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30 Oct 2006 : Column 101W—continued
Hospital Facilities
18. Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on establishing a military managed ward at Selly Oak hospital. [97428]
Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh).
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the hospital treatment of injured service personnel. [97423]
Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Shona McIsaac).
Aircraft
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what impact the reduced frequency of equalised maintenance packages has had on (a) costs, (b) aircraft availability and (c) safety assessments; and what savings are targeted for 2006-07 and future years. [92624]
Mr. Ingram: Equalised maintenance packages for the RAF's Harrier GR7/9 fleet were introduced in 2005. This has improved aircraft availability by an average of two aircraft per day. The airworthiness of the aircraft is also considered to have benefited from equalised maintenance packages but this aspect has yet to be quantified. The total technical support and man hour requirement of the new scheduled maintenance cycle is similar to the previous arrangements, albeit delivered more effectively; accordingly, there have been no measurable cost savings to date.
Equalised maintenance packages are currently being introduced for the RAF's Nimrod MR2/R1 fleet. At this stage it is too early to measure accurately the full benefits of this change, but it is forecast that the new scheduled maintenance regime will deliver significant improvements in aircraft availability, and financial savings of approximately £2 million per annum from financial year 2008-09. Before implementing this change a full safety assessment was carried out on the Nimrod MR2/R1 fleet and further safety assessments will be undertaken as the transition to equalised maintenance moves forward.
Animal Welfare
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned hyperbaric chamber tests on live goats in the last five years. [93749]
Mr. Ingram: QinetiQ performs research under contract to the Ministry of Defence to support the Department's duty of care to submariners during both normal operations and in an emergency. Over the last five years, this research has included experiments that involve goats in hyperbaric chambers. The Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC) reviewed this work in 2003 and confirmed the need for continued investigation into sequential improvements in escape and rescue procedures and the necessity of experiments on large animals.
Army Numbers
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the troop numbers required to allow the army to operate effectively; and whether that requirement is being met. [94910]
Mr. Ingram: Under future army structures, the established requirement for the British Army is 101,800 (as at 1 April 2008). Current manning levels are 98 per cent. of this requirement (as at 1 September 2006). Overall, the Army is able to meet current operational commitments.
Battle Deployment
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether units of the armed services are allocated to more than one order of battle deployment. [96249]
Mr. Ingram: Units of the armed forces are routinely allocated to more than one order of battle deployment. For example, 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) supports operations in the UK, Afghanistan and Iraq simultaneously with Explosive Ordnance Detachments which are grouped according to the specific theatre requirement.
Ceremonial Duties/Parades
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what royal and ceremonial duties and parades have been cancelled in each of the last five years; and for what reasons each was cancelled. [95387]
Derek Twigg: There have been no occasions during the last five years when either public duties or state ceremonial duties have been cancelled.
Cluster Munitions
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment the Government has made of the humanitarian impact of the use of cluster munitions by UK forces in recent conflicts to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law. [94448]
Mr. Ingram: In all recent conflicts, the UK has complied with International Humanitarian Law in the use of all munitions, including cluster munitions. The decision to use all munitions, including cluster munitions against a target is based on a comprehensive assessment that takes into account the UK's legal obligations under International Humanitarian Law, the nature of the target, and the weapons available to attack it.
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the failure rate is for RBL 755 cluster bombs used by British forces. [94451]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 March 2006, Official Report, column 2515W, to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew).
Colombia
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2006, Official Report, column 593W, on Colombia, what percentage of the cost of the military assistance given to Colombia for the disposal of explosive devices is accounted for by de-mining training. [91791]
Mr. Ingram: De-mining training accounted for 42 per cent. of the expenditure earmarked for military assistance given to Colombia for the disposal of explosive devices in financial year 2005-06. Some 47 per cent. of the allocation for financial year 2006-07 is earmarked for the same purpose.
Departmental Budget
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's budget is for 2005-06; and how much of that budget has been allocated to current overseas deployments. [94917]
Mr. Ingram: The defence budget for 2005-6 was £30,888 million, as set in Spending Review 2004. The net additional costs of operations are funded from the Treasury special reserve and the conflict prevention pool, not the Defence Budget.
Further information on Defence expenditure in 2005-06, including on operations, is contained within the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2005-2006 (HC1394) which is available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Project Approvals
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) category A, (b) category B and (c) category C projects of his Department have received (i) Initial Gate and (ii) Main Gate approval since 1 November 2004; and when approval was received in each case. [93037]
Mr. Ingram: The information requested is as follows:
| Category B Main Gate Projects | |||
| Date of approval | Name of project | Date of approval | Name of project |
|
J1/J4 Interim Op Support—Interim fit (raised to Cat B for Main Gate due to cost) | |||
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