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16 July 2008 : Column 447W—continued


16 July 2008 : Column 448W

EU Military Committee

European Defence Agency

Other EU institutions

Iraq: Asylum

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the protection strategy for the dependants of Iraqi former UK interpreters. [218889]

Des Browne: We have various procedures in place to minimise the risk of interpreters or their dependants being identified as working with British forces. All employees are also advised on fundamental security precautions for their and their families’ safety outside working hours. On leaving our employ, those eligible for the Locally Employed Staff Assistance Scheme can choose to apply for resettlement in the UK with those financially dependent upon them. Alternatively, a financial package is offered to assist their relocation within Iraq or elsewhere in the region. All of these measures are kept under continuous review to ensure they are appropriate for the prevailing security situation.

RAF Halton

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have received training from the Specialist Training School at RAF Halton in each year since 1998. [217590]


16 July 2008 : Column 449W

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of the courses delivered by the Specialist Training School (STS) at RAF Halton. Information is only available from financial year 2003-04.

Financial year Armed forces personnel

2003-04

3,687

2004-05

4,328

2005-06

4,841

2006-07

4,170

2007-08

3,616


The figures exclude the ‘road shows’ training delivered by STS staff away from RAF Halton, as no nominal rolls are taken at these events.

Warships

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the (a) unit cost and (b) date of commissioning of each Type 42 Destroyer was; [218220]

(2) what the (a) unit cost and (b) date of commissioning of (i) HMS Albion and (ii) HMS Bulwark was; [218234]

(3) what the (a) unit cost and (b) date of commissioning of each Type 22 frigate was. [218239]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The hon. Member may find it useful to view the answer given by the then Under-Secretary of State, Defence Procurement to the then hon. Member for Glasgow Govan (Jim Sillars) on 23 October 1989, Official Report, column 358 as it includes information about build costs of various Royal Navy and RFA vessels including the costs for all Type 42 Destroyers and most of the Type 22 Frigates.

Due to the age of the Type 42 Destroyers and the first two batches of Type 22 Frigates, records that would enable a ready estimate today of their cost are no longer held centrally, and to establish those now would incur a disproportionate cost.

The following table shows the original hull costs of the third batch of Type 22 Frigates when they were commissioned—they do not include other costs, such as those for Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)—as they are not held centrally for each ship and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ship Original cost (£ million)

HMS Cornwall

131.05

HMS Cumberland

141.17

HMS Campbeltown

161.97

HMS Chatham

175.28


The build contract costs, as at 1 June 2004, for the Landing Platform Dock (LPD) vessels HM Ships Albion and Bulwark are shown in the following table and do not include other costs such as GFE.

Ship Build cost (£ million)

HMS Albion

277.33

HMS Bulwark

188.86


The commissioning dates of each of the Type 42 Destroyers, Type 22 Frigates and HM Ships Albion and Bulwark are shown in the following table.


16 July 2008 : Column 450W
Ship Date commissioned

Type 42 Destroyer

HMS Sheffield

16 February 1975

HMS Coventry

10 November 1978

HMS Birmingham

3 December 1976

HMS Newcastle

23 March 1978

HMS Glasgow

24 May 1979

HMS Cardiff

24 September 1979

HMS Exeter

19 September 1980

HMS Southampton

31 October 1981

HMS Nottingham

14 April 1983

HMS Liverpool

1 July 1982

HMS Manchester

16 December 1982

HMS Gloucester

11 September 1985

HMS Edinburgh

17 December 1985

HMS York

9 August 1985

Type 22 Frigate

HMS Cornwall

23 April 1988

HMS Cumberland

10 June l989

HMS Campbeltown

27 May 1989

HMS Chatham

4 May 1990

HMS Boxer

22 December l983

HMS Beaver

13 December 1984

HMS Brave

4 July 1986

HMS London

5 June 1987

HMS Sheffield

26 July 1988

HMS Coventry

14 0ctober l988

HMS Broadsword

4 May 1979

HMS Battleaxe

28 March 1980

HMS Brilliant

15 May 1981

HMS Brazen

2 July 1982

Landing Platform Dock

HMS Albion

19 June 2003

HMS Bulwark

28 April 2005


Duchy of Lancaster

Childbirth

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of (a) the percentage of children living in one parent families, (b) the number of live births per thousand teenage women and (c) the percentage of children born outside marriage in the last 10 years for which figures are available, broken down by (i) social class, (ii) income, (iii) race and (iv) geographic location. [216783]

Mr. Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 July 2008:


16 July 2008 : Column 451W
Table 1: Dependent children in the UK

Proportion of dependent children living in lone parent families (percentage)

1998

22

1999

22

2000

22

2001

22

2002

23

2003

23

2004

23

2005

24

2006

24

2007

24

Source:
LFS quarterly data (average of Spring and Autumn seasonal quarters for all years except for 2006 and 2007 where data are for the calendar quarter April to June only).


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