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16 Oct 2006 : Column 989W—continued
Video Games
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from the video games industry on the depiction of extreme material in video games. [93484]
Mr. Woodward: None. Although my officials and DTI colleagues, with whom we share sponsorship of the computer games industry, meet periodically with games industry trade associations to discuss a range of issues.
Defence
Afghanistan
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest assessment is of the level of helicopter support in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [91292]
Mr. Ingram: A number of Allies provide helicopters in Afghanistan which UK forces are able to call upon. The original UK force package deployed to southern Afghanistan to support the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) included Apache, Lynx and Chinook helicopters, and was endorsed by the Chiefs of Staff. We have recently sent two additional CH-47 Chinooks to Afghanistan. This capability is kept under constant review.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to bring troops home from Afghanistan in winter 2006; what the total number of British troops in Afghanistan will be in that period; and if he will make a statement. [91293]
Mr. Ingram: On 26 January 2006, Official Report, columns 1529-33, the then Secretary of State for Defence announced a three year deployment to Afghanistan; this deployment ends in 2009. Troop numbers fluctuate as personnel move in and out of theatre, but current UK troop levels stand at around 6,200; of these, roughly 1,400 are in Kabul and 4,800 are in the South. On current plans, the first substantial reduction in troop numbers will occur when HQ ARRC hands over command in February 2007.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to make representations to the Treasury for increased resources for operations in Afghanistan. [92137]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence will be seeking funding for the cost of operations in Afghanistan, in consultation with the Treasury, at Winter Supplementary Estimates in November. Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the amount and reasons for the funding sought. The costs of military operations are met, by convention, from the Treasury’s Reserves.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel casualties and injuries have been sustained in Afghanistan in each month since the United Kingdom deployment to that country. [92165]
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK service personnel have been (a) killed and (b) wounded, including those treated in the field, since current UK deployments to Afghanistan began. [92458]
Mr. Ingram [holding answers 9 October 2006]: Casualty statistics have been compiled centrally since the deployment to Helmand Province in January 2006. These statistics are published on the Defence website, every month, one month in arrears, and are available at www.mod.uk.
Work is in hand to collate the statistics from November 2001, when operations first began, and will be published in due course once we can verify that the statistics are correct as they are held by a number of different sources. I will write to the hon. Member once this has been completed.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to send more helicopters to support troops in Helmand province. [92317]
Mr. Ingram: Following the Secretary of State for Defence’s announcement on 24 July 2006, Official Report, columns 74-76WS, we have sent two additional CH-47 Chinooks to Afghanistan, making a total of eight, and increased the number of flying hours. The force package is endorsed by the chiefs of staff and kept under regular review.
Aircraft
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Nimrod aircraft were operated by the RAF in each of the last 10 years; what the average age was of these aircraft in each year; what the age was of the oldest aircraft operated in each year; what plans he has to replace these aircraft; and if he will make statement. [91016]
Des Browne [holding answer 13 September 2006]: The following table shows the number of Nimrod aircraft in service at the end of March of each financial year. It also shows their average age and what the age was of the oldest Nimrod aircraft operated by the RAF in each of the last 10 years.
| Financial year | Number of aircraft | Average age of aircraft in year | Oldest aircraft in year |
The Nimrod MR2 will be replaced by the Nimrod MRA4, which has a planned in service date of 2010. A production contract for 12 MRA4 aircraft was announced in a written ministerial statement on 18 July 2006, Official Report, column 14WS. On current plans, the Nimrod R1 aircraft will continue to provide an electronic reconnaissance capability with incremental upgrades to that capability.
Aircraft Ejections
Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ejections from British military aircraft there were in each of the last 25 years, broken down by service. [90245]
Mr. Ingram: The number of ejections for each year since 1981 for the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy are given in the following table. The Army (Army Air Corps) does not operate aircraft which are fitted with ejection seats.
| Royal Air Force | Royal Navy | |
Approved Projects
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2006, Official Report, column 206W, on approved projects, which approved projects are in each category. [91344]
Mr. Ingram: The following lists provide details on projects in categories A to C, aspects of which received approval decisions during 2005-06(1).
Brimstone
Land Environment Air Picture Provision
Precision Guided Bomb
Tornado Future Support Programme
Chinook Mark 3
Chinook T55 Capability Sustainment and Future Support Programme
Future Rotorcraft Capability
Munitions Acquisition Supply Solution
Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme
Merlin Future Support Programme
Chinook Future Support
Enhanced Capability for Armoured Training Systems
Airborne Stand-Off Radar
Future Carrier
Digitisation of the Battlespace (Land)—Combat, Infra and Platform
Project FALCON
Future Provision of Marine Services
Project PICASSO
Skynet 5
Watchkeeper
Astute Class Procurement
Combined Aerial Targets Service
Nimrod Future Support
Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme
Future Defence Supply Chain Initiative
Human Resources Service Delivery Organisation
Joint Command and Control Support Programme
Whole Fleet Management
Project Allenby and Connaught
Corsham Development Project
D154 Project Devonport
Defence Housing Executive—Prime Contract
Future Joint Combat Aircraft Basing
Northwood PFI
Defence Estates Regional Prime Contracting—Central
Support Vehicles
Defence Estates Regional Prime Contracting—East
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