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Watchkeeper

The Secretary of State for Defence (John Reid): Networked enabled capability is the way we intend to improve our operational effectiveness on the battlefield through more efficient and effective sharing and exploitation of information by our armed forces, both with each other and with our coalition partners. We have recognised that unmanned aerial vehicles—UAVs—have the potential to contribute significantly though their ability to provide persistent surveillance of the battlefield, providing UK commanders with accurate, timely and high quality imagery to support decision making.

Last year my predecessor announced the selection of Thales Defence Ltd as the preferred bidder for the WATCHKEEPER tactical UAV programme. We have now negotiated an affordable solution with the company and I am pleased to announce today that we can move forward to the demonstration and manufacture phase of this important programme, subject to finalisation of a contract with Thales, worth around £700 million. We plan to deliver this capability incrementally from 2010.

Thales Defence Ltd is an international company directly employing some 11,000 people in the UK. It leads a strong international team including Elbit Systems Ltd, Cubic Defence and Boeing. Thales will lead on systems integration and bring considerable experience in sensors and command and control systems to the programme. Thales have confirmed their intention to complete the bulk of production in the UK, so this announcement is very good news for UK industry. The company estimates that up to 2,000 UK jobs, in Crawley, Leicester and across the UK, will be created or sustained and with export success this could rise further.

The WATCHKEEPER system is a new capability that will provide an all-weather, day and night capability. By integrating long endurance unmanned air vehicles, advanced sensor payloads and ground control facilities we will be able to direct surveillance and reconnaissance activities from the ground, putting fewer
 
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lives at risk, gather information, enhance our target acquisition ability and cue weapon systems in a hostile environment.

This decision to fund a contract for the development and manufacture phase of this programme is a major step forward and demonstrates significant progress in the delivery of new capability and the migration towards NEC. Our evaluation of Thales' bid has been extremely thorough and we have engaged fully with the company to ensure we obtain the best value for money and the right equipment for our armed forces.

RAF Training Group Defence Agency

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Don Touhig): The commander-in-chief, Royal Air Force Personnel and Training Command has set the chief executive of the Training Group Defence Agency the following targets for Financial Year 2005–06:

Key Target 1

Output—RAF Initial Flying Training

To recruit and train the required number of Royal Air Force aircrew to the standards required for entry to operational conversion unit training and other specialist flying training courses.

To compensate for the variations in the individual pipelines, successful achievement will be assumed if the total number of graduations is within 5 per cent. of target requirement. This KT subsumes the need for separate KTs for each of the specialisations. Individual Targets continue to be set for each specialisation for the next four years and are monitored through the Training Group Performance Management Plan.

Commissioned aircrew Outturn

5% of target requirement

Non-Commissioned Aircrew Outturn

5% of target requirement

Overall Outturn

5% of target requirement

Key Target 2

Output—RAF Initial Ground Training

To recruit and train the required number of Royal Air Force personnel to the standards required to undertake ground appointments.

To compensate for variations in the individual recruiting and training pipelines, successful achievement of this target will be assumed if the total number of graduations is +/-5% of the target.

Overall Outturn

5% target requirement

Officer Basic Specialist Training

5% of target requirement

Airman Basic Specialist Training

5% of target requirement

Key Target 3

Output—Defence Initial Ground Training

To train the required number of Royal Navy and Army personnel to the standards required to undertake ground appointments.
 
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To compensate for variations in the individual recruiting and training pipelines, successful achievement of this target will be assumed if the total number of graduations is +/-5% of the target.

Overall Outturn

5% of target requirement

Officer Basic Specialist Training

5% of target requirement

Ors Basic Specialist Training

5% of target requirement

Key Target 4

Output—Defence Flying Training

To train aircrew of the Royal Navy and Army to standards for entry operational conversion unit training and other specialist flying training courses, as well as providing training places for international students.

RAF

560

RN

164

Army

305

Tri-Service

95

International

111

Total

1,235

Key Target 5

Output—Defence Ground Training

To train personnel of the 3 Services to the standard required for career development and to undertake ground appointments.

RAF	17,077
RN	2,585
Army	7,413
Total	27,075 Key Target 6 Quality of Output To underpin the military effectiveness of the Royal Air Force by the timely provision of military personnel trained to the standards agreed with the Agency's customers. Key Target 7 Efficiency To reduce the average cost of training by improving first time and overall pass rates. EDUCATION AND SKILLS Gateways to the Professions Report The Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education (Bill Rammell): I am able to inform the House that the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has received a copy of Sir Alan Langlands' report examining the gateways to the professions. Sir Alan Langlands was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Mr. Clarke) last year, following the debate on the Higher Education Bill, to act as an independent person to oversee the report. The announcement about his appointment and the terms of reference was made in a statement to the House on 12 February 2004. Sir Alan was asked to examine how the public sector and the professions can sustain and improve recruitment opportunities for graduates, especially those who do not qualify for the full   20 Jul 2005 : Column 87WS   £3,000 support that will be available in grants and bursaries under our plans to introduce variable fees from 2006. He was asked to put forward recommendations on actions that can be taken by employing organisations to provide clear and accessible gateways for all graduates who want to pursue such careers and which will benefit the recruitment needs of these sectors. Sir Alan formally started his work on 1 July 2004, following Royal Assent of the Higher Education Bill, and I am extremely grateful to him for submitting his report within the timescale agreed. Sir Alan has agreed that his report should be published, along with the Government's response, in the autumn. ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS Annual Review of Controls on Imports of Animal Products The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Ben Bradshaw): As required under the Animal Health Act 1981 (as amended by the Animal Health Act 2002) the Government will publish today a review of controls on the import of animal products for the financial year 2004–05. We welcome the opportunity to report on progress made in the past year. This has been delivered by continuing to follow the three key principles of: investment in enforcement; securing better public engagement and awareness; and gaining a greater understanding of the risks. DEFRA continues to work closely with HM Revenue and Customs, the Food Standards Agency, and Local/Port Health Authorities to provide a joined-up approach to risk based targeting of enforcement, and intelligence sharing. There continues to be a significant increase in seizures of illegally imported animal products when compared to previous years. Successful specific targeted phases of publicity activity to raise awareness of the restrictions on the import of products of animal origin, both at home and abroad, have been undertaken as part of our overall ongoing campaign. The Government continue to develop their approach to managing the risk posed by illegal imports, and examine risk across the board, including legal and illegal imports, EU and third country trade, and live animals to get a picture of relative risk, to help determine future enforcement strategy. Copies of the review will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and on the DEFRA "personal food imports" website at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/illegali. Hard copies will be available on request.