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2 Jun 2008 : Column 658W—continued
Departmental Temporary Employment
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time posts were filled on a temporary basis for a period in excess of six months in his Department in each of the last three years. [200666]
Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold central records of the number of full-time posts that are filled on a temporary basis, and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Developing Countries: Debts
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps the Government have taken to relieve developing countries of debt. [207422]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Good progress has been made on relieving developing countries of debt as I outlined in the written statement to this House on 21 May 2008, Official Report, columns 24-25WS. I refer my hon. Friend to this statement for details of what has been achieved.
Electronic Government
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether mechanisms are in place to monitor the extent to which his Department’s (a) internal and (b) external (i) correspondence and (ii) distribution of publications is carried out electronically. [199191]
Mr. Malik: A high proportion of internal correspondence and publications are handled electronically, but this is not systematically monitored. Responses to external correspondence are normally made in the same format as the correspondence is received, and some monitoring is carried out where this is beneficial. Monitoring is carried out on the use of specific external publications on DFID’s website when required.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to reply to the letter of 22 April from the hon. Member for Walsall, North on global education. [207725]
Gillian Merron: The reply to my hon. Friend for Walsall, North’s letter of 22 April 2008 has been issued.
Overseas Aid
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what procedures for co-ordination between his Department and the Ministry of Defence are in place for training on humanitarian airdrop or relief operations. [207374]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence co-operate together closely on all operational aspects of humanitarian relief where military assets may be used, including training. This does not, however, include training for relief airdrops, which can be carried out without joint training.
Uganda: Refugees
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether (a) he, (b) officials of his Department and (c) UK representatives in Uganda have had discussions with the government of Uganda on the provision of schooling in camps for displaced people and return areas for those affected by the conflict with the Lords Resistance Army in the northern districts of Uganda. [207481]
Gillian Merron: During his visit to Uganda in November 2007, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State visited a school in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp and had discussions with local government authorities on a range of issues including those relating to the provision of, and access to, education, stressing the importance of ensuring that education is a priority in the development of the Government of Uganda’s Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP).
The Department for International Development (DFID) and other partners are currently in discussion with the Government of Uganda on the options for funding the implementation of the PRDP.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made in theatre of the Jackal M-WMIK vehicle's performance with its unladen weight increased by 42 per cent. [201416]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No formal assessment has yet been made in theatre regarding the performance of Jackal, as it has only very recently been delivered to theatre. We expect to receive initial feedback from theatre commanders on the performance of this vehicle shortly.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel from the Royal Engineers are based in Helmand Province; and what their duties are. [207463]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: As of 1 May 2008, there were a total of around 400 Royal Engineer posts established in Helmand province: the actual number deployed at any particular time can and does vary, including through roulements, visits and periods of mid-tour leave.
British military engineers in Helmand are conducting close engineer support (including tasks such as mobility support, counter mobility support, explosive ordnance disposal and search) and general engineer support (such as infrastructure development, construction, geographic support and civil-military co-operation). There are also a number of engineering personnel in Helmand Province who assist in training and mentoring the Afghan National Army.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum weight of cargo able to be carried by all variants of the CH-47 helicopter used by British forces in Afghanistan is. [207540]
Des Browne: The maximum weight of cargo able to be carried by all variants of the CH-47 helicopter used by the British forces in Afghanistan is kept under review to account for changes in environmental conditions, but is currently set at 5,000 kg.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 20 May 2008, Official Report, columns 15-18WS, on helicopters on operations, which company provides the new contract for the civilian air transport used by ISAF in southern Afghanistan; on how many occasions UK troops have flown in aircraft so provided; how the contract is funded and what the UK's contribution is; what percentage of the assets used by the contractor to date has been (a) rotary and (b) fixed wing; and if he will make a statement. [207654]
Des Browne: The company providing the new contract is Skylink. UK troops have never flown in the aircraft provided. The contract continues to be funded from NATO common funding and the UK continues to contribute a 12 per cent. share to that funding. Currently all assets used by the contractor have been rotary wing.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in Helmand Province. [208162]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: International Security Assistance Force and Afghan armed forces continue to engage in successful operations against the Taliban in Helmand, pushing them back from populated areas and bringing more of the province under the control of the government of Afghanistan.
Nevertheless, the insurgents continue to pose a threat through improvised explosive devices, suicide bombers and opportunistic attacks.
Air Force: Military Aid
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2008, Official Report, column 7W, on Air Force: military aid (1) in which Royal Air Force fixed wing cargo aircraft baseboards can be used; and how many baseboards each such aircraft can accommodate at one time; [207414]
(2) what the maximum load capacity of a single baseboard is. [207415]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Baseboards can be used in the Hercules C130JK and C130K. There are four sizes of baseboard in use, which are shown in the following table, together with the maximum load capacity.
| Baseboard capacity | |||||
| Baseboard size | Maximum load of capacity of each baseboard (kgs) | C130J Mk4 | C130J Mk5 | C130K Mk1 | C130K Mk3 |
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2008, Official Report, column 175W, on the air force: military aid, for what reasons the RAF’s C-17 Globemasters are not capable of conducting humanitarian airdrop operations. [207845]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The RAF’s C-17 Globemasters were acquired primarily as strategic transport aircraft. The airworthiness and safety cases have not therefore been constructed to support the tactical flying required to conduct airdrop sorties. The RAF’s airdrop capability is provided by the Hercules C130 fleet.
Air Force: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours of training were required for those flying (a) fast jets, (b) transport aircraft and (c) helicopters in the RAF in each year since 2003. [199451]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Liam Fox:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 21 April 2008, (Official Report, column 1638W) about the number of hours training required for those flying fast jets, transport aircraft and helicopters in each year since 2003.
Aircrew are monitored for competency levels throughout their flying career and training continues for Front Line aircrew after the initial award of Combat Ready status. Aircrew undertake regular flying practice and undergo periodic assessment by an appropriate examining body. The average hours of pilot training each year are shown in the table below.
There has been no significant variation in these figures over the period in question. All figures in the table are approximate and are rounded to the nearest five.
| Type of aircraft/helicopter | Average hours of pilot flying training allocated each year |
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