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18 Feb 2008 : Column 105W—continued
Military Equipment: Finance
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department’s planned expenditure is on (a) new armoured vehicles for the Army and (b) new escort ships for the Royal Navy in each of the next five years. [183732]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: It has been assumed that ‘new armoured vehicles’ refers to the future rapid effect system (FRES), and that ‘new escorts’ refers to the Type 45 destroyer.
FRES has not yet reached the main gate approval point and actual costs for design and manufacture have yet to be set. The forecast cost of Type 45 in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2007 is £6,464 million for six ships. Detailed spending plans are kept under review and exposure of more detailed budgeting
profiles would prejudice the ongoing commercial negotiations of the projects.
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: Colchester
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the authorised strength of the Ministry of Defence police force at the Colchester Garrison was in (a) May 1997, (b) May 2001 and (c) May 2005; and what the authorised strength now is. [183466]
Derek Twigg: The term ‘authorised strength’ is interpreted to be the staff complement as agreed between Land Command and the MDP. As such the authorised strength of the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) at the Colchester Garrison in May 1997, May 2001, May 2005 and January 2008 was as follows:
| Authorised strength | |
The MDP provides a community policing role at the Colchester Garrison and does not provide security for the establishment. Security is provided by the Army unit stationed at the garrison.
These figures do not include Criminal Investigation Department Officers who are not part of the MDP complement at the Colchester Garrison and not funded by Land Command. They are based in Colchester for administrative convenience and are responsible for investigating crime on defence estates in East Anglia.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence police officers were employed at the Colchester Garrison in (a) May 1997, (b) May 2001, (c) May 2005, (d) May 2006 and (e) May 2007; and how many are now employed there. [183467]
Derek Twigg: The number of Ministry of Defence police officers employed at Colchester in (a) May 1997, (b) May 2001, (c) May 2005, (d) May 2006, (e) May 2007 and January 2008 is as follows:
| Total | |
The MDP provides a community policing role at the Colchester Garrison and does not provide security for the establishment. Security is provided by the Army unit stationed at the garrison.
These figures do not include Criminal Investigation Department officers who are not part of the MDP complement at the Colchester Garrison and are not
funded by Land Command. They are based in Colchester for administrative convenience, and are responsible for investigating crime on defence estates in East Anglia.
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: Manpower
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence Guarding Agency officers there were in each year since 1997. [182320]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) is the uniformed, unarmed element forming part of the larger Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency. The Ministry of Defence Guard Service was formed into a corporate structure as part of the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency in April 2004.
The information requested is provided in the following table.
| Number of MGS | |
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: Recruitment
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence Guarding Agency officers were recruited in each year since 1997. [182315]
Derek Twigg: The information requested is provided in the following table. Full records do not exist for the years prior to April 2004, when the Ministry of Defence Guard Service was formed into a corporate structure as part of the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency.
| Recruited | |
Navy
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s (a) Navy sitrep—main version and (b) Navy sitrep—Royal Marine version for each month since 2005-06. [185723]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Naval Monthly Sitreps (Situation Reports) are designed for internal circulation to Navy branch managers, giving a range of statistics about strengths, inflows and outflows of Navy staff by various dimensions such as specialisation and rank.
The numbers in the reports are not fully rounded, with numbers under 10 being unrounded. Because this might allow personally disclosive information to be revealed, only fully rounded versions can be placed in the Library of the House.
A fully rounded version of the main Sitrep for September 2006 is available in the Library of the House. I will place a fully rounded version of the latest editions (December 2007), in the Library of the House. Previous editions could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Navy: Manpower
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the Royal Navy’s (a) Manpower Planning Assumptions, (b) Rating Planning Model, (c) Officers Planning Model, (d) Officers Strategic Planning Model and (e) Naval Manpower Brief for the financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08. [185724]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I will place a copy of the latest editions of the Navy Manpower Planning Assumptions for 2007 in the Library of the House. It has been edited to remove some personal names, and details of future recruiting assumptions and transfer numbers by specialisation, as this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the armed forces. Where this has been done it has been indicated in the document. The edition for runs in 2006 is already available in the Library of the House. The next edition, for planning runs to be run in 2008, has not yet been finalised.
I am withholding the models themselves as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the armed forces and they contain personal information.
I am also withholding the Naval Manpower Brief, as its release would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the armed forces.
Nimrod Aircraft
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times a Government Minister has travelled in an RAF Nimrod aircraft in each of the last five years. [172852]
Des Browne: Records show that no Government Minister has travelled in a Nimrod during the past five years. The Nimrod is a reconnaissance aircraft and it would not be used as a mode of transport.
However, MOD Ministers have visited RAF Kinloss and RAF Waddington, where Nimrod aircraft are based, on eight separate occasions in the past five years, as well as visiting Nimrod crews deployed on operations.
Nuclear Disarmament
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he gave to inviting (a) Israel, (b) India and (c) Pakistan when planning the technical conference involving the laboratories of nuclear weapon-states in collaborative work on confidence building in nuclear disarmament, as announced in his speech to the conference on disarmament in Geneva on 5 February. [186450]
Des Browne: The UK has offered to host a conference between the nuclear laboratories of the five nuclear-weapon states recognised under the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States). The aim of the Conference will be to address some of the difficult technical issues related to the verification of nuclear disarmament as we work toward a world free from nuclear weapons. It will examine ways of furthering the disarmament goals of Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Israel, India and Pakistan are not state parties.
Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme: Finance
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected expenditure on the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme is (a) in each year from 2008-09 to 2010-11 and (b) in the life of the programme from 2005 to 2015. [181443]
Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 11 December 2007, Official Report, column 400W.
Nuclear Weapons: Decommissioning
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding his Department has supplied to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston for research on the verification of the dismantlement of nuclear warheads since 1997; and what provision has been made for such research in the next three years. [186374]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth:
The MOD’s arms control verification research (ACVR) programme commenced in April 2000, following the Strategic Defence Review. A small amount of work was undertaken prior to this to develop the forward programme, but detailed costs, cannot be extracted from the overall ‘nuclear test limitation’ programme which existed at the time. Costs incurred directly against the ACVR programme for the period 2000-01 to 2006-07, inclusive, were
approximately £2 million. In addition to this, indirect support has been provided from other AWE programme areas.
For the financial year 2007-08, the ACVR budget is £420,000. The MOD is currently reviewing the ACVR programme’s future resource allocation to ensure it is commensurate with meeting policy objectives.
Reserve Forces: Manpower
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the latest figure is for the (a) required and (b) actual total training strength of the (i) Territorial Army, (ii) Royal Navy Reserve, (iii) Royal Marines Reserve and (iv) Royal Auxiliary Air Force. [185771]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The latest figures for the Volunteer Reserves are as follows:
| Required trained strength | Actual trained strength | As a percentage | |
Figures for the Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Marines Reserve are as at 31 January 2008. Figures for the Territorial Army are the latest available, and are as at 1 March 2007, when joint personnel administration went live for the Army. Figures for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force are as at 31 December 2007. In all cases the numbers are based on those who have successfully completed their required training.
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