| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
22 July 2008 : Column 1114W—continued
I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Nimrod Aircraft
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many instances of fuel leaks from Nimrod aircraft have been recorded in the last 12 months. [164431]
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, dated 13 July 2008:
I wrote to you on 21 May 2008 in answer to two Parliamentary Questions that you tabled about fuel leaks from Nimrod aircraft. I explained that the Nimrod Integrated Project Team within Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) was carrying out a detailed manual analysis of fuel leak data in order to answer your questions.
This work has now been completed and I can now provide you with a full response. In your first question on 21 November 2007, (Official Report, Column 990W) you asked how many instances of fuel leaks from Nimrod aircraft had been recorded in the last 12 months. This was taken to be the period from 1 November 2006 to 31 October 2007. A fuel leak is defined as any leakage of fuel from aircraft couplings, pipes or fuel tanks. In that period, there were a total of 252 fuel leaks reported on the Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft. In your second question on 20 May 2008 (Official Report, Column 181W) you asked how many fuel leaks had been reported since January 2007. Between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007 there were 277 fuel leaks reported on the Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft. Based on current data, between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2008 (the last full month for which validated data is available), there have been a total of 33 fuel leaks reported on the Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft. That figure is however provisional, as some records have yet to be received from aircraft deployed on operations, and it is therefore likely to increase as the records are completed.
The figures quoted above do not include fuel leaks which are caused by our scheduled maintenance activity, as we disturb the fuel system. In these cases the leak is both caused and rectified while on the ground.
Although all aircraft are designed to be leak tolerant, all fuel leaks are thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, the measures implemented following the loss of Nimrod XV230 mean that the chance of any fuel leak igniting is extremely low. In particular we have, as you know, removed potential sources of ignition by switching off the aircraft’s very hot air system while airborne; it is used for short periods on the ground but does not reach temperatures sufficient to ignite fuel. Despite this, no leakage, however small, from pipes, couplings or fuselage tanks is accepted and the aircraft will not fly until such leaks have been rectified. The only occasion on which an aircraft will fly with a fuel leak is with certain categories of leaks from the integral fuel tanks in the wings. In such instances leaking fuel from the wing tanks disperses safely into the aircraft's slipstream, and, as there is no potential source of ignition, there is no hazard to the aircraft.
Of the 310 fuel leaks reported between 1 January 2007 and 31 March 2008 over 50 per cent were leaks from integral fuel tanks in the wings, in which fuel would simply pass into the aircraft's slipstream during flight. In each of these reported incidents, whether from the integral fuel tanks in the wings or elsewhere, the fuel leaks did not compromise the safety of the aircraft and were rectified by normal maintenance procedures.
In my letter of 21 May, I stated that in November 2006, after the loss of Nimrod XV230, DE&S introduced new mandatory fuel leak reporting procedures (known as 'Leaflet 70 reports') on all leaks associated with fuel tanks within the fuselage, the fuel system and on any residual fuel found in specific areas of the aircraft (such as the bomb bay). I also explained that since the introduction of these procedures, 111 fuel leaks (of varying degrees of severity) had been recorded under Leaflet 70. This procedure will continue to bring fuel leaks in the fuselage to the immediate attention of the DE&S Nimrod Integrated Project Team. The current maintenance policy for the Nimrod fuel system remains appropriate.
With respect to the airworthiness of the aircraft today, we have ceased air-to-air refuelling and ceased the use of very hot air systems in flight. These measures, together with the enhanced aircraft maintenance and inspection procedures introduced since the Nimrod XV230 crash ensure the aircraft, as it is today, is safe to fly. Indeed, my Department having carefully considered all the issues has declared that all reasonably practicable measures have been taken to reduce the risk of fire and explosion to As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). The work to reach this position has been contributed to by key stakeholders represented on the Nimrod Platform Equipment Safety Committee (comprising representatives of the DE&S Nimrod Integrated Project Team, Air Command, the Release to Service Authority, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and QinetiQ) which supports this declaration.
In addition, to ensure we can continue to operate the aircraft efficiently until its planned retirement from service, we have in place a programme of more permanent measures which includes replacing, where judged necessary, fuel seals and engine bay hot air ducts on the aircraft, this work is being progressed as quickly as practicable.
