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1 Nov 2005 : Column 909W—continued
DEFENCE
Aircraft Crashes
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the offices of the (a) Officer Commanding Flying/Chief Superintendent at Boscombe Down and (b) the Air Officer Commander in Chief HQSTC hold copies of remarks they made in the Board of Inquiry into the crash of RAF Harrier GR7 ZG475 on 1 June 1995. [20598]
Mr. Touhig:
A search of the records at Headquarters RAF Strike Command has been conducted, but no copy of the remarks made by the Air Officer Commanding in Chief can be found. RAF Boscombe Down has transferred all the files from that period to archives; the
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relevant file is being recalled, and I will write further to the right hon. Member when the search of that file has been completed.
Armed Forces Recruitment
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on recruitment in Northern Ireland for the armed forces in each year since 2001. [23199]
Mr. Touhig: The information is not held centrally in the format requested. Nevertheless, the full recruiting costs specific for Northern Ireland for the Naval Service and the RAF in each full year since financial year 2001–02 were as follows:
| Financial year | Naval Service | RAF | (29)Army |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 0.176 | 0.260 | — |
| 2002–03 | 0.189 | 0.286 | — |
| 2003–04 | 0.180 | 0.284 | — |
| 2004–05 | 0.124 | 0.289 | 2.907 |
(29) Prior to FY 2004–05, it is not possible to identify accurately how much was spent on Army recruiting by specific areas.
Combat Vehicles
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Scorpion and (b) Sabre vehicles were withdrawn from service in 2004; and which vehicles replaced them. [22351]
Mr. Ingram: The Scorpion was withdrawn from service in 1995 and not replaced. 132 of the vehicles were converted into the Sabre variant and 32 were converted to Salamander. The Sabre fleet was withdrawn from service in 2004 and not replaced. The CVR(T) fleet as a whole is scheduled to be replaced by elements of the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) suite of vehicles and the Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle (CLV). The initial variants of FRES are due to be in service early in the next decade and the Panther is due to come into service in 2007.
Dean Hill
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the name of the purchaser of the Dean Hill site; and if he will make a statement about the future use of the site. [22598]
Mr. Touhig: The closing date for tenders for the main site (of about 156 ha in size) is 10 November 2005. We hope to be able to select a preferred bidder early in December 2005 and to complete the sale by the end of February 2006. It is unlikely that the name of the successful bidder will be made public until after we have exchanged contracts during February 2006.
Additionally, four former owners have expressed an interest in buying back their agricultural land outside the security fence and the remaining agricultural land outside the wire is being offered for sale to tenant farmers.
All of the houses have now been sold except for one which is likely to be bought by a housing association.
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Departmental Energy Consumption
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much energy has been consumed by his Department in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on energy in each year. [22454]
Mr. Touhig: The table details the amount of energy consumed by the Ministry of Defence in the last five years—reported in energy returns from Top Level Budgets.
Since 2000–01 the Ministry of Defence has reported aggregated utilities (gas, electricity and water supply) expenditure in the Departmental Resources and Accounts. Separate energy costs are not collated. Expenditure on utilities are also published in the National Statistics Publication: UK Defence Statistics 2005: Table 1.8a. Defence Expenditure Outturn in the UK by Industry Group. A copy is available in the Library of the House.
Future Rapid Effects System
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Future Rapid Effects System Fleet review has been (a) framed and (b) completed; and if he will make a statement. [22355]
Mr. Ingram: It is planned to hold the Fleet Review in December 2005. This will be the opportunity to assess the performance, time and cost characteristics of candidate solutions to the FRES requirement and to focus the future programme of analysis.
Gulf War Veterans
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Gulf War veterans live in Northern Ireland. [19568]
Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence does not routinely compile information on the whereabouts of Gulf veterans.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the personal medical records of veterans from Wales of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict have been lost. [22346]
Mr. Touhig:
Medical records of members of the armed forces are not held centrally. For those veterans still serving, medical records are normally held locally by Service Medical Officers. For individuals who have left the Services, the normal practice is to offer the records to their GPs for permanent retention. It is not possible, therefore, to estimate the number that may have been lost.
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In October 2001, Ministry of Defence published the paper Medical Records in the Gulf". This paper describes the arrangements for medical record keeping during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict; discusses a number of reasons why records that were kept may not have been complete, and provides guidance to Gulf veterans on how to obtain their service medical records. A copy of this paper is in the Library of the House and it is available on the MoD's website at: www.gulfwar.mod.uk.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the final report on the Porton Down studies into vaccines administered to service men and women during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict to be published. [22498]
Mr. Touhig: Interim results from the main study in our Vaccines Interactions Research Programme, announced on 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 55WS, have been published and show no apparent adverse health consequences following the administration of vaccines and/or pyridostigmine bromide (the active ingredient in Nerve Agent Pre-treatment tablets). Final results are expected to be submitted for peer-reviewed publication this year.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans from Wales of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict have been examined as part of the Medical Assessment Programme. [22499]
Mr. Touhig: As at 20 October 2005, at the time they attended Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme, 113 Gulf veterans from the 1990–91 conflict were recorded with addresses in Wales.
Inoculations
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) regulars and (b) reservists have had the necessary inoculations as recommended by his Department prior to deployment; how many have paid for their own inoculations in each year since March 2003; and if he will make a statement. [21710]
Mr. Touhig [holding answer 25 October 2005]: Vaccination status is an important aspect of operational readiness of armed forces personnel. The Ministry of Defence has a duty of care to all its personnel, although vaccinations are accepted voluntarily and can be refused by individuals.
Information on regular and reservist inoculations is held in different formats and at different levels by the single Services and as such it is not possible to provide a full account of the vaccination status of the armed forces as a whole. To provide this information, individual medical records from all Services would have to be examined at disproportionate cost.
Every effort is made to ensure that personnel do not pay for their inoculations themselves. While this situation is rare, it can occur if reservists visit their own GP prior to deployment to receive any recommended vaccines. However, provided the individual has a record of their immunisation, they can apply to have any costs incurred reimbursed.
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The exact number of personnel who have paid for a recommended inoculation is unknown. This information would have to be collated from individual medical records and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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