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18 Nov 2008 : Column 416W—continued
Armed Forces: Suicide
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what items are listed in the psychological checklist drawn up by the Army Suicide Prevention Group following the recommendation of the Walton report; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the list. [236168]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I will place a copy of the Psychological Autopsy Checklist in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what principal recommendations were made as a result of the qualitative research conducted by the Directorate of Army Personnel Strategy in 1999 at the request of the Army Suicide Prevention Group to develop organisational responses to suicides in the Army; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report. [236172]
Mr. Kevan Jones:
The Army's Suicide Vulnerability Risk Management (SVRM) Policy sets out the current framework for addressing suicide in the Army. It is designed to assist the chain of command in identifying potential suicide victims and to provide a structure for subsequent support. The SVRM Policy was based on
research conducted over a number of years, including 1999, although none from that year was published separately. I will place a copy of the SVRM Policy in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what teaching materials are available in each service on awareness and prevention of suicide and self-harm; and what steps he plans to take to encourage service personnel to seek help for trauma and other forms of psychological distress. [236187]
Mr. Kevan Jones: MOD's through-life approach to stress management training focuses on raising awareness and encouraging early support as well as addressing barriers to care (i.e. stigma). Each of the single services has procedures aimed at making all ranks aware of indicators and warnings associated with possible self-harm, and of the appropriate steps to take.
The general issue of stigma around personnel with mental health problems is something that the MOD has recently done much to address. As part of this the Royal Marines pioneered a peer-group risk assessment procedure to improve detection and signposting of problems amongst those exposed to psychologically traumatic events, in order that their peers and leaders can provide them with appropriate support or, where it is required, to refer them for specialist help. The process, known as trauma risk management (TRiM) has now been formally accepted and implemented by the Royal Marines, Royal Navy and the Army, and is being trialled in selected RAF units.
Armed Forces: Telephone Services
Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the weekly allocation of free telephone calls for armed forces’ personnel serving overseas. [236455]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The 30 minutes of free telephone calls each week form part of a comprehensive deployment welfare package, which also includes free mail for packages of up to 2 kg from family and friends and internet access. Personnel will also receive an additional 30 minutes free call time over the Christmas period. Recent attitude surveys conducted among service personnel indicate that they are broadly content with the deployment welfare package although it is kept under constant review. The most recent enhancement to the package was the doubling of the families’ welfare grant, effective from 1 November.
Armed Forces: Training
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the topic headings are for course work on (a) the law of armed conflict and (b) the requirements of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as taught during Phase (i) 1 and (ii) 2 training for service personnel; what course time is allocated to this aspect of training; how trainee achievement is measured; and what minimum standard is required in order for an individual to complete that phase of training. [236154]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I will write to my hon. Friend.
Defence Estates: Bye Laws
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2008, Official Report, columns 671-72W, on Military Lands Act byelaws, what the 96 sites, including the 13 designated under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, are whose byelaws are, or will be, under review. [236554]
Mr. Kevan Jones: All of the sites to be reviewed, including those that we still need to start the review process are listed on the Defence Estate website at:
and are in the process of being updated.
The designated Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 sites are listed as follows:
AWE Aldermaston
AWE Burghfield
RAF Fylingdales
Faslane (HMNB Clyde)
Coulport
RAF Mildenhall
PJHQ Northwood
RAF Brize Norton
SMC Marchwood
RAF Croughton
RAF Fairford
RAF Welford
RAF Feltwell
RAF Lakenheath
RAF Menwith Hill
Plymouth (and Devonport)
Departmental Consultants
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid to consultants and external assistants in the last period for which figures are available. [236006]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Summaries for the years 1995-96 to 2007-08 of MOD expenditure on external assistance, of which consultancy is a part, are available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Lighting
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many energy saving light bulbs his Department has used in each year since 1997. [236008]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Usage figures for energy saving light bulbs are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Location
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to relocating his Department's sites to areas of high unemployment. [236991]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Under the Government's Lyons relocation programme, the MOD plans to relocate some 5,000 civil service and military posts out of London and the south east by March 2010. This is against the target of 3,900 that was agreed and published as part of the 2004 spending review. These moves, and other collocations, are coherent with our strategy to have an estate of the right size to meet the military and business need, concentrated on larger sites and releasing resources to the front line.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many questions for written answer were tabled to his Department in Session (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05, (d) 2005-06, (e) 2006-07 and (f) 2007-08 to date; and how many were (i) answered substantively and (ii) not answered on grounds of disproportionate cost. [235403]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information requested is given in the following table:
| Parliamentary session | Written questions received( 1) | Answered substantively | Disproportionate cost answer |
| (1) Including named day questions | |||
Data are not recorded separately that identify where a disproportionate cost answer was given wholly or as part of the answer. The figures for disproportionate cost answers therefore include those which were partially answered.
Ex-servicemen: Anniversaries
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision his Department is planning to make to assist veterans in returning to Normandy for the 65th anniversary of the Landings in 2009; and if he will make a statement. [237190]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The long standing Ministry of Defence policy on official commemorations is that only 25th, 50th, 60th and 100th anniversaries of events of major importance receive MOD sponsorship at public expense. Significant funding was made available to mark the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings in 2004 at which the Normandy Veterans Association (NVA) formally announced, through HM the Queen, that it would be their final parade.
I recognise the understandable desire of Normandy veterans to return to the beach heads each year. However, the Ministry of Defence regularly receives requests from various different veterans' organisations seeking financial or other support for pilgrimages and events to commemorate the campaigns in which they took part. The vast majority are similarly worthy and could make an equally compelling case as the Normandy veterans, but it would be inappropriate to provide official support
for one and not the others. This long standing policy of successive Governments was established after very careful consideration and its consistent application over the years has ensured a fairness and equality of treatment for everyone concerned.
Consequently, there are no plans for the Department to assist veterans returning to Normandy for the 65th anniversary of the landings in 2009.
Ex-servicemen: Civil Servants
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former members of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy now work in civilian roles in his Department's (i) Main Building Whitehall and (ii) other locations. [236007]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Data on the number of former members of the Army, Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy who now work in civilian roles in Main Building and other locations are not held centrally. To provide this information would require a search through individuals' personal records. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many surveillance cameras have been deployed by HM armed forces in Iraq since the beginning of 2008. [236114]
Mr. Hutton: UK forces employ a range of surveillance devices in support of operations in Iraq, including those attached to land and air vehicles, cameras employed by soldiers and also static cameras. Data on the precise number of cameras deployed to Iraq since 2008 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Business
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what helplines and websites his Department and its predecessors have funded to support businesses since 1997; and what the cost was to the public purse of operating them in each year since 1997. [232035]
Mr. McFadden: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Christmas
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many Christmas functions (a) he, (b) officials from his Department and (c) officials from its executive agencies (i) hosted and (ii) attended in 2007-08; what the cost to the public purse was; and if he will make a statement. [226956]
Mr. McFadden: My right hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State, did not host or attend any official Christmas functions in 2007-08.
The Department does not hold the information that the hon. Gentleman requests regarding officials from this Department and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service and Companies House agencies and they will respond to the hon. Gentleman directly.
Letter from Stephen Speed, 10 November 2008:
The Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to your question how many Christmas functions (a) he, (b) officials from his Department and (c) officials from its executive agencies (i) host and (ii) attend in 2007-08; what the cost to the public purse was.
The Insolvency Service Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform did not host any Christmas functions in 2007-08. There was no cost to the public purse of The Agency or any of its Officials attending functions in 2007-08.
Letter from Gareth Jones, 10 November 2008:
I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Minister of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Companies House held a staff party and provided Christmas lunches for staff in 2007-8 at a total cost of £27,069. The number of Christmas functions attended by staff is not known but they would be at no cost to the public purse.
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