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20 Oct 2005 : Column 1194W—continued
Iraq
Adam Price:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2005, Official Report,
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columns 1204–05W, on Iraq, whether the British deputy senior judge advocate in Iraq told his British superiors about the Red Cross report he summarised. [9090]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 July 2005]: A copy of the November ICRC report, together with a summary were sent by the British officer to a number of senior staff within CJTF-7, including to the office of the senior British military representative—Iraq (SBMR(I), who was located in a different HQ from the British deputy SJA. We have not been able to ascertain whether that report ever arrived, and the then SBMR(I) did not read the report or the summary.
However, SBMR-I was briefed on the ICRC report, together with Lt Gen Sanchez, by US personnel. That briefing did not raise major concerns about abuse at Abu Ghraib. Issues of mishandling" were raised, but it was made clear that direction had already been given that such practices should stop. Further concerns were raised about record keeping and procedures for informing the relatives of internees of their whereabouts. SBMR-I directed that these procedures should be reviewed, and improvements made.
SBMR-I was not aware of the detail of the November ICRC report, and was not aware of specific allegations of abuse at Abu Ghraib.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the activities of British armed forces in Basra on 20 September. [19491]
John Reid: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made to the House on 10 October 2005, Official Report, columns 24–27.
Merlin Helicopters
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Merlin helicopters are in operation with the Royal Navy, broken down by (a) condition and (b) age. [18054]
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Mr. Ingram: The Royal Navy has 23 Merlin helicopters in operation. This is in line with the current operational plan. The status of these helicopters as at 12 October 2005 is as follows:
(33)This relates to the first time an aircraft's rotors are engaged.
Of the 11 aircraft out of service on 12 October all but four were expected to re-enter service within one to three days.
Military Personnel
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) trained strength and (b) trained requirement is of the UK (i) regular armed forces, (ii) reserve forces and (iii) Territorial Army. [18298]
Mr. Ingram: The most recent available trained strength and requirement figures for UK regular and reserve forces are given in the following table:
(34)Figures for RAF Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Volunteer Reserves are establishment not requirement.
(35)FTRS strength figures include Full Commitment (FC), Home Commitment (HC) and Limited Commitment (LC) individuals. For the Army, FC and LC individuals serve against the requirement while HC individuals fill posts specifically for FTRS personnel. For the RAF, FC individuals serve against the regular requirement while HC and LC individuals fill posts specifically for FTRS personnel.
(36)There is no requirement for Regular Reserves.
(37)The Army Regular Reserve exclude RARO V.
(38)The Regular Reserve include 120 mobilised Army personnel and 10 mobilised RAF personnel. The Volunteer Reserve include 30 mobilised Naval Service personnel, 1,120 mobilised Army personnel and 40 mobilised RAF personnel.
(39)The RAF Volunteer Reserve (Full Time) have a strength of 100 against a requirement of 90, but are already included in RAF FTRS figures.
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Nimrod
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on plans for the replacement or upgrade of the Nimrod. [12710]
Mr. Ingram: There are two types of the Nimrod aircraft currently in service. The Nimrod MR2 is a maritime reconnaissance aircraft and is planned to be replaced by the Nimrod MRA4. Flight trials of the MRA4 are progressing. A production proposal was submitted by BAE Systems earlier this month, and is being considered by the Ministry of Defence. A production contract will depend on an assessment that the design is mature enough to enter production and on agreement of an affordable price.
The Nimrod R1 is an electronic reconnaissance aircraft that examines radio and radar emissions. We are assessing cost effective solutions to our requirement to maintain this capability, including whether to upgrade or replace the aircraft.
Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the unit production cost, broken down by (a) indirect resource departmental expenditure limit, (b) direct resource departmental expenditure limit and (c) capital departmental expenditure limit, is for the Panther command and liaison vehicle; [13275]
(2) what the cost, broken down by (a) indirect resource departmental expenditure limit, (b) direct resource departmental expenditure limit and (c) capital departmental expenditure limit is for the Panther command and liaison vehicle contract. [13276]
Mr. Ingram: The current Unit Production Cost for the two variants of the Panther command and liaison vehicle is £320,000 and £240,000 (excluding VAT). These figures are capital departmental expenditure limit (CDEL) only. Development costs are excluded from the figures as are indirect resource expenditure limit (RDEL Indirect) costs, comprising a notional cost of capital charge, which for each variant is currently assessed at £15,000 and £12,000 per vehicle respectively.
The current cost to bring the Panther command and liaison vehicle into service is as follows: (a) indirect resource departmental expenditure limit of some £6 million, (b) direct resource departmental expenditure limit of some £2.5 million, and (c) capital departmental expenditure limit of £166 million, with further contracts envisaged to a total value reaching £193 million.
Public Service Agreement Target
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what metrics have been established for measuring the Department's success in achieving public service agreement objective II; and what weighting has been assigned to training projects (AVTS, DTR, RSME) in terms of contributing to the achievement of this objective. [14751]
Mr. Ingram:
The way in which public service agreement targets are measured is set out in the technical notes that support the agreement. The technical notes
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for the MOD'S public service agreements for 2003–04 to 2005–06 and for 2005–06 to 2006–07 are published on the MOD and Treasury websites.
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