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16 July 2007 : Column 22Wcontinued
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.
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 UKs 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.
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]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The total costs of all private finance initiative projects are provided at HM Treasurys 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 Treasurys 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) |
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:
Project | Date preferred bidder selected |
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.
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 | |
n/a = Figures not yet available. |
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