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14 May 2007 : Column 514W—continued
Des Browne:
The number of personnel from 2 Rifles recently deployed in Iraq who have become amputees on active service is not held centrally. To obtain these details would require the examination of the individual medical records of each of the patients who has been classified as very seriously injured (VSI) or seriously injured (SI) for the period of the deployment. These
records can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality.
The MOD is committed to publishing statistics on the number of service personnel killed and injured on operations. Casualty and fatality figures for Iraq and Afghanistan are published on the MOD website (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets). Casualty figures are updated fortnightly, in arrears.
Jaguar Aircraft
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the out-of-service date for the Royal Air Force’s Jaguar aircraft was brought forward to 29 April 2007; when this decision was taken; when this decision was communicated to No. 6 Squadron; and if he will make a statement. [135945]
Mr. Ingram: The Jaguar aircraft were due to be retired from service in October 2007. As part of a regular, routine review of the entire Defence programme the decision was made on 3 April 2007 to bring their retirement forward to 30 April. This measure will not have an operational impact and will allow the earlier release of experienced personnel into the Typhoon Force. The decision was communicated to No. 6 Squadron, the last remaining RAF Jaguar squadron, at a briefing by their Station Commander and Force Commander on 24 April. Many personnel have already been informed of their future appointments and Personnel Management Officers are having discussions with all other personnel that will be affected. The RAF will make every effort to minimise any disturbance experienced by the personnel concerned.
Lynx Helicopters: Procurement
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Minister expects the new Lynx helicopter to be available to UK forces in Afghanistan. [129448]
Mr. Ingram: The Future Lynx helicopter, for which orders were placed in June 2006, is expected to enter service in 2014.
Military Aircraft: Training
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pilots began fast jet training in each year since 2000; how many have completed such training; and if he will make a statement. [135921]
Mr. Ingram: The following table gives details of the number of Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots who entered fast jet training, and the number of pilots who successfully completed this training prior to conversion to aircraft type at the Operational Conversion Unit. On average, fast jet pilots will exit training two years after entering.
This information is only held for the last five financial years.
| Financial year | Number of pilots entering Fast Jet Training | Number of pilots successfully completed Fast Jet Training |
| (1 )In financial year 2002-03 the figure is artificially inflated due to the fact that there were two courses that started just within the boundaries of this financial year (on 8 April 2002 and 31 March 2003). Note: All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. | ||
Navy: Officers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers of 13 March 2007, Official Report, columns 206-07W, on Navy: officers, and 26 March 2007, Official Report, column 1359W, on Navy: deployment, what the reasons are for the change in the ratio of the number of senior officers of rank commodore and above to the number of ships in service since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [134514]
Derek Twigg: In 1997, the ratio of serving officers of rear-admiral rank and above to ships in-service was 1:2.72 (36 admirals to 98 ships) and currently it is 1:2.27 (33 admirals to 75 ships).
The ratio of commodores to the number of ships in 2007 is 1:1.29 (58 commodores to 75 ships). As I stated in my answer of 13 March 2007, Official Report, columns 206-07W, there was no substantive rank of commodore in 1997.
There is no simple relationship between the number of senior officers serving in the Royal Navy and the number of ships in the Royal Navy. A significant number fill tri-service posts.
Navy: Pay
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Royal Navy bonuses and (b) Royal Naval Reserve bounty payments for the fiscal year 2007-08 were (i) missed and (ii) mispaid by the Joint Personnel Administration. [136040]
Derek Twigg: The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency, which is responsible for such payments, is not currently aware of any missed or mispaid commitment bonus payments due to top Royal Naval personnel. Annual bounties for Royal Naval Reserve personnel for service during fiscal year 2006-07 were successfully paid in April 2007 through the Joint Personnel Administration system. While it cannot be predicted in which month annual bounties will be paid for service in fiscal year 2007-08, the majority are normally paid in April of each calendar year following the end of the training year on 31 March.
Initiation of both the bonus and bounty payments is governed by the timely provision of details of entitlements from units.
Proof of Identity: Ministry of Defence
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2007, Official Report, column 208W, on proof of identity: Ministry of Defence, how many security passes have been reported lost in each of the last five years. [136153]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 9 May 2007]: Across the MOD central London office buildings (Main Building, Old War Office Building and St. George’s Court) the following numbers of passes have been reported as lost or stolen:
| Number | ||
| Passes lost | Passes stolen | |
Separate figures are not available for individual buildings.
Service Personnel
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007, Official Report, column 164W, on service personnel, if he will place in the Library the minutes of all meetings of the Families Working Group held in 2006 and 2007. [133165]
Derek Twigg: I have today placed the redacted minutes of the Families Working Group meetings held during 2006 and 2007 in the Library.
Territorial Army: Driving
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his assessment is of the effect of the Drivers’ Hours and Rest Time Regulations on Territorial Army manpower and effectiveness. [123854]
Mr. Ingram: EU Regulation No 561/2006 on working hours for drivers, which came into effect on 11 April 2007, inevitably applies to a limited number of Territorial Army personnel who in their civilian employment are vocational drivers.
