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21 Jul 2005 : Column 2113W—continued
Cadets
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many army cadets units are cap badged (a) Queen's Lancashire Regiment, (b) King's Own Borderers and (c) King's Regiment; and how many went on to join each regiment full-time in each of the last three years. [13011]
Mr. Touhig: The information requested is shown in the following table. However, our records do not illustrate which regiments the Cadets went on to join, only from which regiments they originated. Also, as individuals joining the Army do not always declare that they have been cadets, the following numbers may be understated.
Correspondence
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many letters to his Department from hon. Members in Session (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are (i) one month old, (ii) two months old, (iii) three months old, (iv) four months old and (v) over six months old. [13859]
Mr. Touhig: As at 20 July 2005, our ministerial correspondence database showed seven letters from hon. Members received in Session 2004–05 had still to be given a response of any kind—other than a standard acknowledgement letter. Of these, two were between four and five months old; one was between five and six months old; and four were over six months old.
For the current Session, there were 19 such letters that were between one and two months old, and four that were between two and three months old.
Sudan
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many specialist British troops are currently engaged in peacekeeping in Darfur; and how many more he plans to send. [13767]
Mr. Ingram:
Five British troops are currently deployed in support of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), with a further three to deploy in the course of the next month.
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One UK airlift specialist has been deployed to the Addis Ababa HQ and two logistical experts have been deployed to the Joint Logistics Operations Centre in Darfur.
Two UK officers, currently embedded in NATO, have deployed to assist in developing AMIS's planning and training capabilities. A further three, also embedded in NATO, are due to deploy in the course of the next month, to perform the same function.
In addition, we have offered a team of up to 15 personnel from the Mobile Air Movements Squadron, as required to support the Africa Union's expansion requirements.
Defence Supply Chain Review
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will announce the outcome of the Defence Supply Chain Review. [10293]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 7 July 2005]: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence today.
Defence Test and Evaluation Group
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether reversionary departmental freeholds are held by the Defence Test and Evaluation Group (DTEG); to whom DTEG reports; and if he will make a statement. [13319]
Mr. Touhig: The Defence Test and Evaluation Group (DTEG) ultimately reports to the chief executive of the Defence Procurement Agency, and is responsible for managing the Ministry of Defence's (MOD's) Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA) with QinetiQ for the delivery of MOD's test and evaluation requirements. The LTPA contract confers on QinetiQ a licence to occupy a number of MOD owned sites for the purpose of delivering the company's obligations under the contract. As the sites are not leased to QinetiQ, the issue of reversionary freeholds does not arise and DTEG does not hold any reversionary departmental freeholds. The sites remain in MOD ownership.
Departmental Facilities
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the economic value to local communities of each of his Department's facilities with staff of over 10 personnel. [14911]
Mr. Touhig: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Work Overview
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will arrange a Tuesday morning briefing by Ministers and senior officials introducing the work of the Department to new hon. Members. [11045]
Mr. Touhig:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) gave on 18 July 2005, Official Report, column 1281W.
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Equality and Diversity
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Department has spent promoting equality and diversity in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [14669]
Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has a wide range of policies covering all strands of diversity (including work-life balance). These policies are among the most forward thinking in the public sector and achieve a consistently high standard in audits and benchmarking exercises.
The promotion of these policies and the encouragement of equality and diversity more generally, is carried out at departmental, budget and individual unit level by both civilian staff and the armed forces. It can take many forms including staff networks, conferences, outreach projects and the sponsorship of awards. This information is not held centrally and it would be disproportionately costly to give an accurate assessment of the total amount spent by the Department on this work.
Fleet Procurement
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what notice each (a) Aircraft Carrier and (b) Landing Platform (helicopter and dock) will be available to the fleet during the next 12 months. [13370]
Mr. Touhig: The current planned readiness levels of Aircraft Carriers and Landing Platforms over the next 12 months are as follows:
Freedom of Information
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests have been answered by the Department; and in how many cases (a) information was wholly exempted, (b) information was partly exempted and (c) the requests were answered in full. [14954]
Mr. Touhig:
To date Ministry of Defence has received 3,163 requests. Details of the performance of MOD in the first three months of full operation of the Freedom of Information Act were published by the Department of Constitutional Affairs on 23 June 2005. The information includes requests received, and outcomes categorised as wholly exempted, partly exempted and answered in full. A second exercise looking at the second three months will be published by DCA in due course.
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Future Rapid Effects System
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reasons are for the change in the Future Rapid Effects System vehicle requirement since July 2004; and how these vehicles will be deployed. [12683]
Mr. Ingram: The Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) is currently in the initial Assessment Phase, one of the purposes of which is to refine the requirement in the light of more detailed analysis of capabilities and technological reality.
Since July 2004 there have been two significant changes to the FRES requirement. The first is our planning assumption for the number of FRES vehicles we expect to procure. To meet the Army's requirement to replace a wide range of vehicles this assumption has been increased to around 3,500 vehicles.
The second change is the removal of the requirement for FRES vehicles to be deployable in C-130 aircraft. This was always recognised as being challenging, and further analysis has shown that to meet it we would have to make unacceptable compromises, particularly on protection. In addition, in the timeframe in which FRES will enter service the balance of our air transport fleet will shift towards the new, more capable A400M.
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