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Joint Strike Fighter

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications of theproposal by the US Congress to scrap the F35B version of the Joint Strike Fighter for UK defence procurement. [42375]

 
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Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December 2005, Official Report, column 1103W, to the hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr. Lewis).

Procurement Contracts

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the opening up of the European defence procurement market; and if he will make a statement. [42071]

Mr. Ingram: We support the work of the European Commission and the European Defence Agency to improve the transparency and openness of European defence equipment markets. This work will contribute significantly to the development of a more efficient, cost-effective and competitive European defence industry better able to meet the equipment capability requirements of our armed forces. Industry will benefit from greater competitive opportunities and taxpayers will obtain better value for money.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the awarding of UK defence procurement contracts to non-UK companies; and if he will make a statement. [42072]

Mr. Ingram: We continue to define the UK defence industry as embracing all defence suppliers that create value, employment, technology or intellectual assets in the UK. This includes both UK and foreign-owned companies.

In many areas we can and do rely on overseas sources without compromising national security, and have made progress in recent years in developing increased assurances of security of supply. There are also some critical areas where we have to maintain national industrial capabilities to ensure our national security. The recently published Defence Industrial Strategy identifies those capabilities. Where a contract can be let to overseas suppliers without compromising these and the overseas bid represents the best long-term value for money, taking into account relevant wider factors, we will continue to procure from overseas, so that we can continue to access the equipment best suited to our needs from the widest range of suitable suppliers.

Territorial Army

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Territorial Army have been mobilised out of role in the last five years. [41656]

Mr. Touhig: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trident

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what indications he has received from the United States Department of Defense of the future plans for the development and manufacture of Trident missiles. [42197]

John Reid: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1566W, to the hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr. Lewis).
 
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Welfare Services (Army Barracks)

Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the hours of availability of welfare providers are at Catterick barracks; [38674]

(2) what steps he has taken to monitor the availability of welfare providers outside working hours on Army barracks. [38673]

Mr. Touhig: 24-hour welfare provision is available to all soldiers at both the unit level and through the Army Welfare Services. All soldiers, recruits and trainees are made aware of the provisions available to them and the responsibility of the Chain of Command, including their freedom to approach any civilian welfare agency direct if they prefer. A credit card size document is issued to every recruit and trainee, listing the contact details and hours of availability, of individuals and organisations that can be contacted.

No specific steps have been taken to monitor the availability of welfare providers as duty personnel are responsible for providing cover outside normal working hours, in addition to the out of hour support provided by external agencies.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Alcohol Licences

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications have been granted for 24 hour sale of alcohol licences in (a) Swansea East and (b) Wales; and if she will make a statement. [42043]

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture,Media and Sport how many applications havebeen granted for licences for 24 hour sale of alcohol in (a) Doncaster, (b) Barnsley and (c) South Yorkshire. [42115]

James Purnell: This information is held by local licensing authorities.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State forCulture, Media and Sport how many applications have been granted for licences for 24 hour sale of alcoholin (a) Bristol and (b) the constituency of Bristol East. [41600]

James Purnell: This information is normally available from local licensing authorities but, as announced in our Press Notice of 23 September 2005, Bristol is a scrutiny council with which DCMS is working closely to monitor how the Licensing Act 2003 is being implemented. According to Bristol city council, nine licences for 24-hour sale of alcohol have been granted in Bristol-to three supermarkets, one casino, two restaurants and three nightclubs. The Department does not hold details for Bristol East.

Departmental Expenditure

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many widescreen televisions have been purchased by her Department for use in London Headquarters in each of the last five years; and what the cost was in each year. [39150]

 
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Mr. Lammy: The Department purchased a (widescreen) plasma screen unit for £2,750.00 in 2004–05.

The Royal Parks Agency purchased a widescreen television in 2005–06 for the sum of £222.99.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the administrative costs were of each non-departmental public body for which she has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable. [40065]

Mr. Lammy: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The administration budgets regime overseen by Treasury does not cover non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).

The split of total departmental spending between identifiable and non-identifiable expenditure is set out in the 'Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis', copies of which can be found in the House Library.

Digital Television (Northern Ireland)

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of households in Northern Ireland receive digital television via (a) satellite, (b) cable and (c) terrestrial provision. [42131]

James Purnell [holding answer 16 January 2006]: According to Ofcom, overall household digital TV penetration in Northern Ireland is 45 per cent. We do not have figures breaking this down by platform.

Elite Athletes (Funding)

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether UK Sport's submission to her Department on funding for elite athletes was endorsed by the British Olympic Association. [42964]

Mr. Caborn: UK Sport's submission to the Department was endorsed by the UK Sport Board. The British Olympic Association (BOA) played an important role in developing and agreeing the 'top line' position and funding presented in the submission. This included taking part in a series of meetings with UK Sport and representatives from 22 of the 26 summer Olympic sports.

The chair of the BOA wrote on 2 December to the Department expressing its broad support for one of the options contained in UK Sport's submission.

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she considered the letter from the chair of the British Olympic Association to her on 2 December 2005 about elite funding to be a funding submission. [42965]

Mr. Caborn: The chair of the British Olympic Association's letter of 2 December to the Secretary of State expressed broad support for one of the options contained in UK Sport's submission. It is not considered to be a funding submission.
 
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