I am copying this letter to Ian Liddell-Grainger and Sir Nicholas Winterton, who have previously expressed an interest in this subject.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fuel leakages on a Nimrod aircraft have been reported since January 2007. [199452]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member.
Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Liam Fox, dated 13 July 2008:
I wrote to you on 21 May 2008 in answer to two Parliamentary Questions that you tabled about fuel leaks from Nimrod aircraft. I explained that the Nimrod Integrated Project Team within Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) was carrying out a detailed manual analysis of fuel leak data in order to answer your questions.
This work has now been completed and I can now provide you with a full response. In your first question on 21 November 2007, (Official Report, Column 990W) you asked how many instances of fuel leaks from Nimrod aircraft had been recorded in the last 12 months. This was taken to be the period from 1 November 2006 to 31 October 2007. A fuel leak is defined as any leakage of fuel from aircraft couplings, pipes or fuel tanks. In that period, there were a total of 252 fuel leaks reported on the Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft. In your second question on 20 May 2008 (Official Report, Column 181W) you asked how many fuel leaks had been reported since January 2007. Between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007 there were 277 fuel leaks reported on the
Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft. Based on current data, between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2008 (the last full month for which validated data is available), there have been a total of 33 fuel leaks reported on the Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft. That figure is however provisional, as some records have yet to be received from aircraft deployed on operations, and it is therefore likely to increase as the records are completed.
The figures quoted above do not include fuel leaks which are caused by our scheduled maintenance activity, as we disturb the fuel system. In these cases the leak is both caused and rectified while on the ground.
Although all aircraft are designed to be leak tolerant, all fuel leaks are thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, the measures implemented following the loss of Nimrod XV230 mean that the chance of any fuel leak igniting is extremely low. In particular we have, as you know, removed potential sources of ignition by switching off the aircraft’s very hot air system while airborne; it is used for short periods on the ground but does not reach temperatures sufficient to ignite fuel. Despite this, no leakage, however small, from pipes, couplings or fuselage tanks is accepted and the aircraft will not fly until such leaks have been rectified. The only occasion on which an aircraft will fly with a fuel leak is with certain categories of leaks from the integral fuel tanks in the wings. In such instances leaking fuel from the wing tanks disperses safely into the aircraft's slipstream, and, as there is no potential source of ignition, there is no hazard to the aircraft.
Of the 310 fuel leaks reported between 1 January 2007 and 31 March 2008 over 50 per cent were leaks from integral fuel tanks in the wings, in which fuel would simply pass into the aircraft's slipstream during flight. In each of these reported incidents, whether from the integral fuel tanks in the wings or elsewhere, the fuel leaks did not compromise the safety of the aircraft and were rectified by normal maintenance procedures.
In my letter of 21 May, I stated that in November 2006, after the loss of Nimrod XV230, DE&S introduced new mandatory fuel leak reporting procedures (known as 'Leaflet 70 reports') on all leaks associated with fuel tanks within the fuselage, the fuel system and on any residual fuel found in specific areas of the aircraft (such as the bomb bay). I also explained that since the introduction of these procedures, 111 fuel leaks (of varying degrees of severity) had been recorded under Leaflet 70. This procedure will continue to bring fuel leaks in the fuselage to the immediate attention of the DE&S Nimrod Integrated Project Team. The current maintenance policy for the Nimrod fuel system remains appropriate.
With respect to the airworthiness of the aircraft today, we have ceased air-to-air refuelling and ceased the use of very hot air systems in flight. These measures, together with the enhanced aircraft maintenance and inspection procedures introduced since the Nimrod XV230 crash ensure the aircraft, as it is today, is safe to fly. Indeed, my Department having carefully considered all the issues has declared that all reasonably practicable measures have been taken to reduce the risk of fire and explosion to As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). The work to reach this position has been contributed to by key stakeholders represented on the Nimrod Platform Equipment Safety Committee (comprising representatives of the DE&S Nimrod Integrated Project Team, Air Command, the Release to Service Authority, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and QinetiQ) which supports this declaration.
In addition, to ensure we can continue to operate the aircraft efficiently until its planned retirement from service, we have in place a programme of more permanent measures which includes replacing, where judged necessary, fuel seals and engine bay hot air ducts on the aircraft, this work is being progressed as quickly as practicable.
