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18 Apr 2006 : Column 628W—continued

Seaford Drill Hall

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 27 March 2006 to question 61241, on Seaford Drill Hall, if he will consult (a) Seaford town council and (b) the hon. Member for Lewes as part of the process of identifying a future use. [63564]

Mr. Touhig: Discussions will commence shortly with Seaford town council, and others who are interested in the future of the Drill Hall, to explore their interest and to explain the procedures followed in the disposal of surplus Ministry of Defence property. Although progress is being made in identifying a future use for the site, no decision has yet been made.

Service Personnel (Discharge)

Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have been discharged into the care of the NHS in each of the last five years due to stress-related medical problems. [63249]

Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence recognises that stress-related illnesses can be serious and disabling conditions, but ones that can be treated. We attach a high priority to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. Currently, less than 0.1 per cent. of all Service Personnel have had to be discharged annually from the armed forces because of psychological illness.

Unfortunately, we are unable to give precise figures for Personnel discharged due to stress-related problems since this is not held centrally. Collation of such figures would be complicated by the fact that stress-related medical conditions", could include both mental health
 
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stress conditions and physical conditions of which stress is a component, and any breakdown of figures would not be able to differentiate between these.

It is the long established practice that the medical care of discharged Service Personnel, whether regular or reservist, passes to the NHS. This is subsequent to the individual either recovering from their condition or their condition being at a stage where it is unlikely to improve significantly. When individuals need to be discharged into NHS care, we make arrangements to ensure smooth transition.

Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the aftercare provided for service personnel discharged into the care of the NHS. [63250]

Mr. Touhig: No formal assessment has been made of the aftercare provided for service personnel once they leave the armed forces and responsibility for their healthcare transfers to the NHS. Most personnel are discharged from the armed forces fully fit or with only minor health or fitness problems. For those few with significant illness or disability, the aim before discharge is to achieve maximal recovery and functional outcome and to plan with the civilian services ongoing health and social care in the civilian community. The cross-governmental Veterans Programme aims to ensure excellent public services for veterans. To deliver and monitor this, my Department works closely with the four UK Health Departments and with the veterans' community.

Territorial Army

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 836W, on the Territorial Army, how many of those specialists that have reported for mobilisation more than once in the past five years have been deployed more than once in the last three years. [56067]

Mr. Touhig [holding answer 3 March 2006]: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The following table shows those specialist personnel who have reported for mobilization more than once in the past three years. These include individuals who subsequently did not mobilize for medical or other reasons. They also include personnel who may have undertaken a number of very short deployments. Individual records are checked to ensure that personnel do not breach the provisions of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 in respect of their periods of mobilization.
Specialist areaNumber of personnel
Drivers104
Clergy1
Administrative11
Ammunition3
Construction0
Catering0
Petroleum1
Policing5
Medical59
Logistical198
Legal0
Linguistic0
Electrical Engineering2




Note:
The method used to identify the logistical category means that the driver population are likely to be double-counted in the logistical personnel figures.





 
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Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of each Territorial Army centre in Lancashire. [63174]

Mr. Touhig: Further to my answer of 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1007W, on the increased Territorial Army presence in Chorley, I can confirm that there will be no changes to the other Territorial Army Centres in Lancashire, other than that the Regimental Headquarters and Headquarter Company of the Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers (based in Preston) will be retitled the 4th Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.

World Cup (Complimentary Tickets)

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complimentary tickets his Department has received for games taking place at the FIFA World cup 2006 in Germany. [63906]

Mr. Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has not received any complimentary tickets for games taking place at the FIFA World cup 2006 in Germany.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Fair Trade

Jo Swinson: To ask the honourable Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps the Commission is taking to encourage its British suppliers of souvenirs to source their raw materials from fair trade sources. [64168]

Nick Harvey: There is no formal framework currently in place to encourage British suppliers of souvenirs sold by the House to source raw materials from fair trade suppliers. Suppliers have been asked and will continue to be asked if they are intending to move to sourcing fair trade raw materials.

Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the honourable Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the Refreshment Department's policy is on the procurement of fair trade produce. [64419]

Nick Harvey: In all procurement exercises, the Department investigates what fair trade products are available. The Department was also one of the first organisations to support the fair trade movement over 10 years ago and has supported the Fairtrade Fortnight in March of each year. The Department sells eight fair trade products permanently and a further 10 intermittently.
 
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Water Saving Devices

Jo Swinson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many water saving devices (a) have been and (b) are due to be installed in the House of Commons estate; and what the type of device is in each case. [62737]

Nick Harvey: Refurbishment programmes involving water usage on the estate include measures to minimise water consumption as far as it is practical to do so. As a result much of the equipment on the estate has good water saving properties. The number and type of devices fitted is not centrally recorded.

A range of water efficiency measures have been carried out over the last few years including:

The Director of Estates is arranging for a professional survey of the lavatory and washroom areas, to identify further improvements which can be made in water efficiency across the estate.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Workers

Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether employment legislation in the agricultural industries applies to (a) seasonal workers and (b) foreign workers. [62961]

Jim Knight: In general employment legislation applies to the agricultural industry as it does to other sectors of the economy. The only employment legislation specific to the agricultural industry is the Agricultural Wages Act 1948. This applies to any person employed to undertake agricultural work including seasonal and foreign workers. However, in common with most employment legislation, the Agricultural Wages Act 1948 does not apply to foreign nationals working in the UK illegally.


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