| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Mar 2008 : Column 2047W—continued
Departmental Private Finance Initiative
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the (a) value and (b) start date was of each private finance initiative project approved by his Department in each of the last three financial years. [190810]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Wales Office has not initiated or approved any private finance initiative projects in the last three years.
Departmental Written Questions
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what proportion of Parliamentary questions for answer on a named day to his Department received a (a) holding and (b) substantive answer on the named day in each year since 2001. [190289]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The total number of named day questions received by my department and answered substantially are listed as follows:
| Total received | Substantive answer | |
Television Screens
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many plasma television screens have been purchased by his Department, and at what cost, in the last 24 months. [191073]
Defence
Surface Fleet
9. Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on future orders for the surface fleet of the Royal Navy; and if he will make a statement. [190366]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: We continue to make good progress on the future orders for the surface fleet of the Royal Navy. We have committed to ordering two new aircraft carriers and have placed orders for six Type 45 destroyers. It is our intention, in addition, to deliver replacement vessels in the future for Type 22 and 23 frigates, and elements of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Attack Submarines
11. Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future number of attack submarines in the Royal Navy. [190368]
18. Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of attack submarines for the Royal Navy. [190375]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Our judgment remains that in the medium term, a fleet of eight of the current classes of attack submarine will be sufficient to meet the full range of tasks. By 2022 we will have completed the transition to the more capable Astute class, for which it remains our plan to order seven boats. Over the next 14 years, attack submarine numbers will fluctuate between seven and eight as Astute replaces the current classes.
Watchkeeper
12. Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when army training will start on the Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle; and where in the UK it will take place. [190369]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: We plan to begin classroom based training for the Watchkeeper programme in September next year at Larkhill, and live flying in March 2010 at Parc Aberporth in West Wales.
Armour
13. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether future armoured fighting vehicles purchased by his Department will have chassis armour and bolt-on armour. [190370]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth:
A combination of base and bolt-on armour is likely to be used for most future
armoured fighting vehicles. It allows us to reconfigure the armour solution to counter threats as they emerge, and to take advantage of the latest armour technologies.
Afghanistan
14. Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the security conditions in Afghanistan. [190371]
Des Browne: The security situation in Afghanistan is stable if fragile in places. The Afghan National Army and troops from the 40-nation International Stabilisation Assistance Force are actively engaged in operations to maintain the pressure on the Taliban and extend the authority of the Government of Afghanistan.
Mental Health
16. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps his Department has taken to work with the NHS in developing effective mental health care for service veterans. [190373]
22. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pilot schemes he has established for the identification of veterans in need of mental health services and for the provision of such services. [190379]
Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on the regional pilots to improve mental health care for veterans. [190378]
Derek Twigg: The MOD, the four UK health departments and Combat Stress have been working together with clinical experts and the Health and Social Care Advisory Service (HASCAS) to develop a new model of community-based veterans mental healthcare that will address assessment and treatment of veterans’ mental health problems. Pilots have been launched in Staffordshire and Shropshire, Camden and Islington, Bishop Auckland and Cardiff Vale. These will be followed shortly by pilots in Lothian and Cornwall. Following two years of piloting and evaluation it is planned to roll the model out across the UK.
Future Rapid Effects System
17. Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the future rapid effects system. [190374]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Future Rapid Effect System is progressing well. We have selected the system of Systems Integrator, completed the Utility Vehicle design trials and issued a pre-Qualification Questionnaire for the Utility Vehicle Integrator in recent months. FRES is currently in its assessment phase and work on detailed requirements is continuing.
Devonport
19. Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for Devonport naval base. [190376]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced in July 2007 at the conclusion of the Naval Base Review, the most effective means of supporting the Royal Navy is to retain all three naval bases, including Devonport.
In doing so we will continue to work with industry to develop innovative programmes that deliver effective, efficient and sustainable support to the Royal Navy.
Deployment Strength
23. Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the deployable strength is of the Army. [190380]
25. Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the deployable strength is of the Army. [190382]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: As at 27 February 2008, the Army currently has 67,400 personnel within its deployable formations. 53,400 of these personnel are presently graded as deployable, with a further 7,600 personnel graded as being deployable in a limited range of roles. Non-deployable personnel will include those who are medically unfit and those filling key roles in support of families of those service personnel who are not deployed.
Additionally there are elements of the Army that are deemed as being in non-deployable posts employed in essential roles often directly supporting operations within the training organisations, staff headquarters and the regional forces command structure.
Skill Force
24. Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of initiatives in the city of Nottingham by Skill Force to use the talents of retired military personnel. [190381]
Des Browne: Skill Force is involved in the city of Nottingham helping difficult to reach young people during term-time through an alternative curriculum that includes team building and problem solving skills, leading to a variety of awards and qualifications. They are currently working in three Nottingham schools, but such has been their success that they hope to expand to cover five schools in the city from September of this year. As with the rest of the Skill Force project, they are making an extremely valuable contribution to efforts to tackle social exclusion among young people.
Health Care
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Health to ensure that GPs provide priority treatment to veterans. [190372]
Derek Twigg:
The Health Secretary announced in November an extension of NHS priority treatment. From 1 January all veterans, not just war pensioners, should receive priority access to NHS secondary care for conditions which are related to their service. The Department of Health has issued guidance on the new provision. Defence and Health officials and the
ex-Service organisations are now working together on communicating the new arrangement to GPs and the veterans’ community and monitoring its effectiveness.
NATO Bucharest Summit
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the forthcoming NATO Bucharest summit. [190377]
Des Browne: The UK will look to the Bucharest summit to reaffirm NATO’s solidarity and commitment to its operations and missions—particularly in Afghanistan, where we need to build on the success NATO has achieved to date, and agree a comprehensive plan for the future. We will want it to maintain momentum on capability developments and force generation, both for current operations and more widely. Heads of State and Government will consider membership invitations for those countries currently participating in Membership Action Plans.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which elements of the Afghanistan Combined Joint Statement of Requirements remain unfulfilled. [188232]
Des Browne [holding answer 22 February 2008]: Among other requirements, NATO currently needs more training and mentoring personnel, combat forces in the south and east of Afghanistan and key enablers, such as helicopters, to meet the Combined Joint Statement of Requirements for Afghanistan.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sea king helicopters are to be fitted with Carson blades; and how many of those helicopters with such blades will be deployed in Afghanistan. [188616]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: We are fitting 14 Sea King HC4 helicopters with Carson blades. We have deployed a number of Sea King helicopters fitted with Carson blades to Afghanistan, and expect to deploy more later this year. I am withholding information on the exact number of helicopters deployed as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Armed Forces: EU Institutions
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British military personnel are attached to the (a) European Union Military Staff, (b) European Defence Agency, (c) European Union Military Committee and (d) other EU institutions. [190715]
Des Browne: 17 British military personnel are currently seconded to the EU Military Staff in Brussels, and there are two British military staff officers currently working in the European Defence Agency.
The European Union Military Committee is a regular meeting of the Chiefs of Defence Staff or their representatives from the EU member states, not a standing EU structure. There is one British military officer who is seconded as the military adviser to the permanent Chairman of the EU Military Committee.
There are no British military personnel seconded to other EU institutions.
Armed Forces: Housing
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of (a) single living and (b) service family accommodation units in (i) Germany, (ii) Cyprus, (iii) Gibraltar and (iv) the Falklands Islands there were in each of the four charge grades at the most recent date for which figures are available. [182325]
Derek Twigg: Services Family Accommodation (SFA) and Single Living Accommodation (SLA) in Germany, Cyprus, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands is at the following Grade for Charge (GfC).
| SFA | ||||||||
| Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | |||||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |