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3 July 2006 : Column 696W—continued
Child malnutrition rose from 12 per cent. in 1991 to 16 per cent. in 2000.
Primary school completion rates fell from 62 per cent. in 1988 to 56 per cent. in 1999.
Women's representation in Parliament fell from 11 per cent. in 1990 to 8 per cent. in 2003. But in Iraq's new Parliament, elected in December 2005, just over 25 per cent. of representatives are women.
Under-5 mortality rose from 50 deaths per 1,000 births in 1990 to 125 deaths per 1,000 births in 2003.
Numbers of children immunised against measles rose from 80 per cent. of children in 1990 to 90 per cent. of children in 2003.
The number of births attended by health staff rose from 54 per cent. in 1989 to 72 per cent. in 2000.
Deaths from tuberculosis (TB) rose from 21 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to 33 deaths per 100,000 in 2003.
The proportion of people with access to drinking water remained stable at around 83 per cent. between 1990 and 2004.
The proportion of people with access to sanitation fell from 81 per cent. in 1990 to 64 per cent. in 2004.
Gender equality remained stable between 1990 and 2002, at around 82 girls for every 100 boys in primary school.
The proportion of slum dwellers in Iraqi cities remained stable between 1990 and 2001 at 43 per cent.
Iraq's forest cover has remained stable between 1990 and 2000, at around 2 per cent.
In all cases, the end year quoted is the last year for which data were available.
Reproductive Health
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the level of British contributions to (a) each multilateral aid and development agency and (b) agencies concerned with abortion and reproductive health issues (i) is in 2006-07, (ii) was in 2005-06 and (iii) is planned for 2007-08. [80206]
Mr. Thomas: The 2005-06 estimated outturn of the level of core DFID contributions to each of the multilateral aid and development agencies is given in the following table. Core commitment figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are still under negotiation individually.
Entries highlighted * indicate organisations involved in the provision of reproductive health services or programming. Exact reproductive health expenditure data for each agency cannot be provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.
| Total DFID Multilateral Contributions | 2005-06 (Estimated outturn) (£000) |
|
DFID Multilateral Contributions to Europe Trade and International Financial Institutions | |
Defence
Afghanistan
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his assessment is of the current strength and quality of the Afghan National Army; and if he will make a statement. [81139]
Des Browne: Around 28,200 Afghan National Army soldiers have been trained and equipped under a US-led development programme. The five Afghan National Army regional commands are now operational. Afghan troops, supported by the UK’s operational mentor and liaison team, have already performed well alongside UK forces in the south of Afghanistan.
The international community is investing significant resources in increasing the Afghan National Army’s capability still further. The UK’s contribution to this includes non-commissioned officer and junior officer training in Kabul, and an operational mentor and liaison team in Helmand.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his assessment is of the technological capabilities of the weaponry used by (a) the Taliban and (b) al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. [81140]
Des Browne: We continuously monitor the weaponry used by insurgent forces in Afghanistan. To date a wide range of weapons have been used including small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices. Mostly these are low technology weapons and components that are widely available.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his assessment is of the possible threat posed by the infiltration of experienced insurgents of the Iraq conflict into Helmand province. [81141]
Des Browne: There is no credible evidence that insurgents or terrorists from Iraq have infiltrated into Afghanistan.
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the order of battle is for the deployment of UK forces in Afghanistan. [81409]
Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State for Defence (John Reid), on 26 January 2006, Official Report, columns 1529-33, which outlines the UK forces order of battle in Afghanistan.
In addition I also refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statements made by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 25 April 2006, Official Report, column 35WS, announcing the extension to March 2007 of six UK Harriers to provide support to both the International Security Assistance Force and Operation Enduring Freedom and, on 15 June 2006, Official Report, columns 67-68WS, announcing the deployment of a further 130 personnel from the RAF Regiment to provide a specialised force protection capability at Kandahar Airfield.
As with all deployments, any significant changes to this will be announced in the House in due course.
Armed Forces (Overseas Recruitment)
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries provide servicemen and women for the British armed forces; and what agreements govern their terms and conditions of service. [82011]
Mr. Watson: With the exception of Gurkhas, to be accepted for employment in the UK Armed Forces an applicant, at all times since birth, must have been British or a Commonwealth citizen, or a Republic of Ireland national. A waiver of these requirements may be granted, in exceptional circumstances, to applicants who are British or Commonwealth citizens, or Republic of Ireland nationals, at the time of their application. With the exception of Gurkhas, all personnel serve under the same terms and conditions of service regardless of nationality.
British Army Gurkhas are recruited in Nepal and remain Nepalese citizens throughout their service, serving under their own Gurkha terms and conditions of service, which have evolved over the years and are based on the provisions of the Tri-Partite Agreement of 1947 between the Governments of UK, India and Nepal. They are currently the subject of a wide-ranging review.
Army
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 12W, on the Army, how many of each type of vehicle and aircraft are (a) operational and (b) available for immediate deployment. [65523]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 26 April 2006]: The number of vehicles and aircraft which were operational at the end of March 2006 is shown in the table. “Operational” is defined as equipment that is not in depth maintenance or in storage and it includes equipment deployed in operational theatres. The Army
manages its armoured fleet in accordance with the principles of whole fleet management which enables armoured vehicles to be made available in sufficient numbers to meet operational requirements as they arise.
The numbers of aircraft capable of immediate operational deployment are shown in brackets.
| Number | ||
|
Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Tracked (CVR) (T) All variants | ||
| (1) Includes 31 held by STRIKE Command. | ||
Army Recruitment and Retention
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total (a) outflow to civilian life and (b) recruitment was of the regular (i) infantry, (ii) Royal Artillery, (iii) Royal Engineers, (iv) Royal Corps of Signals, (v) Royal Armoured Corps, (vi) Household Cavalry, (vii) Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers and (viii) Army Medical Services in each year since 1997. [81133]
Mr. Watson: The information is as follows:
| Outflow to civil life from UK Regular Army since 1997 by financial year | |||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
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