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10 Nov 2008 : Column 776W—continued
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) tanks, (b) artillery pieces, (c) Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, (d) frigates and destroyers and (e) infantry the armed forces had in (i) 1979, (ii) 1990, (iii) 1997, (iv) 2001 and (v) 2006. [234119]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: This information is set out from 1992 onwards in UK Defence Statistics, and before that in its predecessor, volume 2 of the Statement on Defence Estimates. Copies of both are available in the Library of the House.
AWE Aldermaston
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Preliminary Safety and Environment Document for the proposed Uranium Enrichment Facility at AWE Aldermaston. [234201]
Mr. Quentin Davies: As I stated in my answer on 4 November 2008, Official Report, column 300W, there are no plans to build a uranium enrichment facility at the atomic weapons establishment.
Should the proposed replacement uranium handling facility, to which I also referred, proceed, a preliminary safety report will then be completed as required by the Health and Safety Executive.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether construction of the proposed uranium enrichment facility at AWE Aldermaston will be financed through a private finance initiative scheme; and what the (a) principles are and (b) mechanism is by which the project will be financed. [234202]
Mr. Quentin Davies: As I stated in my answer on 4 November 2008, Official Report, column 300W, there are no plans to build a uranium enrichment facility at the atomic weapons establishment.
We have no plans to introduce private finance into the proposed replacement uranium handling facility to which I also referred. Funding for the project will be allocated in accordance with normal MOD processes.
AWE Burghfield
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the area protected under the terms of section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCAP) at AWE Burghfield extends beyond the nuclear licensed site boundary; and for what reason the area is shown as extending beyond the licensed site boundary on the SOCAP map prepared by Defence Estates. [234204]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The area at AWE Burghfield that is protected under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCAP) is greater than that of the nuclear licensed site. It extends to the outer perimeter of the site in accordance with the provisions of section 128 of SOCAP relating to nuclear sites.
Colombia: Armed Forces
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Army has provided training to the 15th Mobile Brigade of the Colombian Army. [233615]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: As I have made clear in previous answers, the Ministry of Defence does not provide training to whole units such as the 15th Mobile Brigade of the Colombian Army.
Departmental Fuels
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of each purchase of fuel made by his Department in each of the last nine months. [234319]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Figures for each purchase of ground fuels made in each of last nine months are not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The following tables set out the information for bulk fuel purchases by the Defence Fuels Group for aviation turbine and marine diesel between February and October 2008.
| Aviation turbine | |
| Date (2008) | Cost (£ million) |
| (1) Data not yet available. | |
| Marine diesel | |
| Date (2008) | Cost (£ million) |
| (1) No purchases. | |
Departmental Manpower
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to alter the size of his Department's staff complement; and what account of his Department's capacity to respond to security threats was taken in the formulation of such plans. [233576]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 6 November 2008]: Plans for the future size of the armed forces are published in Defence Plan 2008-12, as follows:
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
These plans reflect the expected future security environment and security threats set out in our internal Defence Strategic Guidance, translated by Defence Planning Assumptions into the required future force structure.
The civilian work force comprised 88,020 full-time equivalents on 1 October 2008. While we do not set civilian requirements in the same way as for the armed forces, we expect the civilian work force to decrease over the next few years as a result of change programmes, including Head Office Streamlining, the ‘PACE' initiative in Defence Equipment and Support and transfers of civilian personnel into the private sector (for example, the Royal School of Military Engineering Public Private Partnership). Further reductions may occur as we continue to review our manpower requirements to ensure that we are delivering best value for money, while continuing to deliver Defence outputs.
Kenley Airfield
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current budget allocation for the erection of a perimeter fence at Kenley Aerodrome is; and what the budget allocation for the previous design of this undertaking was. [234208]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The initial and current budget allocation for the erection of a perimeter fence at Kenley Aerodrome is as follows:
| Financial year | Budget allocation (£ estimated) |
Meteorological Office: Data Protection
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the circumstances were of the Meteorological Office protected personal data related incident in November 2006; and what data were lost or compromised. [233410]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The incident in question relates to the theft of items locked in the luggage area of a vehicle being used by Met Office staff. Among the items stolen were a Met Office laptop computer, personal digital assistant and USB drive. These items contained the work contact details of some 150 people and a small number of documents assessed to be of low security risk.
Military Aircraft: Training
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Merlin and (b) Nimrod crews are fully trained in anti-submarine warfare. [233720]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: There are 20 Merlin HM Mk1 and 17 Nimrod MR2 crews fully trained in anti-submarine warfare.
Territorial Army
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) required, (b) actual and (c) fit for task strength of each Territorial Army infantry battalion is. [234316]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is shown in the following table. Figures are as at 1 October 2008 and are rounded to the nearest 10.
Data concerning fit for task personnel is not collected for the Territorial Army and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Olympics
Expenditure
4. Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her most recent assessment is of the adequacy of the Olympic budget; and if she will make a statement. [233983]
Tessa Jowell: The estimate of public expenditure on the London 2012 games remains within the £9.325 billion package that I announced in March 2007.
I provided further details of the budget in my statement of December 2007; and my progress updates of January and July 2008. My next progress report will be in January 2009.
Costs
5. Ann Winterton: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what recent estimate she has made of the projected total cost of staging the London 2012 Olympic games. [233984]
Tessa Jowell: As the National Audit Office reported in June 2008, the cost of staging the Games will be met from the budget of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). LOCOG’s budget is some £2 billion. This is intended to be self-financing, with the exception of a contribution from public funds towards the cost of the staging of the Paralympic games, for which there is a provision of £66 million included within the £9.325 billion public sector funding package.
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