I am copying this letter to Ian Liddell-Grainger and Sir Nicholas Winterton, who have previously expressed an interest in this subject.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1 Carlton Gardens
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 15 May 2008, Official Report, column 1774W, on departmental official residences, who owns the freehold to 1 Carlton Gardens; and what the current duration is of the leasehold; [219174]
(2) what the timetable is for the negotiations with the Crown Estate for the future of the lease on 1 Carlton Gardens. [219176]
Meg Munn: The freehold for 1 Carlton Gardens is held by ‘The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in right of Her Crown, care of the Crown Estate Commissioners’. The lease has expired and is the subject of ongoing negotiations.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what additional remuneration is to be paid to British police officers posted to Kabul. [219621]
Dr. Howells: Officers from the Ministry of Defence Police working in the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, the US command structure responsible for security sector reform in Kabul (CSTC-A) receive a total of £4,750 in taxable allowances in addition to their salary per calendar month. Other British police officers working within the CSTC-A or the EU Police Mission in Afghanistan receive an allowance of €95 per day whilst in mission and €65 per day whilst on decompression break. One retired British police officer is employed through a private contract.
Differences between remuneration packages reflect the different terms and conditions under which officers work.
Arctic
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have made claims to rights over the (a) Arctic and (b) Antarctic in the last five years; which claims the UK recognises; and what the process is for resolving disputed claims. [220805]
Meg Munn [holding answer 21 July 2008]: We are not aware of any new claims having been made in either the Arctic or Antarctic in the last five years.
While not amounting to a new "claim", in November 2006 the Government of Norway submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf information on the limits of that country's continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Part of the submission relates to areas of the seabed in the Arctic Ocean.
Any recommendations which the Commission may make are without prejudice to the delimitation of the continental shelf between states with opposite or adjacent coasts. Any disputed claims would have to be settled through negotiation or through other international dispute settlement mechanisms.
Existing territorial claims to Antarctica pre-date the entry into force of the Antarctic Treaty in 1961. The Treaty precludes any new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica. It also provides a mechanism for the effective management of any disputes.
British Nationality: Torture
Sir Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he takes towards foreign governments alleged to have severely mistreated British citizens, including through the use of torture. [219328]
Meg Munn: The Government would take all allegations of mistreatment by a foreign government against British citizens extremely seriously. Our response would be determined by the circumstances of the case.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from which foreign governments the Government has received compensation following allegations of torture of British citizens since 8 December 1988; how much was paid in these cases; and how long the process took in each case. [219329]
Meg Munn: We are not aware of any compensation received by the Government from foreign governments following allegations of torture of British nationals.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep records of payments centrally. Providing a more detailed response would incur a disproportionate cost.
Cuba: Political Prisoners
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss (a) the detention of journalist Victor Rolando Arroyo and (b) the imprisonment of Dr. José García Paneque with the Cuban ambassador to the UK. [217559]
Meg Munn: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and officials raise the continuing detention of political prisoners in Cuba with representatives of the Cuban government, including the ambassador, on a regular basis. I raised the issue of the continuing detention of all political prisoners in Cuba, including journalist Victor Rolando Arroya and Dr. José García Paneque, with Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Eumelio Caballero on 3 April and with the Cuban ambassador on 11 June.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what IT contracts his Departments and its agencies have entered into in the last two years. [215159]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and its agencies have awarded the following information technology (IT) contracts in the last two years. This list is not exhaustive. Details of IT contracts are not held centrally and a full list could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Provision of Managed Website Statistics Service—Nedstad
Future Firecrest (new IT infrastructure) Consultancy—Tribal
Online Missing Persons and Travellers Registration Software—Worldreach
Development of Ministerial Visits Co-ordination Database—Parity
Home Office Biometrics Framework—Stena
FCOWeb FCO external websites platform—Logica
FCONet 3 Intranet Development—Logica
FCONet 3 Intranet Support—Logica
Enterprise Agreement—Microsoft
Premier Support Agreement—Microsoft
Tempest Workstation, Peripheral Equipment and Support—API Europe
Wider Internal Markets Hardware Support for UK/Overseas—Hewlett Packard
Contact Records Management system development—GN Software
Departmental Planning Permission
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 9 July 2008, Official Report, column 1657W, on departmental planning permission, if he will outline the nature of the alterations to the third floor of the Old Admiralty Building; and who the current residents of that floor are. [221286]
Meg Munn: Alterations were made to the third floor of the Old Admiralty Building to provide open plan office space for Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |