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29 Oct 2007 : Column 983W—continued
| Table 2: Seismic stations owned by the MOD | |||
| Site code | Name | Latitude | Longitude |
| Note: Latitude and longitude are given in degrees with decimal fractions, with west represented as negative. | |||
Submarines
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many attack submarines the Royal Navy will have in each of the next 10 years; and what the in-service date would be of each boat in a flotilla of (a) six, (b) seven and (c) eight Astute-class submarines. [160087]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 24 October 2007]: On present plans, which are regularly reviewed, the number of Attack submarines in each year is as follows:
| Number of vessels | |
It is departmental policy to release in-service dates only for those vessels for which the main investment decision has been taken. HMS Astute’s in-service date is programmed for 2009 with the next three submarines of the class to follow in 2010, 2012 and 2015 respectively.
Territorial Army: Health
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account is taken of performance in the combat fitness test in the assessment of (a) suitability and (b) progress of Territorial Army applicants for potential junior NCO courses; and if he will make a statement. [160421]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Territorial Army personnel are only usually allowed to undertake potential Junior Non-Commissioned Officer (JNCO) courses if they have passed the Military Annual Training Test (MATT), of which the Combat Fitness Test (CFT) is a constituent part, and if they are deemed suitable (including being mentally and physically fit) to attend by their unit.
TA personnel who are unable to meet the JNCO course standards set out by their Corps (including the CFT if it is part of the syllabus) are unlikely to progress and be recommended for promotion.
Territorial Army: Pay
Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what delays are occurring to payments to Territorial Army personnel arising from the introduction of the new pay system; and if he will make a statement. [161409]
Derek Twigg: There are no known systemic problems that may have caused any delay in payments to Territorial Army personnel.
Delays or errors in individual payments can occur as the result of late or incorrect inputs by unit Human Resources staff and can also be due to failure to follow the correct processes within the payroll delivery area.
Trident
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) of 26 July 2007, Official Report, column 1252W, on Trident, how often in each year he expects to present to Parliament interim reports on meeting progress targets in the programme development before the Initial Gate of the replacement for Trident; whether he plans to include financial expenditure details with each interim report; and if he will make it his policy to present each report to Parliament accompanied by an oral statement. [160090]
Des Browne [holding answer 24 October 2007]: Interim reports on the programme to maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent will be provided depending on progress. We are in the early stages of this programme and there are no plans as yet to provide an interim report.
TRiM Programme
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evaluation has been made of the efficacy of the TRiM programme. [158246]
Derek Twigg: The Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health and the Kings Centre for Military Health Research, has conducted a randomised control trial into Trauma Risk Management (TRiM). The study was fully funded by the MOD. The results of this trial will be published in due course.
Unidentified Flying Objects
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department’s (Air Staff)/Defence Secretariat is responsible for the evaluation of reported unidentified flying objects. [160949]
Derek Twigg: The Directorate of Air Staff remains responsible for the evaluation of reported unidentified flying objects, calling, if necessary, for advice from other branches.
Warships: Brunei
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Brunei on the on-selling of three BAE-built warships by that country; what the requirements are for end-user reporting and certification; and if he will make a statement. [158781]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Defence Ministers have had no discussions with the Brunei Government about potential purchasers for the three offshore patrol vessels built by BAE Systems.
As the ships are controlled for export and are in the UK, a licence will be required before export. Applicants are required to provide details of the end-user as part of the licensing process.
Written Questions
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will answer question 157096, tabled by the hon. Member of Mid Worcestershire on 8 October, on the office issuing medals to the Army. [160653]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 25 October 2007]: I replied to the hon. Member today. I apologise for the delay in replying which was due to an administrative error.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when will he reply to Question 156924, on service personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, tabled by the hon. Member for Woking on 10 October 2007. [160837]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 25 October 2007]: I replied to the hon. Member today.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people attended accident and emergency at (a) Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and (b) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich in each of the last five years. [160467]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows attendances at the accident and emergency departments, minor injury units and Walk in Centres of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital National Health Service Trusts and the Queen Mary’s Sidcup NHS Trust from 2002-07.
| Name | Total attendances | ||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| Note: Attendances at Walk in Centres were included in the collection from 2003-04. | |||||
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals aged 11 to 18 years resident in Ribble Valley constituency were treated for alcohol-related health problems in each year since 1997. [161146]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format required.
The following table shows the number of finished admission episodes in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT where there was a primary diagnosis of alcohol related disease for those aged between 11-18 at admission from 1997-98 to 2005-06.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Drugs
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of providing drugs for Alzheimer’s disease in the last five years. [161060]
Dawn Primarolo: The cost of providing drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (donepezil, galantamine, memantine and rivastigmine(1)) in England is in the following table.
(1) Rivastigmine is also licensed for dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease and some of the data may relate to prescriptions dispensed for that condition.
| £000 | ||
| Net ingredient cost of drugs dispensed in the community | Cost of dispensing drugs prescribed in secondary care | |
| Sources: 1. Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system. 2. Â(c) IMS HEALTH: Hospital Pharmacy Audit. | ||
Ambulance Services
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he is giving to NHS ambulance trusts in light of the Sheffield Study. [159991]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not plan to issue any guidance to NHS ambulance trusts in the light of the study undertaken by the Medical Care Research Unit in Sheffield, subsequently published in the Emergency Medicine Journal.
It is for the local NHS to plan and provide services. The organisation of services is therefore a matter for
local NHS organisations, working with their strategic health authorities and stakeholders. The NHS should seek to provide care as close to home as is compatible with clinical safety and therefore how the NHS responds to emergencies needs to focus not just on getting the patient to a particular location, but also on taking care to the patient. In addition, in order to provide patients requiring particular specialised services with safe, high quality care, it may be appropriate to have the expertise, experience and equipment in fewer locations.
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