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Research and Technology Budget
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been allocated to the research and technology budget by his Department in each year since 1997. [58315]
Mr. Ingram:
The Ministry of Defence expenditure on research and on development, both combined and separately, is published regularly in 'UK Defence Statistics', copies of which are held in the Library of the House. The latest figures available are to be found in table 1.7 of Chapter 1 of 'UK Defence Statistics 2005'.
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SA80 2 Rifle
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the SA80 2 assault rifle in comparison with the AK47. [53031]
Mr. Ingram: Due to significant differences between United Kingdom and former Soviet Union (and Russian) doctrine, the AK47 would be unsuitable for UK service. Therefore no full, trials-based comparison between the UK's standard in service rifle, the SA80 A2, and the AK47 has been made. However, based on the available evidence, our assessment is that the AK47 is far less accurate and has a significantly shorter effective range than the SA80 A2, while, when properly maintained, both weapons are very reliable.
St. Helena
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for changing the size of the United Kingdom's military presence in St. Helena and the surrounding islands. [56802]
Mr. Ingram: There is no United Kingdom military presence on St. Helena or her dependency Tristan da Cunha. We have a small RAF unit on Ascension Island to support the operation of the airfield; there are plans to reduce the number of military posts there through contractorisation and amalgamation, but without loss of capability.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many foreign military (a) ships and (b) aircraft have visited St. Helena in each of the last seven years. [56872]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
There is no airport on St. Helena. The following numbers of foreign military ships have visited St. Helena in each of the last seven years:
| Vessels | |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2001 | 2 |
| 2000 | 3 |
| 1999 | (37)— |
(37) No recorded visits
Warships
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason one Type 23 frigate has been selected not to receive Sonar 2087. [57273]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 13 March 2006]: There is an operational requirement for eight of the thirteen in-service Type 23 frigates to be modified to operate the Sonar 2087 system. The remaining five frigates will retain their existing Sonar 2031 system. The decision on which ships are to be modified is determined by the fitting opportunities within the frigate upkeep programme.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Citybus/Metro
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many passenger journeys have been made on Citybus/Metro in the last five years. [57904]
Mr. Woodward: Translink collect passenger journey data on a financial year basis. The following table provides the number of passenger journeys on Citybus/Metro for the last five years up to March 2005.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 20,250,442 |
| 2001–02 | 20,196,765 |
| 2002–03 | 19,876,922 |
| 2003–04 | 19,493,377 |
| 2004–05 | 19,873,218 |
Concessionary Fares
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the review of the Concessionary Fares Scheme to commence; what format he expects the review to take; and if he will make a statement. [57571]
Mr. Woodward: The Accessible Transport Strategy for Northern Ireland 2015, which was launched in April 2005, included a commitment by the Department for Regional Development (the Department) to review the Northern Ireland Concessionary Fares Scheme (the Scheme) within two years. Officials within the Department for Regional Development are currently finalising the structure and scope of this review. Until this work is complete, I am unable to confirm exactly when the review will commence or precisely what format it will take. However, it is likely that the review will consider such aspects of the Scheme as the categories eligible for concessionary travel, the level of concessions available and the types of transport on which concessionary travel is available.
Decommissioning Commission
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the annual cost has been of the Independent International Commission for Decommissioning since it was set up. [58127]
Mr. Woodward: The IICD's running costs are shared equally between the British and Irish Governments. The total cost to date is £8,381,956, with the British Government contributing £4,190,978.
The annual cost of the IICD to the British Government are laid out in the following table:
(38) Up to and including February 2006.
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Foster Green Hospital
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what respite services are currently provided at the neurology unit at Foster Green Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the future of the unit. [58330]
Mr. Woodward: The respite service for neurology patients at Forster Green Hospital currently has 13 beds available for rehabilitation and respite care.
Following public consultation, the Eastern Health and Social Services Board has proposed that the neurology respite service should be transferred from Forster Green Hospital to temporary accommodation at Musgrave Park Hospital in 2007. Green Park Healthcare Trust is currently working on a business case for a purpose-built facility to maintain the service on the site of Musgrave Park Hospital.
Independent Monitoring Commission
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what definition the Independent Monitoring Commission uses of criminal activity at an organisational level. [57628]
Mr. Woodward: The Independent Monitoring Commission is an independent organisation, so queries of this nature should be referred directly to them.
Licensing
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings (a) the Minister for Social Development and (b) officials from the Department for Social Development have had on liquor licensing in the past 12 months; if he will list the participants; and if he will place the minutes in the Library. [56447]
Mr. Hanson: A table detailing the meetings which (a) I as Minister for Social Development and (b) officials from the Department for Social Development have had on reform of liquor licensing in the past 12 months, together with details of participating organisations, has been placed in the Library. It would not be appropriate to release minutes of those meetings, and that the information they contain is exempt from disclosure under section 35 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as it relates to the formulation of Government policy.
Mr. Dodds:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the removal of the surrender requirement in respect of liquor licensing on (a) the homeless, (b) refugees, (c) asylum seekers, (d) ethnic minorities, (e) sex workers, (f) ex-offenders, (g) older people dependent on alcohol or drugs, (h) people with mental health problems and (i) vulnerable young people, with
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particular reference to (i) looked-after children, (ii) young offenders, (iii) the young homeless, (iv) young people excluded from schools and (v) children with alcohol or drug using parents; [56449]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the removal of the surrender requirement in respect of liquor licensing on (a) antisocial behaviour and (b) under-age drinking; what research he has commissioned on this subject; and if he will make a statement. [56448]
Mr. Hanson: Research on the possible impact of the Government's proposals to reform liquor licensing in Northern Ireland was carried out via an Omnibus Survey of some 1,000 households and a review of literature in the UK and further a field. This included the topics of antisocial behaviour and under-age drinking. The proposals were drawn up in conjunction with a steering group including officials from the Department for Social Development, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Northern Ireland Office and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. A consultation paper was published on 1 November 2005 and circulated to a wide range of organisations. A list of these organisations was placed in the Library. I will carefully consider responses to the consultation exercise before announcing my proposals for legislation.
No specific research was carried out in respect of the potential impact of the removal of the surrender requirement in respect of liquor licensing on the groups listed.
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