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19 Mar 2008 : Column 1166W—continued
State Retirement Pensions
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give consideration to replacing the 25 pence pension increase at 80-years-old with a consolidated cash payment. [194881]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We keep these issues under consideration but we have not announced any proposal to do this. We recognise that older pensioners on the whole need help more than others and, since 1997 we have introduced a whole range of measures which have targeted significant extra help on older pensioners. These includes: winter fuel payment of £300 and an additional payment for this year, alongside the winter fuel payment, of £100 to households with someone aged 80 or over, free TV licences; age related personal income tax allowance for the over 75s; and pension credit is of particular benefit to this age-group. Over a third of those entitled to pension credit are over the age of 80.
Defence
Armed Forces: Cadets
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the strength of the cadet forces was in each year since 1997, broken down by type of cadet. [193884]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The strength of the various cadet forces since 1997 is:
| Sea Cadets | Army Cadets | Air Cadets | Combined cadet force | |
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department’s budget for spending on cadets was in each year since 1997; and what the budget is for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [193886]
Derek Twigg: Expenditure by each Service on the cadet forces is as follows:
| £ million | |||
| Royal Navy | Army | Royal Air Force | |
| (1 )Forecast outturn. (2) Expenditure on cadets is charged to a number of different budgets and not all types of fixture expenditure are set specifically for the cadet forces. | |||
Armed Forces: Foreigners
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of non-UK personnel in the armed forces are (a) single and (b) accompanied by dependents. [194777]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The following table shows the number and percentage of full-time non-UK Personnel serving in the UK armed forces(1) who are single, by Service. Details of the number of dependents are not available prior to the introduction of JPA. Following the introduction of JPA data are held on the number of dependents but these have not yet been validated. To validate these data at this time would incur disproportionate costs.
| Numbers/percentage | |||
| Total non-UK nationals | Non-UK nationals( 4) with single status | Percentage | |
| (1) UK armed forces comprise UK Regular Forces, Gurkhas and FTRS personnel. It does not include the Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment or mobilised reservists. (2) Information is not held centrally for the Naval Service after 1 October 2006, and for Army after 1 March 2007, following the phased implementation of the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. Strengths figures are shown as at the most recent available date for each individual Service. (3) Although marital status information on RAF personnel is held prior to the implementation of JPA, it is not possible to produce an analysis of this by Nationality. (4) Nationality figures are based on those with a known Nationality only. (5) unavailable . Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages are calculated from unrounded data. Source: (DASA Quad-Service) | |||
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on promoting recruitment to the armed forces overseas in each year since 2003. [193882]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The armed forces do not actively recruit overseas with the exception of Gurkhas from Nepal. However, in recent years the Royal Navy and the Army have sent selection teams to some Commonwealth countries at the specific request of the government concerned, and only then when evidence suggests that there is sufficient interest amongst the local population to merit a visit. The selection teams screen out those who are not thought capable of meeting the full entry standards, to save them the cost of an abortive trip to the UK to undergo the recruitment selection process. The costs incurred as a result of the overseas selection team visits were as follows:
| Financial year | £ |
| (1) To date. Note: Figures rounded to nearest 100 | |
Gurkha recruitment policy is different to that for the regular UK armed forces. Recruitment to the Brigade of Gurkhas is conducted once a year, in Nepal. A selection team travels to Nepal from the UK to assist the in-country recruiting team with the selection process. The costs incurred by the recruiting team from outside Nepal were as follows:
| Financial year | £ |
| Note: Figures rounded to the nearest 100. | |
The cost relating to the in-country recruiting team in Nepal are not readily available and I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.
Armed Forces: Vehicles
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military vehicles were designated beyond economic repair in each year since 2003. [193883]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The number of military vehicles designated beyond economic repair in each year since 2003 is as follows:
| Vehicle type | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
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