House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 07 Nov 2006 (pt 0114)

7 Nov 2006 : Column 1496W—continued

7 Nov 2006 : Column 1497W

Country	Service personnel
Germany	22,170
Northern Ireland	6,800
Bosnia-Herzegovina	—
Croatia	—
Kosovo	—
Albania	—
FYR Macedonia	—
Sierra-Leone	100
Gulf Region⁽¹⁾	380
Turkey	30
Gibraltar	360
Belize	70
Kenya	30
Canada	290
Falkland Islands	340
Cyprus	3,170
Brunei	160
Afghanistan	—
⁽¹⁾ Includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman.

The numbers of personnel posted to each location abroad are shown in Quarterly Tri-Service Publication 6, Global Location of UK Regular Forces (TSP 6).

Copies of TSP 6 are held in the House of Commons Library and are also available at www.dasa.mod.uk.

Social Research Sections

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the case for establishing a Government Social Research Section in his Department. [95844]

Derek Twigg: No such assessment has been made. The Department makes extensive use of research evidence and analysis from economists, statisticians, operational researchers and others.

Staff Secondments

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what departmental procedures are in place to encourage staff to apply for secondments to the (a) United Nations and (b) World Bank; and how many (i) applicants and (ii) successful applicants have been women in the last three years. [91349]

Derek Twigg: Secondments and loans are actively promoted by the MOD which can be looked by a range of organisation.

This information on the number of female applicants and successful female candidates is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Suicides

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many suicides have taken place among deployed UK military personnel in (a) Iraq, (b) Afghanistan and (c) elsewhere in each of the last three years. [97983]

Des Browne: The Ministry of Defence has centrally compiled and verified records of coroner-confirmed suicides or open verdict deaths among UK Service
7 Nov 2006 : Column 1498W
personnel up to 31 December 2005. Between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2005, there were three coroner-confirmed suicides or open verdict deaths among regular Service personnel while deployed in Iraq. There were no coroner-confirmed suicides or open verdicts among Service personnel in Afghanistan. During the same period there were 50 other coroner-confirmed suicide and open verdicts among regular Service personnel, who were not deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan⁽¹⁾. Details are provided in the following table.

	Iraq	Afghanistan	Elsewhere
All	3	0	50
2003	⁽¹⁾2	0	20
2004	0	0	16
2005	1	0	14
⁽¹⁾ Includes a soldier who was aeromeded back to the UK as a result of an incident in Iraq and subsequently died in a UK hospital.

In addition there was one suicide in 2005 involving a reservist soldier serving in Iraq.

The figures provided do not include any violent or unnatural deaths that have not yet been fully investigated by the coroner.

Overall, the suicide rate⁽²⁾ of the United Kingdom armed forces is approximately half that of the rate for the United Kingdom population as a whole.

⁽¹⁾ These include personnel deployed overseas, on overseas postings or based in the United Kingdom.

⁽²⁾ Adjusted for age and gender.

Territorial Army

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) established and (b) actual strength is of (i) the regular Army and (ii) the Territorial Army, broken down by (A) recruits, (B) trained soldiers and other ranks, (C) senior non-commissioned officers and warrant officers, (D) junior officers Second Lieutenant to Captain and (E) senior officers of Major and above. [91484]

Derek Twigg: Table 1 provides a breakdown, by rank, of the regular army strength against liability as at 1 August 2006. Table 2 provides a breakdown of the Territorial Army, by rank, against the overall liability. A detailed breakdown of the Territorial Army liability by rank will not be available until TA re-balancing has been completed which is expected in mid 2007.

7 Nov 2006 : Column 1499W

Table 1: Strength of regular army as at 1 August 2006, shown against liability
	Strength^{( 1)}	Liability^{( 2)}
Total	106,930	n/a
Officers	14,900	n/a
Trained officers	13,980	13,250
Senior officers (Majors and above)	7,670	6,670
Junior officers (ranks up to Captain)	6,310	6,580
Untrained officers	930	na
Soldiers	92,030	na
Trained soldiers	82,480	85,460
Senior non-commissioned officers and warrant officers (warrant officer and sergeants)	22,690	21,720
Other ranks (ranks up to Corporal)	59,780	63,740
Untrained soldiers	9,550	na
⁽¹⁾ Figures include trained officers and soldiers; full time reserve service (full, limited and home commitment) but exclude home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, mobilised reserves, Territorial Army and other reserves. ⁽²⁾ Liability is based on the regular army liability 2006^(.) Notes: 1. All data have been rounded to the nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. Numbers ending in ‘5’ have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. 2. n/a = ‘not applicable’ as there is no liability for untrained officers and soldiers.

