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3 July 2006 : Column 700W—continued
| Intake to untrained strength 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 | |
Total officers and officer designates intake to untrained strength can only be shown as most officer cadets are not allocated an Arm and Service until completion of training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
UK Regular Army includes nursing services and excludes full-time reserve service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and Mobilised Reservists.
The data have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in ‘5’ have been rounded to nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Atomic Weapons Establishment
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff have been recruited to the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield since July 2005, broken down by employment area; what plans there are for future recruitment in each such area; and if he will make a statement. [79948]
Mr. Ingram: In the period July 2005 to end March 2006, a total of 504 staff (including 180 to replace natural wastage) were recruited to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston and Burghfield in the following areas:
| Number | |
A further 46 staff were recruited up to 31 May 2006. In the two financial years ending 31 March 2008, AWE plc plans to recruit a total of around 700 personnel in broadly the same proportions as the categories described above. The company has not formulated any firm plans for recruitment beyond this period.
Bearskins
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 12 June 2006, Official Report, column 996W, on bearskins, which companies have been involved in producing alternatives to real bearskins; for what reasons each alternative was not successful; and if he will establish a timescale for phasing out the use of real bearskins. [80358]
Mr. Ingram: Several faux fur manufacturers have made samples available to the Ministry of Defence. Between 1998 and 2004 the companies involved were:
N&MA Saville Associates
Dawson Fabrics (also known as Fleece Fabrics Ltd.)
Dawson International
Saluki
BY Furs
Tyber.
After this date all samples were provided by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). PETA has not given the Department the names of the companies they have used. The trial process is on-going. The faux fur has been unsuccessful for a number of reasons: it could not replicate the movement of real fur when tested on parade; there were problems with increasing weight experienced under normal wet weather conditions; it did not retain its shape; and it reacted adversely to atmospheric static.
The Department has no current timescale to phase out the use of bearskins but alternatives will be considered if and when they are found to be suitable.
Carbon Emissions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the carbon emissions of his Department; what commitment he has made to reducing such emissions; and if he will make a statement. [81063]
Mr. Watson: 2004-05 carbon emissions from energy use in Ministry of Defence buildings and facilities on the defence estate were 2 per cent. below the 1999-2000 baseline level. Equivalent figures for 2005-06 are not yet available. However, they will be published in the MOD’s Sustainable Development in Government Report 2005-06, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.
More widely, this Department supports and was closely involved with the development of the targets in the new Framework for Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate, announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 12 June 2006. These targets include achieving carbon neutrality on the Government office estate by 2012 and a reduction in carbon emissions from our office-based estate of 30 per cent. by 2020.
Colombia
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to provide the Government of Colombia with military support, in each of the next three years. [80359]
Des Browne: The Ministry of Defence plans to provide military assistance to Colombia over the next three years at a similar level and in similar areas to the assistance it has provided in the previous three years. The provision of assistance continues to be dependent on our being satisfied that no one receiving UK training is engaged in illegal activities.
Current UK military assistance to Colombia is concerned with British military education, with a strong emphasis on human rights and with training the Colombian armed forces in the disposal of a variety of explosive devices. We are also supporting their process of Military Justice Reform. We have provided some bespoke training to members of the Colombian armed forces engaged in counter-narcotics.
Defence Export Services
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Alan Garwood's successor as Head of Defence Export Services is expected to be named; when he or she will take up the appointment; and if he will make a statement. [80855]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence and Mr. Garwood have agreed that, under the terms of his appointment, he will remain in post until September 2007.
It is anticipated that the process to select his successor will begin late in 2006.
Defence Training Review
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the merits of an in-house bid as part of the Defence Training Review. [81845]
Mr. Watson: An in-house bid was assessed as not being a viable option for the Defence Training Review. It would not have provided the significant capital investment required to transform specialist training. In addition this route would not provide the technical innovation, performance discipline and risk transfer delivered through a public-private partnering/PFI solution.
Defensive Aids Suite
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his definition is of a defensive aids suite, with particular reference to the A400M. [64792]
Mr. Ingram: A defensive aids suite can comprise one or a combination of the following:
Directional Infra-Red Counter Measures
Missile Approach Warning Systems
Radar Warning Receiver
Countermeasures Dispensing System
Large Aircraft Infra-Red Counter Measures
Defensive counter-measures are under constant development in response to emerging threats.
I am withholding information on the precise combination on defensive aids that will be employed on the A400M so as not to prejudice the security of our armed forces.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long it takes to switch a defensive aids suite between A400M airframes; and what the cost is. [64827]
Mr. Ingram: For reasons of operational security I am withholding information regarding how long it would take to transfer DAS from one airframe to another. The costs of such an exercise are not yet known.
Departmental Finance Directors
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) name, (b) professional and academic qualifications and (c) relevant experience are of the finance director of his Department. [80090]
Mr. Watson: The Ministry of Defence’s finance director is Trevor Woolley. He holds a Masters degree in History from Cambridge University and has substantial financial management experience in MOD at senior level across a range of posts within head office and in managing the finances of one of our largest top- level budgets.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women of minority ethnic origin are employed by his Department. [81235]
Mr. Watson: The total number of women of minority ethnic origin employed by the Department as at 1 April 2006, is shown as follows..
| Female personnel by ethnicity minority declaration as at 1 April 2006 | |
| Number of females | |
| (1 )Data in the table exclude locally engaged civilians, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel for whom ethnicity data are not available. (2 )Represents the number of female employees who self-declared that they were a member of an ethnic minority group. Of a total of 32,170 female civilians working for the Department as at 1 April 2006, 5,430 had not declared their ethnicity. (3 )UK regular forces include nursing services and exclude full-time reserve service personnel, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. It includes trained and untrained personnel. (4 )Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system for RAF, all RAF data for 1 April 2006 are provisional and subject to review. (5 )Ethnicity figures are based on those with a known ethnic origin. Figures shown are full coverage estimates of the number of ethnic minorities that would be expected if ethnicity were known for all personnel. Note: All numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. | |
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