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16 July 2007 : Column 22W—continued


Army: Manpower

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) assessed requirement and (b) numbers of personnel in post is for each Army infantry battalion. [148279]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Officials are currently collating this information. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Bombs

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the standard programmes regarding the number of rockets per ripple are when CRV-7 cluster munition rockets are fired in a pre-programme ripple; and what factors influence the choice of ripple programme. [147524]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Multi-Purpose Sub-Munition variant of the CRV-7 (the CRV-7 MPSM), which is only fired from the UK Apache Helicopter, does not fall within the UK’s understanding of a cluster munition primarily because of its direct fire capability and also because it has too few sub-munitions. The CRV-7 MPSM is not fired using a pre-programmed ripple.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what body conducted the tests to establish the six per cent. failure rate for the M261 submunitions carried on CRV-7 cluster munition rockets; how many rockets and submunitions were fired in the tests; and what the (a) ground conditions and (b) range were. [147525]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The CRV-7 with its M261 multi-purpose submunition (which is only fired from the UK Apache Helicopter) does not fall within the UK's understanding of a cluster munition primarily because of its direct fire capability and also because it has too few sub-munitions.

UK contract acceptance tests were conducted by Industry in the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. The trials involved 36 all up rounds firing a total of 315 M73 grenades (one rocket motor failed to fire). The munitions were fired at 1, 3 and 6 km. A 94 per cent. reliability target was achieved.

The UK MOD also holds test data from further US Army trials which corroborates the 94 per cent. reliability figure achieved by UK trials.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost is of all private finance initiative projects for which his Department has responsibility completed since 1997; and what the projected cost is of such projects commissioned or under way. [148028]


16 July 2007 : Column 23W

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The total costs of all private finance initiative projects are provided at HM Treasury’s website, http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_private_partnerships/ppp_pfi_stats.cfm. Total cost information is expressed as the sum of unitary charge payments. Unitary charge payments are projections and are conditional on the performance of the private sector contractor. They frequently include inflation, service provision and major refurbishment costs as well as capital repayments.

The information provided at HM Treasury’s website provides unitary charge payment information up until 2033-34. The Department has three projects whose life exceeds 2034. These projects and the projected total unitary charge payments for each are as follows:

Project name Estimated total unitary charge payment (£ million)

Allenby/Connaught

12,816.76

ASTUTE Class Training Service (ACTS)

551.15

Colchester Garrison

2,900.56


Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2007, Official Report, column 61W, on Departments: private finance initiative, when each preferred bidder was selected. [148280]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The date when each preferred bidder was selected is shown in the following table:


16 July 2007 : Column 24W
Project Date preferred bidder selected

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA)

February 2005

Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME)

March 2005

Future Provision of Marine Services (FPMS)

February 2006

Corsham Development Project

October 2006

Defence Training Review

October 2006

United Kingdom Military Flying Training System

July 2006


Galileo Project

Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2007, Official Report, column 955W, on Galileo project, what the wider issues in relation to Galileo are on which his Department provides advice to the Department of Transport. [148694]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The MOD provides the Department for Transport with policy advice on the security aspects of Galileo, including system security and security implications of the programme. Along with other Government Departments the MOD also provides advice on EU institutional issues. In addition, drawing on its experience of large procurement projects, the MOD can offer advice on project management, governance, PPP funding and risk management issues.

Helicopters: Spare Parts

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times each helicopter type in the (a) Army Air Corps, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force was cannibalised in each of the past 12 months. [148271]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The number of cannibalisations involving aircraft operated by the Army Air Corps, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in the Forward Fleet (with front-line commands and utilised for operational deployment or other tasks) in the last 12 months is shown in the following table:

2006 2007
Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Army Air Corps

Apache AH

22

30

20

14

42

33

23

31

22

30

14

7

A109

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Gazelle

3

10

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

6

0

2

Lynx 7 and 9

15

14

44

22

21

41

26

25

26

44

21

8

Royal Navy

Sea King 4 and 6

15

6

12

17

5

25

19

18

24

10

10

19

Sea King Mk5

11

6

0

11

12

8

7

3

10

12

n/a

n/a

Sea King Mk7

7

7

7

12

9

5

4

7

12

10

n/a

n/a

Merlin Mk1

31

39

27

53

58

47

21

40

62

32

n/a

n/a

Lynx Mk3

11

11

3

6

7

10

5

6

12

18

n/a

n/a

Lynx Mk8

12

12

3

4

13

9

9

11

5

15

n/a

n/a

RAF

Chinook 2/2a

38

17

18

24

36

13

15

12

12

19

20

34

Merlin Mk3

35

30

25

33

37

28

29

19

43

62

52

41

Puma

12

17

9

16

34

3

6

6

8

7

5

12

Search and Rescue Sea King Mk3/3A

23

20

20

12

18

21

7

11

19

12

10

n/a

n/a = Figures not yet available.

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