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15 Nov 2007 : Column 363W—continued
Iraq: Foreign Workers
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many third country nationals of each nationality have been employed by his Department in Iraq in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement. [162564]
Des Browne: Available records indicate that UK military forces in Iraq have employed directly some 148 individuals not of UK or Iraqi nationality over this period. Details are set out in the table, broken down by the year in which each was recruited. However, it is possible that this information is not complete, especially for the initial stages of the deployment into Iraq, when some staff were recruited at short notice to meet urgent operational requirements, and data capture for these individuals may be incomplete.
| Nationality/ Ethnicity | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Total |
These figures do not include Commonwealth soldiers serving with the UK armed forces, UK-based civilian personnel, or contractor staff supporting the UK armed forces.
Military Aircraft
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft there were in the RAF in 1997, broken down by aircraft type on the same basis as the answer provided on military aircraft on 9 October 2007, Official Report, column 509W. [162799]
Des Browne: The numbers of aircraft that were planned to be in service with the RAF service on 31 March 1997 are contained in the following table:
| Aircraft type | Fleet numbers |
| (1) Actual numbers were 27. (2) Actual numbers were 55. (3) Actual numbers were six. The planned figure does not reflect the retirement of two BAe 125 aircraft. | |
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the in-year budget was for helicopter procurement in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1999-2000 and (d) 2001-02. [162521]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Budget figures for the early years are no longer held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The in-year budget for all helicopter procurement projects for financial year 2001-02 is £842 million. This figure excludes funding for emergent urgent requirements and some commodity items bought in support of these projects.
Military Equipment: Israel
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was of UK military-related imports from Israel in each of the last five years. [163049]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The total value of UK imports of defence equipment from Israel, for the last five years where data are available, are given in the following table.
| Identified UK imports of defence equipment | |
| £ million( 1) | |
| (1) Rounded to nearest £ million at current prices | |
Data are based on HM Revenue and Customs information relating to defence equipment reported to UK Customs. Defence equipment is identified by an agreed set of tariff codes intended to capture the movement of military equipment.
Military Equipment: Libya
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what types of armaments and military equipment have been exported to Libya from the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and how much was paid for such material. [164990]
Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
The Government publish detailed information on export licences issued, including the overall value and number of export licences approved for Libya and a summary of the items covered by these licences, in its Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls. This information is available for licences issued only and not for equipment actually exported.
The Government’s Annual Reports, published since 1997, are available from the Libraries of the House and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&;c=Page&cid=1007029395474
The Government have published quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls since January 2004 and these are also available from this website.
Trident Missiles
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his timetable is for reducing the number of Trident warheads to below 160. [164136]
Des Browne: The December 2006 White Paper: The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent (Cm 6994) announced a further reduction in our holdings of operationally available nuclear warheads, in line with the UK’s commitment to maintain only the minimum necessary deterrent. I can confirm that we have now reduced the number of operationally available warheads from fewer than 200 to fewer than 160.
Leader of the House
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House if she will break down the figures referred to in the answer of 23 October 2007, Official Report, column 221W, on Departments: official hospitality, giving the amount spent on each function at which hospitality expenses were incurred. [162195]
Helen Goodman: Following a Machinery of Government change, detailed information on expenditure incurred in the 2006-07 financial year is only available at disproportionate cost.
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