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5 Dec 2006 : Column 361W—continued
Diana Elias
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) total, (b) court and (c) inter-party costs were of litigation arising from cases involving Diana Elias; and how much (i) compensation and (ii) awards have been paid to Diana Elias. [104479]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence's costs arising from legal action with Mrs. Elias regarding the Ex Gratia Payment Scheme for former Far East Prisoners of War and civilian internees have yet to be finalised. The total as at the end of October was some £159,000 excluding VAT. This does not include the claimant's costs which are not yet known but does include identifiable court fees of some £400.
As was made clear in my statement of 17 October 2006, Official Report, column 46WS, Mrs. Elias has received a £10,000 ex gratia payment under the scheme. The courts awarded Mrs. Elias damages of £3,000 plus interest; as at 27 November, work between the two sides to agree the final value of the this sum had not been completed.
EU Co-operation
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the contribution of the UK into EU defence planning institutions. [107062]
Des Browne: The EU does not have defence planning institutions. This activity is undertaken by the Policy and Plans Directorate of the EU Military Staff which, until very recently, was led by a UK officer.
Our most recent major input into EU's defence planning activity has been the UK’s response to the Headline Goal Questionnaire submitted in late March 2006, which sets out the capabilities which the UK might potentially be able to make available to EU-led operations. Since then, lower level activity has taken place to assist the EU with the process of scrutiny and assessment of both UK and other member states’ inputs to the Headline Goal.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of military advisers to EU Special Representatives; and how many there are. [107065]
Des Browne: The EU Special Representative for Sudan has a Military Adviser and a Deputy Military Adviser. The EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has two Political-Military Advisers. There are no other military advisers to EU Special Representatives.
The Military Advisers’ role in Sudan is to help to ensure the coherence of the military component of the EU supporting action in Addis Ababa and manage coordination with the African Union.
The Political-Military Advisers’ role in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is to support the EU Special Representative in ensuring the coherence, visibility and effectiveness of the overall EU action in BiH, particularly in the security area.
Falkland Islands
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on maintaining a UK force on the Falkland Islands in each of the last five years. [104568]
Mr. Ingram: In each of the last five years the costs of the Chief of Joint Operations, who is responsible for maintaining a UK force on the Falkland Islands, are as follows:
| Financial year | Costs (£ million) |
Faslane
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contractors are employed at the Faslane base in Scotland. [106852]
Derek Twigg: There are some 2,478 contractor personnel from 177 contractors and subcontractors employed at HM Naval Base Clyde (Faslane and Coulport). Contractors do not work exclusively at one site so it is not therefore possible to give a figure for Faslane only.
Gender Equality
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that private organisations contracted to work (a) in his Department and (b) for non-Departmental public bodies and executive agencies for which his Department is responsible are aware of their duties under gender equality legislation when exercising public functions on behalf of public bodies. [101508]
Derek Twigg: In conjunction with its overarching Equality and Diversity Scheme 2006-09 the Department has also published a set of associated Action Plans to cover the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, setting out our programme of proposed actions. As part of this programme there is an action to review our standard conditions of contract DEFCON 516 with representatives from the Defence Industry Trade Association, to ensure that we meet our duty obligations in respect of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief and in Northern Ireland, duties under the Fair Employment Legislation.
Copies of the MOD Equality and Diversity Scheme 2006-09 and its associated Action Plans are available in the Library of the House and have also been published on the Department’s website.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to carry out gender impact assessments of his Department’s major policy developments and new legislation. [101538]
Derek Twigg: In order to meet the specific duties placed on the Department one of the major requirements of the MOD’s Equality and Diversity Scheme 2006-09, is to undertake diversity impact assessments (including gender) of the Department’s functions, policies, procedures and services, subject to relevance and proportionality. To assist with impact assessment an Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment Tool has been developed which enables MOD policy sponsors, and service providers to impact assess their areas of work in respect of equality and diversity issues. Progress against this requirement will be detailed in our annual reports against our Scheme.
John Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies for which he is
responsible are taking steps to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duty on public bodies (i) to end unlawful discrimination and harassment and (ii) to promote equality between women and men. [101554]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence has adopted a unified philosophy to equality and diversity issues at a strategic level which is reflected in our Unified Diversity Strategy (UDS). The UDS ensures the development of equality and diversity action plans throughout the organisation which are relevant to and reflective of the respective requirements of the armed forces, civilians, MOD police and executive agencies. This strategy is underpinned by clear and robust equality and diversity policies covering all aspects of the Department's work.
The steps the Department has already taken to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duties are the publication of its overarching equality and diversity scheme 2006 to 2009 and associated action plans for 2006-07. A major requirement of our scheme is the obligation to undertake diversity impact assessments of the Department’s functions, policies, procedures and services, subject to relevance and proportionality. This is also supported by a Training Management Framework to ensure that our entire workforce, uniformed and civilian, are properly trained, that their awareness is raised and that they are sensitive to diversity issues. There are several levels of training from our initial induction courses through to specialist training for specific posts.
A copy of the Unified Diversity Strategy is available in the Library of the House and it has been published on the Department's website.
Helicopters
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many helicopters there are in the UK armed services, broken down by (a) type and (b) role; [106087]
(2) how many helicopters in the UK armed services are (a) out of service due to reduced readiness and (b) mothballed. [106089]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 28 November 2006]: The following table sets out the number of helicopters in the UK armed forces broken down by type and role as at 31 October 2006. Aircraft that are out of service due to reduced readiness has been taken to mean aircraft in the depth fleet, that is, aircraft on scheduled routine maintenance, repair and upgrades. Mothballed has been taken to mean aircraft placed in storage in a flying or “near flying” condition.
The fleet sizes quoted cover those aircraft expected to be flown and does not include some aircraft that are currently classified as redundant, unrepairable or in storage.
In addition to the aircraft in the previous table, the Department contracts for commercially owned helicopters and the following table shows those broken down by type and role as at 31 October 2006. These aircraft are on availability contracts and are not owned by the Department.
| Helicopter type | Fleet size | Helicopter role |
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to establish the necessary infrastructure to recruit, train, equip and sustain (a) six new infantry battalions and (b) three additional squadrons of medium support helicopters, together with the necessary air crew and support staff. [107569]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 December 2006]: We have no plans to create an additional six infantry battalions or three helicopter squadrons. As the hon. Member will be aware, the Secretary of State announced on 16 December 2004, Official Report, column 1793, the Future Army Structure which would provide an Army better balanced to conduct short notice expeditionary operations, as well as enduring operations more efficiently, allowing us to respond appropriately to a wider range of possible contingencies, including the current and future strategic environment. This structure takes account of the requirement to integrate the full range of joint effects, including medium support helicopters.
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