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18 Jul 2005 : Column 1314W—continued
EUFOR
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK military assets are deployed as part of EUFOR; and by what command and control arrangements they are managed. [1065]
Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom has around 872 troops deployed as part of the European Union peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation ALTHEA. This includes Major-General Leakey, who is currently the force commander for this operation; and also those UK officers serving in the force headquarters. The bulk of the UK contingent is based in Multi-National Task Force (North-West), and is currently centred on the 1st Battalion The Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders.
Operation ALTHEA operates under the political control and strategic direction of the EU. The force commander reports to the operation commander, General Sir John Reith, who also holds the NATO position of Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He in turn reports to the EU Political and Security Committee, which takes direction from the Council of the European Union and advice from the EU
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Military Committee. All these bodies are made up of member state representatives and take decisions by unanimity.
In both EU and NATO operations the UK assigns troops to EU or NATO Operational control, but the UK ultimately retains command of all UK troops and assets involved in operations.
Fijian Nationals
Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Fijian nationals are serving in Her Majesty's forces. [13140]
Mr. Ingram: The following table shows the Fijian strength of UK armed forces at 1 June 2005:
| Fijian total | |
|---|---|
| Naval Service | 70 |
| Army | 1,950 |
| RAF | — |
Notes:
1.UK Regular Forces includes Nursing services and excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised Reservists. They include both trained and untrained personnel.
2.All data is obtained from a nationality field on the Armed Forces Personnel Record of Service. Figures represent those with a current nationality of 'Fijian'.
3.RAF nationality data is not held centrally.
4.All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent disclosure of sensitive personal data. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Forces' Recruitment
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which (a) region and (b) county the highest percentage of personnel were recruited to the (i) Army, (ii) Royal Navy, (iii) Royal Air Force and (iv) Royal Marines in 2004–05. [12415]
Mr. Touhig: Recruiting data by region and county are not available centrally. The following estimates of enlistments for the financial year 2004–05 have been provided by the three services.
Source:
Directorate of Naval Recruiting
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Source:
Army Recruiting Group
Notes:
Figures are based on location of armed forces careers office to which applicant applied not residence of applicant. Armed forces careers office regions do not align with Government office regions and differ between services; consequently, it is not possible to make meaningful comparisons across services or to population figures.
All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used, figures may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Army selection figures for London includes recruitment from Herford, Germany.
Source:
RAF Recruiting Services
Future Aircraft Carriers
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on the in-service dates of each of the future aircraft carriers if France participates in their construction on the basis (a) that two carriers are built for the United Kingdom and one for France and (b) that two carriers are built for the UK alone. [10821]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 13 July 2005]: None. Though we continue to investigate the potential for co-operation with France on our respective carrier projects, it will be for industry to put forward proposals on French participation in the construction of the future aircraft carriers (CVF). These will be judged on their merits and in light of national policies.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the decision was taken to reclassify the 2012 and 2015 in-service dates for the two future aircraft carriers as target dates. [10822]
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Mr. Ingram [holding answer 13 July 2005]: As with all projects in the assessment phase, in-service dates (ISDs) are not fixed until the main investment decision. The assessment phase is used to refine the timescale for projects including the future aircraft carrier (CVF).
Future Rapid Effects System
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated whole life cost is of the FRES vehicles ordered by the Department. [11814]
Mr. Ingram: The FRES programme is currently in the assessment phase and it is therefore too early in the programme to have placed orders for FRES vehicles.
Studies being conducted during the assessment phase are aimed at developing a series of options for meeting the requirement and the outcome of these studies will enable us to formulate reliable whole life cost estimates.
