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22 July 2008 : Column 1052W—continued
Regional rehabilitation unit targets since 2006 are that, from point of referral, 100 per cent. of patients should attend an RRU within 10 working days; in the majority of cases this target is being met. Areas exceeding the target time are those experiencing high operational tempo (RRUs situated near to or within garrisons with a large numbers of troops returning from deployment); waiting times in these cases can be up to 15 days. Implementation of the recommendations of the recent Rehabilitation Review, which reported in May 2008, will re-balance resources to address this.
Prior to the creation of the RRUs in 2005 the policy was that following an assessment by a GP or physiotherapist that a patient commenced treatment within seven days.
Departments of Community Mental Health targets (DCMH) since 2004 are for 100 per cent of urgent cases to receive an appointment the next working day and for 100 per cent. of routine cases to be seen within 20 working days; these targets are being met, except in circumstances where the patient does not attend the arranged appointment.
In addition, the target for access to in-patient care is four hours if deemed an emergency by Community Mental Health Units.
I am unable to provide information on performance for RRUs and DCMHs for the years prior to those shown above as records are not readily available and it would incur disproportionate cost to produce data.
Armed Forces: Housing
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of the (a) single living and (b) service family accommodation provided by his Department in (i) the UK and (ii) overseas meets the decent home standard. [217006]
Derek Twigg: We have not carried out a specific comparison with the decent homes standard for either service family accommodation (SFA) or single living accommodation (SLA).
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has its own well defined criteria for assessing the condition of its properties. For the majority of SFA, this consists of a list of over 100 individual attributes that are assessed to arrive at an overall Standard for Condition (SfC) score for the property. SfC scores are banded into categories, S1fC the highest to S4fC the lowest. SfC assessment includes aspects such as the structure of the property, its energy efficiency, health and safety features, security arrangements and sanitary items as well as an assessment of the kitchen and bedrooms. On that basis, the majority of SFA is already at either S1fC or S2fC. This includes over 12,800 properties that have been upgraded to S1fC since 2001. By the end of this financial year, no Service family will have to live in S4fC accommodation.
We are confident that the current SfC system used by the Department fully takes into account the four basic tenets of the decent homes standard. Rather than simply conforming to a minimum acceptable level of accommodation, MOD aspires to provide accommodation to a higher standard; and this is reflected in the criteria that must be met to achieve S1fC. (All eight categories must score at Standard 1 for the overall Standard for Condition to be 1).
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's contract with Annington Homes. [218006]
Derek Twigg: I will arrange for a copy of the contract with Annington Homes Ltd to be placed in the Library of the House.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when all housing accommodation for families of military personnel will be brought up to the highest ranked standard. [220296]
Derek Twigg: The Department is committed to providing decent accommodation for service personnel and their families.
Addressing accommodation issues globally is one of our top priorities, but this will take time as there is no quick fix to dealing with a legacy of decades of under- funding. In addition to the significant investment in
recent years, the Department will spend in excess of £8 billion on accommodation in the next decade, of which of over £3 billion will be on improvements and upgrades.
Since 2001, some 13,000 service family accommodation properties have been upgraded to the top of four standards for condition, with a further 600 of the worse condition properties to be upgraded this financial year and 800 in each year thereafter.
By the end of this financial year, no service families will have to live in the lowest standard of SFA. By 2012 all SFA will be at the top two standards for condition.
Armed Forces: Injuries
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the provision of legal advice and representation in connection with civil actions against his Department relating to illnesses and injuries sustained cost in each year since 1997. [220082]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 21 July 2008]: The information requested is not held in the format requested.
Armed Forces: Manpower
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the trained (a) requirement and (b) strength of the (i) Territorial Army, (ii) Royal Naval Reserve, (iii) Royal Marine Reserve and (iv) Royal Auxiliary Air Force was in (A) 1997 and (B) the latest date for which figures are available. [216075]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Figures for the requirement are not available from 1997. The figures for 1997 and 2008 are therefore not completely comparable.
| 1997( 1) | May 2008 | |||
| Requirement | Total strength | Requirement | Trained strength | |
| (1) Figures taken from DAS A Publication TSP07 "UK Reserve and Cadets Strength at 1 April 2007". This includes trained and non-trained personnel. (2) For comparison with other Services, this number does not include non-regular permanent staff. | ||||
Armed Forces: Vehicles
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requirements are placed on vehicles in the British armed forces by EU environmental regulations. [220001]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth:
The EU environmental regulation that places specific requirements on the vehicles of the UK armed forces is Regulation (EC) No 715/2007. This regulation establishes common technical requirements for the type approval of motor vehicles and replacement parts with regard to their emissions. In addition, it lays down rules for in-service conformity, durability of pollution control devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems, measurement of fuel consumption and accessibility of
vehicle repair and maintenance information. It applies to vehicles whose mass does not exceed 2,610 kg.
It is our policy to comply with all relevant UK, EU and overseas legislation and, where granted specific exemptions from legislation, standards and arrangements are introduced that are, so far as reasonably practicable, at least as good as those required by legislation.
Armed Forces: Young People
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people who joined the armed forces at age 16 and 17 years in each of the last five years sought to leave the armed forces (a) while under 18 years old and (b) when 18 years old or more; and how many people who joined the armed forces as adults subsequently sought to leave the UK armed forces in each of the last five years. [220313]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Information on the number of people who joined the armed forces at age 16 and 17 years or as adults in each of the last five years is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Due to ongoing validation of data from the Joint Personnel Administration system, voluntary outflow application data are currently unavailable. Historical information on voluntary outflow applications and exits is published in Tri-Service Publication 5, ‘UK Regular Forces outflow from trained strength to civil life’ (TSP 5). Copies of the most recent and historical publications can be found at
Information on the intake and outflow of the UK regular forces by age published in Tri-Service Publication 19, ‘UK Regular Forces Intake and Outflow by age’ (TSP 19). Copies of the most recent and historical publications can be found at
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what location training for Mastiff armoured vehicles is conducted. [220002]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Training on Mastiff armoured vehicles is conducted in a number of locations depending on the type of training undertaken. Technical and maintenance training is conducted at the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering in Bordon, Hampshire. Driver training is conducted at the Defence School of Transport, Leconfield in Yorkshire. Mastiff vehicles are used in Pre-Deployment Training, which can take place on a number of military training areas both in the United Kingdom and Germany. Mastiff vehicles are also used for in-theatre training in Kuwait/Iraq and Afghanistan.
Central Africa: Peacekeeping Operations
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which EU member states are contributing to the EU military mission to Chad and the Central African Republic; and what each is contributing. [220003]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: 18 EU member states are contributing troops and/or equipment in the area of operations (AOO) of the EU military mission to Chad and the Central African Republic. Current contributions are given as follows:
| Country | Approximate troops | Significant equipment |
|
Nine helicopters (Pumas and Gazelles), two Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) | ||
22 EU member states are represented at the multinational Operation Headquarters established at Mont Valerian, Paris to plan and conduct this operation. Current contributions are given as follows:
| Country | Approximate troops |
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