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Iraq

Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) which organisation is in charge of the investigation into the deaths of the six Royal Military Police who werekilled at Al Majarr Al Kabir in Iraq on 24 June 2003; [30736]

(2) when charges will be brought against the killers of the six Royal Military Police who died at Al Majarr Al Kabir in Iraq on 24 June 2003. [30734]

Mr. Ingram: The Central Criminal Court of Iraq will conduct the investigation into the deaths of the six Royal Military Police in Iraq on 24 June 2003. The Central Criminal Court of Iraq follows the 'investigative model' whereby an investigative judge directs and oversees the investigation before deciding whether to refer the case to the trial court. The case papers, which take account of the Royal Military Police investigation into the incident, have been lodged with the court, to enable the investigative stage to begin. It will be for the investigative judge to decide whether to refer the case to the trial court once this stage has concluded.

Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which UK organisations, including police forces, have been involved in the investigation into the deaths of six Royal Military Police who were killed at Al Majarr Al Kabir in Iraq on 24 June 2003. [30737]

 
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Mr. Ingram: The incident in which six Royal Military policemen were killed in Al Majarr Al Kabir on 24 June 2003 has been the subject of an investigation by the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch.

Her Majesty's coroner will be holding an inquest into the deaths of the six soldiers in 2006.

IT Projects

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many IT projects have been developed for his Department since 2001; and whether he has agreed to make public (a) in full and (b) in part Gateway Reviews for these projects. [23492]

Mr. Ingram: There is no central list of IT projects developed for the Department since 2001 and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Two major IT projects have been subject to the Gateway Review process, however, these are confidential to the Senior Responsible Owner and in line with Office of Government Commerce guidelines are not published as a matter of routine.

Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Programme

Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the target date is for the submission of a Main Gate proposal for the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programme. [36036]

Mr. Ingram: The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) project is in its Assessment Phase, the aim of which is to balance the key parameters of performance, cost and time. Proposals for a Main Gate investment decision will be made when we know with confidence the risks involved in building the MARS vessels, when we have a proper understanding of the costs involved and the implication in terms of the wider interface with other projects.

Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Assessment Phase of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability project is expected to be complete; whether it is considering (a) converting existing commercial ships and (b) building (i) hulls and (ii) complete ships abroad; and what the estimated cost of the assessment phase is. [36037]

Mr. Ingram: The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) project has only recently entered the Assessment Phase, the aim of which is to balance the key parameters of performance, cost and time. It is therefore too early to say what the final designs and specifications for these vessels might be and where the work will be carried out. We will use the assessment phase to look into the potential options, taking into account best value for money and wider industrial factors, before any decisions are made at the main gate investment point.

We expect that we will spend up to £44 million during the MARS Assessment Phase.
 
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Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are members of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Integrated Planning Team; and what the Team's budget is. [36039]

Mr. Ingram: There are currently 43 members of Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Integrated Project Team (IPT), although this figure is planned to rise to 54 by the end of this financial year. The MARS IPT has operating costs of some £2 million for this financial year, which includes staff costs and all associated administrative expenditure.

Nuclear Weapons

Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Government want to retain nuclear weapons. [32349]

John Reid: The Government's policy on nuclear weapons was set out in the 1998 strategic defence review. In the 2003 Defence White Paper (at paragraph 3.11), we set out our position as follows:

We are committed to working towards a safer world in which there is no requirement for nuclear weapons and continue to play a full role in international efforts to strengthen arms control and prevent the proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. However, the continuing risk from the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the certainty that a number of other countries will retain substantial nuclear arsenals, mean that our minimum nuclear deterrent capability, currently represented by Trident, is likely to remain a necessary element of our security."

The Government are committed to retaining the independent nuclear deterrent.

Nuclear-related Research

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has allocated towards nuclear-related research in each of the last five years. [36602]

John Reid: Expenditure on nuclear-related research funded by the Ministry of Defence over the last five years amounts to the following:

Financial year	Approx expenditure, 2005–06 prices (£ million)
2000–01	87
2001–02	123
2002–03	63
2003–04	62
2004–05	79

Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2005, Official Report, column 1263W, on the Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle, how many of the 401 vehicles ordered will replace (a) the Spartan, (b) the Truck Utility Medium (Landrover), (c) the Saxon and (d) the FV432 and FV436. [33576]

Mr. Ingram: Under current plans, we expect the PANTHER Command and Liaison Vehicle to replace the following numbers of in-service vehicles operating in command and liaison roles:
 
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	Number
(a) Spartan	137
(b) Truck Utility Medium (Landrover)	225
(c) Saxon	3
(d) FV432	31
(e) FV436	5

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the definitions are of the terms (a) 'in service date' and (b) 'initial operating capability' as used in parliamentary answers. [36160]

Mr. Ingram: As defined on the MOD's Acquisition Management System website (www.ams.mod.uk), In Service Date (ISD) is declared when the military capability provided by the system is assessed as available for operational use. Initial Operating Capability (IOC) is the state achieved when the military capability is available in its minimum useful deployable form. The specific requirements for ISD and IOC will vary between projects depending on the nature of the role and the equipment in question, and are agreed at the point when the main investment decision is taken (referred to as Main Gate). Different definitions may have been used in projects begun before the introduction of SMART acquisition.

Project Hyperion

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much was allocated for setting up the collocated Army headquarters under Project Hyperion; and whether this budget has been revised; [37002]

(2) what changes to staffing levels will take place when the collocated Army headquarters are operational under Project Hyperion. [37003]

Mr. Ingram: It is too early to be precise about the impact on staffing levels. For planning purposes, we assume that collocation will lead to a reduction of at least 240 civilian and 100 military posts. However, the Army is still determining the possible size and structure of the new HQ organisation and we are unlikely to make an announcement until late 2006. Similarly, project costs and the budget for Project Hyperion continue to be refined and will be confirmed at Main Gate, which is unlikely to occur before November 2006.

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