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24 July 2006 : Column 760W—continued
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the aims are of the provincial reconstruction team in Basra; and what he expects the team to achieve. [87188]
Des Browne: Provincial reconstruction teams aim to provide support to build the capacity of Iraqi institutions at a provincial level.
The Basra team does this through coordinating the delivery of UK and international development and reconstruction assistance to southern Iraq; further development of the capacity of the provincial government; and assistance in the smooth transition of responsibility for security in southern Iraq to the Iraqi civil authorities.
Afghanistan
20. Mr. Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in training Afghan security forces in peacekeeping. [87204]
Des Browne: Over 28,000 Afghan troops and over 30,000 police have been trained and equipped, although their training does not focus specifically on peacekeeping activities.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries have troops operating under the international security assistance force in Afghanistan; how many troops they had deployed on 10 July; and what restrictions are in place on the use of these forces. [85093]
Des Browne: As at 10 July, the following 36 countries contribute a total of around 10,000 troops to the international security assistance force (ISAF) in Afghanistan:
Albania
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Celand
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
FYROM
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The Netherlands
Turkey
UK
US
I am withholding details of the caveats nations may apply to the use of their armed forces in Afghanistan as this would, or would be likely, to prejudice the safety of our armed forces and those of our allies. The nations deploying to ISAF stage 3 in the south well understand the challenging operational environment there, and the need for robust rules of engagement.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) the number of Intelligence Corps personnel based in Helmand province and (b) the resources provided to the Intelligence Corps in Afghanistan. [85774]
Des Browne: The force package deployed to Afghanistan is that recommended by the Chiefs of Staff as the right force for the task.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities are available for the detention of military detainees in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [86700]
Des Browne [holding answer 20 July 2006]: UK armed forces have temporary holding facilities available in the south. NATO and UK policy is that detainees should either be transferred to the Afghan authorities within 96 hours, or released.
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of British forces in Afghanistan's counter-narcotics campaign. [87198]
Des Browne: Troops deployed as part of the NATO-led international security assistance force (ISAF)—including British forces deployed as part of the Helmand Task Force—are authorised to provide support to Afghan counter-narcotics forces, including training, and they will help the Afghans create a secure environment in which economic development and institutional reform—both essential to the elimination of the opium industry—can take place.
Armed Forces Salaries
22. Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints his Department has received about the administration of salaries of British armed forces personnel paid through the joint personnel administration system. [87206]
Mr. Watson: The initial roll out of joint personnel administration for pay and a wide range of other administrative services has been to the Royal Air Force only, and formal complaints about aspects of the system have been received in the form of 19 items of ministerial correspondence, and some 236 complaints via the internal complaints procedure of the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency. None has been received under the formal Royal Air Force redress of complaints procedure. However, the errors have reduced from 1,100 in May to 485 in June.
Africa
23. Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Government are taking to promote peace and security in Africa. [87207]
Mr. Ingram:
The Government are supporting the building of African conflict prevention and conflict management capacity at continent, regional and national level, in line with our wider G8 and international commitments. A key aspect of this work is UK funding and technical support for the development of an African Peace and Security Architecture under the auspices of the African Union, enhancing the capacity of Africans to lead mediation and peacekeeping within their own continent. At regional level, the Government are supporting a range of political dialogues, security sector reform
programmes and civil society building initiatives designed to improve stability and security. In addition, British forces are helping develop African peace support operations capacity and are directly supporting a number of peacekeeping missions in Africa.
Advertising Campaigns
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advertising campaigns the Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each. [87067]
Mr. Watson: The only advertising campaigns undertaken by the Ministry of Defence are Armed Forces recruitment related. The information requested is not held centrally in the format requested. Details that are available are as follows:
| £ million | ||||
| Financial Year | Royal Navy | Royal Marines | Army | RAF |
The naval service undertakes two main bursts of advertising activity each year, one in January and one in September/October. The RAFs main campaigns were run in August/September and December/January. The Army's recruit advertising is an all year round activity.
Aerial Vehicle Technology
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made with the development of an uninhabited aerial vehicle technology demonstrator programme. [86663]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is currently working towards contract for an Uninhabited Air Vehicle Technology Demonstrator Programme (TDP) jointly funded with industry as announced in the Defence Industrial Strategy.
Air Operations/Exercises
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that there are more sites where close air support operations and forward air control exercises can take place. [85214]
Mr. Watson: We keep the number of sites used for training exercises under constant review.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the availability of training sites for close air support operations and forward air control exercises. [86276]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence Training areas are used for close air support and forward air control training wherever possible. Private land is also used for training as are sites overseas. We keep the number of sites used for training exercises under constant review.
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