent. of the financial year 2004–05 Royal Navy spending plan.
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