| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Jan 2006 : Column 1647W—continued
Deportations
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which country each of those detained pending deportation originated; and to which country it is intended to deport them, subject to an acceptable Memorandum of Understanding. [41338]
Mr. McNulty: 10 persons from several countries including Algeria and Jordan are currently detained, under immigration powers, pending deportation to their country of origin for reasons of national security. In all cases eventual deportation is subject to the negotiation of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and specific assurances with the home country of the individuals concerned.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the immigration and nationality directorate will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Aylesbury of 23 September 2005 to the immigration and nationality directorate about the case of Ms V.E.S. of Aylesbury (reference S1198241 and B22849/5). [44547]
Mr. McNulty: The director general of the immigration and nationality directorate wrote to my hon. Friend on 18 January.
DEFENCE
Afghanistan
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money the Government spent on counter-narcotics work in Afghanistan during 2004–05. [42987]
Dr. Howells: I have been asked to reply.
The UK spent £24,442,350.00 on counter-narcotics (CN) work in Afghanistan during 2004–05. The activity this funded included: the running of seven training courses on intelligence and investigation techniques for the Afghan Counter-Narcotics Police; support for over five major seizures of opiates; the provision of a mobile
20 Jan 2006 : Column 1648W
forensic laboratory; and help to establish regional law enforcement offices in seven provincial centres outside Kabul.
On 5 September, I announced new UK funding for Afghan CN in a joint press conference with Afghan CN Minister Qaderi. Details of this are available at http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c-Page&cid=1007029391638&a= KArticle&aid=1125559465083%20&year=2005&month= 2005–09–01&date=2005–09–05. The UK is to provide more than £270 million over the next three years. £130 million of the funding will be provided by the Department for International Development with the rest coming from other Government Departments including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures will govern the UK's handling of prisoners captured and detained by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces in Afghanistan when captured by UK contingents (a) as a part of NATO ISAF and (b) operating as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom. [44266]
Mr. Ingram: All personnel receive appropriate pre-deployment training in advance of commencing operations; for those to whom it is relevant, this includes specific training on the rules and principles involved in handling prisoners of war, internees and detainees; this can also include briefing by institutions such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
United Kingdom procedures governing the handling of prisoners are consistent with the principles of the Geneva Conventions whether detaining as part of an ISAF operation or Operation Enduring Freedom. Joint Warfare Publication 1–10 "Prisoners of War Handling" covers the principles, responsibilities, practices and procedures for the UK armed forces in handling prisoners of war. This publication is available on the Ministry of Defence website at www.mod.uk/jdcc.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many mobilised reservists in each of the three services he expects to be required for deployment to Helmand province, Afghanistan. [43286]
20 Jan 2006 : Column 1649W
Mr. Ingram: No final decisions have been made on the possible deployment of British forces to Southern Afghanistan as part of the expansion of the international security assistance force. Consequently it would be premature to give details of the number of reservists that might be required.
Audible Fire Alarms
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the premises occupied by his Department is fitted with audible fire alarms. [42884]
Mr. Touhig: The information is not collected in this form and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring compliance with fire safety law in premises it occupies. That includes provision of fire detection and warning systems that are appropriate to the circumstances of the case.
British Base, Cyprus
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to public funds of the British base in Cyprus has been in each of the last five years. [42436]
Mr. Ingram: The costs of maintaining UK military facilities on Cyprus for each of the last five years are as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 223 |
| 2003–04 | 247 |
| 2002–03 | 240 |
| 2001–02 | 206 |
| 2000–01 | 213 |
C-130 Hercules
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the defensive aids fitted to the Hercules aircraft shot down in Iraq in 2005. [43370]
John Reid [holding answer 19 January 2006]: The Hercules that was shot down was fully equipped with infra-red defensive counter measures, plus an enhanced defensive capability.
Departmental Estate
Mr. Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the disposal of departmental land in Livingston constituency. [44020]
Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has no current plans to dispose of any land or property in the Livingston constituency.
Departmental Vehicles
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cars are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; what models the cars are; what type of petrol each model requires; and what the fuel efficiency is of each model. [41353]
20 Jan 2006 : Column 1650W
Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence currently leases in excess of 8,800 cars for non-operational use, the overwhelming majority of which are powered by diesel engines. The requirement for vehicles is specified in output terms rather than by vehicle model. Information on the total number and fuel efficiency of each model leased is not therefore held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
In addition there are a small quantity of cars owned by the Ministry of Defence for use on operations. Information on these is being withheld on the basis that disclosure could prejudice operational capability.
Iraq
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 223W, on Iraq, in what month in 2002–03 operations commenced for the purposes of the calculation of total expenditure on operations in Iraq. [43138]
John Reid: Operation Telic commenced on the 20 March 2003 at which time the Ministry of Defence was allowed to claim the additional cost of the operation from the Treasury Reserve.
Ministry of Defence Stores
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total gross replacement value of Ministry of Defence stores lodged with its contractors and subsequently found to be either lost or otherwise not available for use for Ministry of Defence purposes was in each quarter since January 1999; and what costs have been recovered by his Department in respect of such stores. [43202]
Mr. Ingram: [holding answer 18 January 2006]: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, detailed as follows are the financial recoveries notified to the Department's Asset Accounting Centre (AAC) during the period April 2000 to December 2005.
(16) No recoveries notified
20 Jan 2006 : Column 1651W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |