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Meteorological Office

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the temperature has been at midday at each of the Met Office's observation stations in the UK on each day in (a) November, (b) December, (c) January, (d) February and (e) March since 1985. [35246]

Mr. Touhig: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the cause of the fire that disrupted services at the Exeter headquarters of the Meteorological Office on 26 October; what damage was caused by the fire; what was the cost of damage to the property; and what estimate he has made of the commercial loss resulting from the fire. [28439]

Mr. Touhig: The incident of 26 October occurred due to a catastrophic failure of the static bypass switch serving the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for Computer Hall Two. The UPS system remained offline until 22 November in order that remedial activities could be carried out. During this time Computer Hall Two's power was supplied by use of the site's standby generators. The incident is still the subject of an investigation by the Met Office's insurer, and it would therefore be inappropriate to speculate further.

Neither the building fabric nor its interior were damaged.

The Exeter headquarters of the Met Office is designed so that key operational systems are duplicated between two independent Computer Halls. Thus the temporary loss of one Computer Hall does not result in the loss of all services. The Met Office also has well rehearsed plans for dealing with business continuity incidents. These plans were invoked on the 26 October to ensure that alternative arrangements were made for those Services that might have been impacted. The Met Office is not aware of any commercial loss as a result of the incident.

Military Training (Falklands)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on military training in the Falklands. [37164]

 
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Mr. Ingram: The Falkland Islands provide an excellent training environment. Joint armed forces training exercises of varying size and duration are conducted throughout the year, including flying training, live fire exercises, command post exercises and ground defence training. The training conducted on the Falkland Islands makes a valuable contribution to the operational capability of our armed forces and, because it is a visible sign of the UK's commitment to their security, attracts wide support from the local population.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since 7 July he has used the London Underground in connection with his official duties. [35025]

John Reid: Once. Defence Ministers use public transport wherever possible and practical to complete their journey. All ministerial travel on official business is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in Travel by Ministers.

Mount Pleasant Airfield

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft and of what type are based at Mount Pleasant airfield. [37163]

Mr. Ingram: The following aircraft types and numbers are currently based at Mount Pleasant airfield:

Type of aircraft	Number currently based at Mount Pleasant
Fixed wing
Tornado F3	4
Hercules C-130	1
VC10	1
Rotary wing
Chinook	1
Sea King	2

Additionally, British International operate two Sikorski S-61 helicopters under contract in support of military tasks.

Opinion Research/Public Relations

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was of (a) public opinion research and (b) public relations contracts awarded by his Department in 2004–05 in (i) each (A) nation and (B)region of the UK and (ii) London. [35891]

Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence placed one contract for a corporate level public opinion poll in Financial Year 2004–05. This research was undertaken at national level and cost £41,736 (inc VAT). Details of other surveys that may have been conducted by the Ministry of Defence and its agencies are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The MOD does not record expenditure on public relations in the form requested, and this information also could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
 
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Parliamentary Questions

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a substantive reply to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for New Forest, East for Named Day Answer on 22 November 2005, on war-disabled UK veterans who live in formerUK colonies, references (a) 29624, (b) 29625, (c) 29626, (d) 29627 and (e) 29628. [36304]

Mr. Touhig [holding answer 12 December 2005]: Ireplied to the hon. Member today.

Porton Down

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which employees of Porton Down visited South Africa in the period from 1975 until the collapse of the apartheid regime; for what purposes; and if he will make a statement. [31254]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 23 November 2005]: In January and March 1992, at the request of the Mozambican Government, the Ministry of Defence sent a total of three employees from, what was then, the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down to Mozambique as part of two missions to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons. In order to fulfil these verification missions the individuals were required to transit through South Africa to reach the area under investigation in Mozambique. The investigation team which visited the site of the alleged use of chemical weapons was a combined UK and UN team.

PowderJect (Vaccines)

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has received supplies of vaccines originating from PowderJect. [34035]

Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has received supplies of Tetanus, Influenza, Yellow Fever and Smallpox vaccines originating from PowderJect or from Chiron Evans/Evans vaccines, companies which were acquired by PowderJect.

Public Appointments

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the former hon. Members who left Parliament in 2005 who have since been appointed to public bodies by his Department, broken down by party; and who was responsible for making each appointment. [36680]

Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has not appointed any former hon. Members who left Parliament in 2005 to its public bodies.

Recruitment Trends

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recruitment trends for the UK armed forces. [36696]

Mr. Touhig: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 December 2005, Official Report, column 1679, to the hon. Member for Windsor (Adam Afriyie).
 
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Royal Air Force

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency will be relocated when RAF Innsworth is vacated; and when the relocation is due to take place. [36927]

Mr. Ingram: A study into the options for the relocation of the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency from RAF Innsworth in 2008 is being conducted. The final outcome is not expected to be known until around July 2006.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects RAF Innsworth will cease to operate as part of RAF Headquarters. [370001]

Mr. Ingram: We expect that RAF Innsworth will cease to support Headquarters Personnel and Training Command following the move of the Personnel Management Agency to RAF Headquarters planned for 2008.

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