Identity Cards
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of equipping premises for which his Department has responsibility with identity card readers. [9889]
Mr. Touhig: We have been working with the Home Office to identify areas where the identity cards scheme could provide business benefits. Our assessment has indicated that the proposal for the introduction of identity cards would benefit the Ministry of Defence by aiding the identification of individuals who have a relationship with the Department, but are not direct employees. Examples include potential new recruits, past employees, members of the reserve forces, job applicants, visitors and contractors. On 28 June 2005, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary placed in the Library of the House a paper containing the latest estimates of benefits of the identity cards scheme which shows that the benefits outweigh the costs once the scheme is fully operational. The cost of equipping premises will depend on the nature of the use of the identity cards scheme and the type of identity check(s) necessary to deliver the business benefits. The Ministry of Defence is in dialogue with the Home Office and we will judge the impact on our IT systems as details of the scheme emerge. As the design of the scheme matures, during and after the procurement exercise, so will our understanding of where the scheme will be of most benefit which will allow us to further refine our estimates of costs and benefits.
Iraq
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons arrested in Iraq by UK forces have been transferred to the custody of the United States. [3087]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 13 June 2005]: Following the end of hostilities in Iraq and the completion of the UK's prisoner release programme, a total of 358 prisoners taken into custody by the UK, for whom the UK remained responsible, were transferred to US custody at Camp Bucca. Between June 2003 and the opening of the UK's Divisional Temporary Detention Facility in December 2003, further individuals taken
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into custody by the UK were also transferred to US custody. All of these internees were either released, or transferred back to UK custody in December 2003.
Two individuals classified as High Value Targets were taken into custody by the UK and subsequently transferred to US custody. They were later transferred to the jurisdiction of the Iraq Special Tribunal, although they remain in US custody.
Four additional internees taken into custody by the UK during 2003 were transferred to the US and held at Abu Ghraib. All have since been released. During the Black Watch deployment to North Babil in November 2003, a further 12 internees were taken into custody by the UK, and transferred to the US. All but two were quickly released. The remaining two are held at Abu Ghraib.
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) detainees, (b) internees and (c) other prisoners in Iraq were (i) held by UK forces, (ii) brought into UK custody and (iii) transferred fromUK to US custody in each week since 1 December 2003. [11407]
Mr. Ingram: Prior to December 2003, all persons taken into custody by United Kingdom forces were held by the US at Camp Bucca, in southern Iraq. During December those internees were transferred to the UK's divisional temporary detention facility (DTDF) at Shaibah logistics base in southern Iraq, and the figures given from January 2004 onwards refer to internees held at that location. However, during December, internees taken into custody by the UK may have spent a short period in Camp Bucca prior to transfer to the DTDF on or around 18 December 2003. From January 2004 to the present day, the only internees transferred to US custody were those taken during the course of the deployment of the Black Watch Battlegroup in November 2004. Two internees were transferred on 16 November 2004 and 10 were transferred on 26 November 2004. These internees are not included in the following information.
(6)In US custody.
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These figures are based on the best available data; it is evident that some theatre records contain inaccuracies.
Sir Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what RAF aircraft participated in attacks by coalition aircraft on (a) an anti-ship missile system near Basra on 6 September 2002, (b) an anti-ship missile system near Basra on 13 January 2003, (c) a surface-to-surface missile system near Basra on 11 February 2003,
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(d) elements of surface-to-surface missile systems near Basra on 12 February 2003, (e) a mobile multiple-rocket system near Basra on 18 February 2003, (f) a surface-to-surface missile system near Basra on 25 February 2003 and (g) three surface-to-surface missile systems south of Mosul on 25 February 2003. [11373]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 14 July 2005]: On the 11 February 2003, RAF Tornado GR4s dropped a total of five munitions during the course of the attack. The attack was conducted in self-defence in accordance with the appropriate rules of engagement for Operation Resinate (south), the operation to enforce the southern no-fly zone. The surface-to-surface missile system concerned had recently relocated to a position close to the Kuwaiti border, from which it posed a direct threat to the operating base for UK aircraft and other forces allocated to Operation Resinate (south).
No RAF aircraft were used in any of the other attacks mentioned.
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