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5 Jun 2008 : Column 1057W—continued
Sports: Schools
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many competition managers have been appointed. [208219]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Youth Sport Trust has advised that 189 competition managers have been appointed.
Video Games
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the public consultation on video game age ratings classification will be launched; and what the consultation period will be. [208322]
Margaret Hodge: We will publish an action plan later this month covering all the Byron recommendations and the timetable for implementation.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the public consultation on video game age ratings classification will include examination of the merits of the (a) British Board of Film Classification system, (b) Pan European Games Information system and (c) hybrid system recommended in the Byron Review. [208323]
Margaret Hodge: Details of the consultations are not yet finalised. The purpose of the consultation exercise is to take forward the recommendations in the Byron Review, not to repeat the analysis that Dr. Byron conducted for her report.
Wales
Revenue and Customs: Reorganisation
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met Welsh Assembly Government Ministers to discuss the reorganisation of HM Revenue and Customs offices in Wales. [208692]
Mr. Paul Murphy: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I meet Welsh Assembly Ministers regularly to discuss a range of issues including HM Revenue and Customs. We continue to take a keen interest in the HMRC reorganisation and its impact in Wales. We have also spoken to and corresponded with Treasury Ministers on the issue.
Defence
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the keels for each of the new aircraft carriers will be laid. [208656]
Des Browne:
The build strategy for the new aircraft carriers is not analogous to the traditional method of laying a keel as the ships will be constructed in four main sections in different shipyards around the UK. The dates for start of construction of ship sections in
the main shipyards, however, are planned to be early 2009 for HMS Queen Elizabeth and early 2010 for HMS Prince of Wales.
Armed Forces: Fairtrade Initiative
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 567W, on the Fairtrade initiative, how his Department promotes the use of fair trade products in British military establishments and bases. [209026]
Derek Twigg: The MOD is committed to supporting ethical trading, wherever possible, subject to the need to obtain best value for money. There are a wide variety of contracts in place across the Department which differ in their requirements, specifications, degrees of management information and suppliers. It is recognised that there is a need for a cohesive approach to the procurement of catering services to promote the achievement of sustainable procurement objectives and the universal implementation of best practice. A working group consisting of catering, sustainable development and commercial specialists from all areas of the MOD was formed in January 2008 and is currently looking at strategy options for change and improvement in collaboration with OGCbuying.solutions.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 567W, on the Fairtrade initiative, (1) what Fairtrade products are (a) available for purchase at his Department's staff catering facilities and (b) offered at official departmental meetings and engagements; [209024]
(2) what the value was of Fairtrade produce purchased at his Department's staff catering facilities in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage of total revenue this represented. [209025]
Derek Twigg: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Housing
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the book cost of the long service advance of pay scheme was in each year since its inception. [208887]
Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 June 2008, O fficial Report, column 674W.
Armed Forces: Manpower
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many clinicians (a) joined and (b) left the Defence Medical Services in each year since 1997, broken down by service. [201018]
Derek Twigg: The term “clinician” is interpreted to mean a medical doctor or dentist.
Figures from 1997-98 to 2003-04 have been sourced from the former Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA).
Figures for 2005-07 have been sourced from the Defence Medical Services Department and cannot be broken down by service.
| Doctor/dentist inflow and outflow | ||||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| n/a = Not available (1) Naval outflow includes transfers from a medical specialism to dentistry (two in 1996-97, one in 1997-98 and one in 1999-2000). Naval intake for 2000-01 includes four re-entrants and one transfer from Army. (2) It has not been possible to identify, from the data received by DASA, the exact intake dates of Army doctors and dentists. All Army intake figures provided here are the outflow plus the increase in strength. Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 10 | ||||||||||
AWE Burghfield
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his timetable is for the submission of a planning application to replace the gravel gerties at Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield. [208327]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The planning application for the assembly/disassembly facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield, which will replace the gravel gerties, is currently programmed for submission to West Berkshire council in the last quarter of 2008.
Bombs
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the UK's position on the banning of cluster bombs is; and if he will make a statement. [208648]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The adopted Convention prohibiting the use of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians is a major breakthrough in that it brings considerable humanitarian benefits and makes the world a better and safer place.
In line with the Prime Minister's statement of 28 May 2008 and the Convention text adopted by 109 states in Dublin on 30 May 2008, the UK is withdrawing from service its sub-munitions, namely the L20A1 Extended Range Bomblet Shell (M85) and the CRV-7 Multi-Purpose Sub-Munition (M73). The UK armed forces will no longer use them operationally.
The Convention does not alter our ability to work with coalition partners on operations involving states that are not signatories to the agreement. The adopted text also does not prevent the US from continuing to stockpile cluster munitions on its bases on UK territory (including Diego Garcia). However, in keeping with our commitment to uphold the norms of the treaty, we will be discussing with the US the longer-term status of its stockpiles on UK territory.
The Convention prohibition on cluster munitions does not cover new weapons which do not carry the same risk to civilians because of their larger size, low numbers and the fact that they have sensor targeting and two fail-safe systems. A case in point is the 155mm ballistic sensor fused munition (BSFM), an anti-armour system artillery round. The BSFM is due to enter service in the UK armed forces in 2012 and replace the anti-armour capability of the L20A1-M85.
Departmental Property
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what premises are occupied by units of the armed forces which are not owned by his Department. [208888]
Derek Twigg: A breakdown of MOD land identified as freehold, leased or where we hold legal rights, is available at
It is not possible to provide a more detailed breakdown, or to identify which areas are occupied without disproportionate cost.
We keep our estate under continuous review to ensure that it is no larger than is required for defence purposes, and would normally only use non-MOD land where there is no alternative.
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