As it does not apply to members of the Territorial Army once they are mobilised, we do not envisage the introduction of this legislation affecting our ability to conduct current operations.
We are conducting a systematic assessment of the likely impact on the Territorial Army over the medium term, and individual cases over the next few months are likely to help inform our assessment. We are also confident that, with minor adjustments to Territorial Army training patterns, vocational drivers can continue to serve for the foreseeable future. We are also working, along with our colleagues in the Department for Transport, on ways to reduce the impact of this change in the longer term.
Warships
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what lessons the Royal Navy has learned from the weather-related incident on HMS Sovereign last summer in Plymouth Sound, when two members of the ship’s company were trapped in the superstructure; what advice has been issued in consequence to other naval users of Plymouth Sound; and if he will make a statement. [135190]
Mr. Ingram: A ship’s investigation into the incident was carried out at the time, which concluded that established procedures were not fully followed. The correct procedures are promulgated to all Royal Navy submarines. A Near Miss Report, drawing lessons from the Ship's Investigation, was distributed throughout the RN submarine fleet in March 2007. In addition, Royal Navy submarines not based at Devonport are briefed about the constraints, limitations, hazards and dangers of operating in or around Plymouth Sound and are expected to carry an Admiralty Pilot when entering or leaving this port.
The Royal Navy is also considering whether there are lessons to be learned from the tragic incident in December 2006 involving the USS Minneapolis St. Paul, in which two men lost their lives, following the recent publication of the US investigation into the incident.
Work and Pensions
Carers’ Allowances: Kent
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with Kent county council on the minimum allowances payable to carers. [136828]
Mrs. McGuire: Carer's allowance is payable at a single rate and is uprated annually. It has been the practice for many years to increase carer’s allowance in line with the retail prices index.
There have been no formal discussions between DWP Ministers and officials from Kent county council on the rate of carer's allowance.
Employment Schemes
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the current training schemes available through Jobcentre Plus. [132865]
Mr. Jim Murphy: Our employment programmes, especially the New Deals, have helped to significantly reduce unemployment and are internationally renowned as being very successful. This has been achieved through bringing people closer to the labour market which has included the provision of training.
We regularly undertake assessments of the effectiveness of employment programmes including training schemes. There are evaluations of all new programmes involving
independently commissioned projects, internal performance monitoring and thorough reviews for Her Majesty's Treasury spending reviews.
However, we realise there is more to do and we are currently considering the recent Freud and Leith reviews which recommend ways of further improving training opportunities.
Employment Schemes: Agriculture
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to work in partnership with the National Care Farming Initiative to help people return to employment. [132570]
Mr. Jim Murphy: We are keen to work in partnership with private and voluntary sector organisations and although we have no current plans to work in partnership with the National Care Farming Initiative, we would welcome their engagement with us.
Employment Schemes: Lone Parents
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what analysis his Department has conducted into the reasons for failure to attend a Work Focused Interview by those lone parents sanctioned in 2005-06. [136157]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 9 May 2007] : The most recent research on the effect of the sanctioning regime on lone parents is the qualitative research conducted by Joyce and Whiting in April and May 2005: Sanctions: Qualitative summary report on lone parent customers; DWP Working Paper No. 27, Lucy Joyce and Karen Whiting. This report is available in the Library.
In 2008, we expect to publish outcomes from qualitative research into the effect of benefit sanctions on employment decisions and moves into employment by lone parents and will place this in the Library.
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of lone parents receiving sanctions for failing to attend a Work Focused Interview. [136158]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 9 May 2007]: The purpose of Work Focused Interviews (WFIs) is to ensure that lone parents know about the support that is available to help them move into work. Lone parents who receive income support are told they have to attend WFIs as a condition of receiving their benefit, and to ensure this requirement is understood, we have reviewed the communications we send to lone parents to ensure they are clear and unambiguous.
Considerable effort is made to reduce the possibility of lone parents receiving benefit sanctions.
We telephone them to remind them of their appointment and re-arrange the WFI if necessary.
If a lone parent fails to attend their WFI on the first occasion, we telephone or write to them and if they make contact within five working days no sanction is imposed.
If no contact is made within five working days and the lone parent is considered to be in a vulnerable group, a home visit will be arranged. If contact is made, the interview will be rearranged, deferred or waived as appropriate.
Where contact is not made, a letter will be left at the lone parent’s home address giving them a further five days to contact Jobcentre Plus.
If the lone parent fails to attend again, we write to them asking them to demonstrate good cause for their failure to attend their WFI. If contact is made by the lone parent and good cause demonstrated, the appointment will again be re-arranged, deferred or waived as appropriate, and no sanction imposed.
If no contact is made by the lone parent but they subsequently attend a Jobcentre Plus office prior to the sanction being imposed, an attempt will be made to hold the interview immediately to prevent the sanction being imposed.
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what analysis his Department has conducted of the impact on attainment of the Government's child poverty target of the number of lone parents sanctions for failing to attend a Work Focused Interview in 2005-06. [136159]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 9 May 2007]: The information requested is not available.
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