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7 May 2008 : Column 917W—continued
Armed Forces: Prisoners
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel were serving sentences in military prisons, at the latest date for which figures are available. [203671]
Derek Twigg: As at 1 May, there were 145 British service personnel serving sentences at the Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester.
The Military Corrective Training Centre is not a prison. It is a military unit established for military corrective training. The majority of detainees are not sentenced for criminal offences, and return to their military duties on release; for example, a soldier would be sent there as a punishment for going absent without leave.
Armed Forces: Resignations
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel left (a) the Army, (b) the Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force prematurely in each of the last 10 years. [203673]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Voluntary outflow figures for the services in each of the last 10 years can be found in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 5—Trained Outflow to Civil Life. Monthly figures show the number of personnel who have outflowed in the previous 12 month period. TSP 5 is published monthly. The most recent publication presents outflow for the 12 months to 29 February 2008 and can be found at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp5/tsp5tab5.html. Copies of TSP 5 are available in the Library of the House and also at
Armed Forces: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 55W, on the armed forces: training, how many (a) crew personnel, (b) pilots and (c) each type of aircraft participated in Arctic flying training during the winter training period of 2007. [203468]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: 48 pilots and 10 other aircrew personnel took part in Arctic flying training, during the winter training period of 2007. The number and type of aircraft which also participated are shown as follows:
| Number | Type |
Army: Officers
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the actual strength of Army officers of each rank is; and if he will make a statement on the position and retention of captains. [202970]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Army officers’ strength as at 1 March 2008 is provided as follows:
| Army Officers strength according to paid rank at 1 March 2008 ( 1) | |
| Number | |
| (1) All figures are provisional and are rounded in accordance with Defence Analytical Services and Advice conventions. Figures are for trained regular strengths only and therefore exclude Full Time Reserve Service, Gurkhas and Home Service Personnel of the Royal Irish Regiment. | |
Since 2004 there has been an increase in the number of Army Captains seeking Voluntary Outflow (VO) from service but the total number in service has actually increased, resulting in a reduction of the deficit against requirement.
The Army continues to monitor VO carefully, and is looking at a number of positive measures to improve retention and further reduce the deficit of captains. These include examination of the officer career management structure and conditions of service, and the commissioning of a greater number of officers both from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and from the non-commissioned ranks.
Departmental Energy
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to reduce its energy consumption in the last 12 months; and what his Department’s expenditure on energy was in (a) the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available and (b) the immediately preceding 12 months. [201778]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made significant progress over the past 12 months in reducing energy consumption by taking such steps as improving building energy management and energy efficiency; installing more energy efficient lighting, automated metering and biomass boilers; focussing resources on the top 220 energy consuming defence sites; conducting audits; improving data management; making central funds available for energy efficiency/carbon emissions reduction projects; and embedding pro-rata energy efficiency targets into Service Delivery Agreement between MOD the Under-Secretary and the Department’s management areas.
The Department has published figures for utilities expenditure since 2000. The figure for 2006-07 and 2005-06 have been published in the Department’s accounts and are the latest figures available. The figures are:
| Utilities | Financial year 2006-07 (£000) |
| Utilities | Financial year 2005-06 (£000) |
Departmental Written Questions
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by him in the last six months. [201757]
Derek Twigg: The information is not available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, the following tables shows the number of ordinary written questions answered within five working and named day questions answered on the named day since October 2007.
| Ordinary written questions | |||
| Month | Received | Answered within five working days | Percentage |
| Named day questions | |||
| Month | Received | Answered on or before the named day | Percentage |
| Total | |||
| Month | Received | Answered within five working days or on or before the named day | Percentage |
Ex-servicemen: Unemployed
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of former service personnel who were unemployed in each year since 1997. [203454]
Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence does not collect statistics in such a form as to be able to make an estimate of the number of former service personnel who were unemployed in each year since 1997. Data do however show that 94 per cent. of service leavers looking for careers after service life are in employment six months after discharge.
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel completed the Northern Ireland Surveillance Course as part of their predeployment training for deployment to (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan in each year since 2003. [203399]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No service personnel have completed the Northern Ireland (NI) Surveillance Course as part of their predeployment training for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. This course ceased to run in December 2006.
The Operational Training and Advisory Group runs a Static Covert Surveillance (SCS) Course which was developed from the NI Surveillance Course and has been adapted to meet the specific requirements of each operational theatre.
The Iraq SCS course was first delivered in January 2005 and as at 1 May 2008 a total of 630 soldiers have completed this training prior to deployment to Iraq. The Afghanistan SCS course was first delivered in March 2007 and 305 soldiers will have completed this training by the end of the current training year on 31 March 2009.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel have been court martialled for offences relating to the treatment of civilians and prisoners in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan since 2001. [203670]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: 28 service personnel have been court-martialled for offences relating to the treatment of civilians and prisoners in Iraq.
No service personnel have been court-martialled for offences relating to the treatment of civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan.
Kosovo: Peacekeeping Operations
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the UK's commitment for NATO's Operational Reserve Force to arrive in Kosovo. [203216]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: It is planned that the UK's commitment for the NATO Operational Reserve Force will be present in Kosovo and ready to begin its mission no later than 31 May 2008.
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