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11 Jun 2007 : Column 761W—continued
Nuclear Weapons
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the next generation of the nuclear deterrent since Parliament approved it in principle. [139152]
Des Browne
[holding answer 4 June 2007]: Since Parliament voted on 14 March to support the Government’s decisions, as set out in the White Paper: The Future of
the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent (Cm 6994), to take the steps necessary to maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent beyond the life of the current system, work has started mobilising MOD and industry to undertake the detailed concept phase for the new class of submarines and on taking forward the UK’s participation in the programme to extend the life of the Trident D5 missile.
Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what urgent statements of user requirement were made by commanders in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan in each of the last five years. [138789]
Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 April 2007, Official Report, columns 154-56W, to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock). I am withholding details of individual Urgent Statements of User Requirements as the information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many days of leave in total have been lost by armed forces personnel due to delays in flights from Afghanistan to the UK in each month since the launch of Operation Herrick; [139768]
(2) how many days of leave in total have been lost by armed forces personnel due to delays in flights from Iraq to the UK in each month since the launch of Operation Telic. [139771]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 June 2007]: Post-Operational Leave (POL) is additional to an individual’s annual leave allowance. A period of POL is only considered to have started after an individual has completed the operational tour and returned to the UK, and therefore it would not be diminished due to any flight delays.
Rest and Recuperation (R and R) is also in addition to an individual’s annual leave allowance and is taken in the course of an operational tour. It is a fixed period which includes travel time, and therefore the time spent at home could be diminished where delays occur in travelling. When appropriate, R and R can be extended at the discretion of the commanding officer if time has been lost due to travel delays; this decision will be made on the basis of the current operational tempo and the impact that such an extension might have. Records are not held of the impact delays have had on individuals’ R and R, and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
RFA Fort Victoria
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to place RFA Fort Victoria into reserve; and what plans he has to replace her medical facilities in the active fleet. [140997]
Mr. Ingram: RFA Fort Victoria is not in reserve. She remains within the Fleet operational cycle and is not planned to be taken out of service until 2019. RFA Fort Victoria has a medical technician and a sickbay on board. She does not provide medical support for the Fleet.
Russia: Nuclear Weapons
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had on recent ICBM tests undertaken by Russia; what assessment he has made of the implications of such tests for UK defence policy; and if he will make a statement. [140710]
Des Browne [holding answer 7 June 2007]: I have had no such discussions. The tests have no significant implications for UK defence policy, as Russia already possesses multiple warhead ICBMs. The tests do not represent an introduction of a new capability, but a gradual replacement and enhancement of an existing one.
Sierra Leone: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006, Official Report, column 1096W, on casualty reporting, what progress has been made on reconciling casualty data for operations in (a) Sierra Leone and (b) the Balkans since May 1997. [139622]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 June 2007]: Historical data on fatalities and casualties for major ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have now been reconciled and validated. This information is published and updated regularly and can be found at http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/Operations Factsheets, along with details of fatalities for operations in the Balkans.
Work to date on the compilation and reconciliation of historical casualty data from the Balkans and from other theatres (including Sierra Leone), has indicated that further data collection and analysis is required in order to provide a sufficiently validated product and the focus is on compiling data over the period since January 2001. When this work is complete it will be placed in the public domain.
Warships: Procurement
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to order the seventh and eighth Type 45 destroyers. [141000]
Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 17 April 2007, Official Report, column 537W.
Trade and Industry
Audio Equipment: Health Hazards
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward proposals for a statutory warning to be published on the external packaging of personal audio equipment to inform consumers about risks to their hearing. [139154]
Margaret Hodge:
It is already widely understood that playing personal audio equipment too loud can damage your hearing. This is usually mentioned as a
safety warning in the product instructions. It is not clear what would be achieved by repeating the message on the external packaging.
These products are increasingly being supplied with software controls for limiting volume which parents can set for their children under a security code. Personal audio equipment intended solely for children is already limited to safe volume levels in line with harmonised European standard EN 71-1.
Breast Feeding
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many prosecutions of employers there were for failing to provide breaks for female employees who are breastfeeding after the birth of a child in each of the past 10 years. [139607]
Mrs. McGuire: I have been asked to reply.
There is no legal requirement to provide breaks for female employees who are breastfeeding. Therefore, there have been no prosecutions.
Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to carry out the duty placed upon him by section 21 of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 since the passage of that Act. [138721]
Malcolm Wicks: As stated in the recently-published Energy White Paper, the Government are committed to promoting the use of renewable heat.
Many policies are already in place to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from heat including the climate change levy, tax incentives for combined heat and power, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and the energy efficiency commitment. Support has also been made available through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and the Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme.
DTI and DEFRA have commissioned a study by Ernst and Young into renewable heat and its potential to make significant carbon savings in the longer term. The study, which is in its final stages, will be published shortly.
The Government have also produced a Biomass Strategy and published it alongside the Energy White Paper. The Biomass Strategy identifies biomass heating as the most cost efficient use for energy and provides a framework for the development of biomass.
It is essential to consider the heat sector holistically and the Government are carrying out further work over the coming months into policy options that could further reduce the carbon impact of heat and its use in order to determine a strategy for heat.
Microgeneration
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to reduce the cost of microgeneration equipment for domestic households. [140599]
Malcolm Wicks: The main mechanism for reducing the cost of microgeneration equipment for households is through the Low Carbon Buildings Phase 1 capital grant programme. The 2007 Budget announced a further £6 million to be added to the householder stream of this programme, bringing the total available to approximately £18.7 million.
We have also introduced legislation to make it easier for microgenerators to gain access to the monetary benefits of Renewable Obligation Certificates. And we are continuing to work with larger energy suppliers to ensure transparency of prices offered for exported electricity from microgenerators and to make technical changes that would help suppliers to cut administration costs and make it more cost-effective to offer export tariffs.
The Communities and Local Government Department have recently published a consultation setting out plans to make it easier for householders to install microgeneration equipment without having to go through the planning process and incurring the associated costs.
Departments: Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was raised from the sale of his Department’s property in each of the last five years. [139308]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has only sold one property within the last five years and the amount received was £110,000 in financial year 2006-07.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was received by his Department from the letting of its properties in each of the last five years. [139327]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has received the following income from letting its properties in the last five years;
| Income (£ million) | |
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what properties his Department (a) owned and (b) rented in each of the last five years. [139347]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has owned/leased the following buildings in the last five years:
| Building | Tenure | Remarks |
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent estimate has been made of the value of his Department’s property portfolio. [139366]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department’s most recent valuation of its property portfolio is £125.33 million.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of leasing buildings and office space for (a) his Department and (b) its agencies was in each of the last five years. [139476]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The cost of leasing buildings is as follows:
| Value (£ million) | |
| (1)Unable to provide figures for 2002-03 due to the disproportionate cost of obtaining this information. | |
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