Table 2: Strength of Territorial Army as at 1 August 2006, shown against liability
	Strength^{( 1)}	Liability
Total	36,260	42,000
Officers	5,350	__
Senior officers (Majors and above)	2,070	__
Junior officers (ranks up to Captain)	3,280	__
Soldier	30,910	__
Senior non-commissioned officers and warrant officers (warrant officer and sergeants)	4,960	__
Other ranks (ranks up to Corporal)	25,950	__
⁽¹⁾ TA Personnel include Group A & B, Mobilised TA and Officer Training Corps (OTC), and exclude non regular permanent staff and full time reserve service. Notes: All data have been rounded to the nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. Numbers ending in ‘5’ have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Trident

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what dates he will (a) publish the proposed White Paper and (b) hold the proposed parliamentary debate and vote on the replacement of Trident by a new generation of the nuclear deterrent. [98169]

Des Browne [holding answer 1 November 2006]: It remains our intention that decisions on the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent will be taken later this year, following which we will publish a White Paper. There will then be a parliamentary debate and a vote. It is too early to set out a more specific timetable.

Veterans Badges

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Veterans' Badges have been awarded to personnel who served in each of the armed forces. [92625]

7 Nov 2006 : Column 1500W

Derek Twigg: Prior to August 2006 the information is not held in the format requested. However, from 18 April 2005 to 17 August 2006 a total of 212,000 badges have been issued by the Veterans Agency.

From 18 August 2006 the Veterans Agency has introduced a new database which enables limited analysis of the applications. The following table sets out how many Veterans’ Badges have been awarded to personnel between 18 August and 3 November 2006 who served in each of the armed forces.

	Number
Army	19,391
Navy	3,491
RAF	8,360

Weaponry

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what weaponry is available to the (a) infantry, (b) Royal Marines and (c) Parachute Regiment to engage active targets at a range of 1,000 yards. [99614]

Mr. Ingram: The long-range weaponry listed in the table below is all currently available to the Infantry, the Royal Marines and Parachute Regiment (although in some cases certain weapons are only available for specific operations).

Weaponry

Heavy Machine Gun (HMG). Calibre 12.7mm (0.5in)

General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). Calibre 7.62mm

81mm Medium Mortar

Javelin Anti Tank Guided Weapon

30mm Rarden Cannon. (Fitted to WARRIOR and Scimitar armoured fighting vehicles).

Chain Gun. Calibre 7.62mm. (Fitted to WARRIOR armoured fighting vehicle).

Long Range Rifle. Calibre 8.6mm

Infantry units and the Royal Marines would also have access to other weapons systems such as those provided by close air support and artillery, should they be required.

Wounded Soldiers

Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what security arrangements are in place to protect soldiers wounded in combat who are being treated in hospitals in the UK. [92704]

Derek Twigg: The security of our personnel admitted as in-patients is of the highest priority and remains under constant review. For example, at Selly Oak hospital, where the majority of our combat casualties will be received, a strong liaison is maintained between West Midlands police, the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust (UHBFT) and its Security Management Team and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) Command Team to ensure that appropriate levels of security are provided. UHBFT Security Officers provide an immediate response to any security
7 Nov 2006 : Column 1501W
incidents within the hospital boundaries. ‘Swipe card’ doors have been installed on the wards where military personnel are most likely to be treated. Other security measures including CCTV will be adopted as necessary.

7 Nov 2006 : Column 1502W

The MOD, in conjunction with the relevant NHS hospital authorities, ensures that Heads of Department make all staff aware of unit routine orders on maintaining security awareness and the need to remain vigilant at all times.

Index

Home Page