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24 Nov 2008 : Column 904W—continued
Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new referrals to each Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit there have been in each year since 2003. [234922]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The number of referrals of military patients to the NHS trusts hosting the five Ministry of Defence Hospital Units (MDHUs) since 2003 are shown as follows. The data relate to in-patient and out-patient referrals for all medical conditions. Most operational casualties, however, are treated under the auspices of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham (which is not an MDHU).
| MDHU | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 (up to 31 October 2008) |
| n/a = Not available (1) South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust did not account for referrals to MDHU Northallerton before November 2005. | ||||||
Nuclear Power: Emergencies
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) departmental officials and (b) members of the armed services are available for mobilisation in the event of a nuclear accident emergency; and what level of training is given to departmental officials on nuclear emergency response. [237285]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The number of civilian and military personnel employed within the MOD’s nuclear accident response organisation will vary depending on the type, location and circumstances of any defence nuclear accident. It is therefore not possible to give precise numbers of personnel employed.
All those engaged in the nuclear accident response organisation are fully trained. Nuclear accident response capability is demonstrated on a regular basis to the satisfaction of the Health and Safety Executive (Nuclear Installations Inspectorate) and the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator.
Nuclear Weapons
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the UK's nuclear bombs exploded during (a) the major trials of the 1950s and 1960s in Australia and the Pacific Islands and (b) the minor tests code-named Kittens, Tims, Rats and Vixen conducted at Maralinga, contained beryllium. [237226]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Beryllium was employed in major weapon design trials undertaken in Australia and the Pacific Islands in the 1950s. The UK did not carry out any major trials in the 1960s.
Beryllium was also used in minor trials in the 1950s and 1960s, including some in the four series referred to. It has not proved possible in the time available to determine which individual tests in these four series did involve beryllium.
Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel are based in Sudan; and how many work with (a) NATO forces, (b) EU forces and (c) other forces. [238274]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The UK currently has six military personnel based in Sudan. Two are in the defence section within the embassy, three are with the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and one is with the UN/AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The UK holds a further four posts in UNAMID for which three staff officers are due to deploy in the next two weeks.
Tornado Aircraft
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Tornado GR4 aircraft are available; how many were available in (a) October 2007 and (b) each month of 2008 to date; and how many aircraft were unserviceable at the latest date for which figures are available. [236463]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The numbers of Tornado GR4 aircraft in the forward available fleet (FAF) for the months of October 2007 and January to October 2008 are detailed in the following table. FAF aircraft are those that are available to the front-line command for operational and training purposes; aircraft undergoing scheduled depth maintenance, or planned routine fleet maintenance are not included.
| Average number of Tornado GR4 in forward fleet | |
In October 2008 an average of 18 Tornado GR4 aircraft were not fit for purpose (FFP). Aircraft defined as not FFP are those considered not to be capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date; this includes aircraft undergoing short-term forward maintenance and other minor works.
The figures shown are the average for each of the given months, and have been rounded to the nearest whole number. The figures do not reflect the fact that an aircraft assessed as not FFP may be returned to the front line at very short notice to meet the operational need.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of Tornado GR4s are (a) in service, (b) in the forward fleet and (c) fit for purpose by squadron. [237073]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The information requested is only measured across the entire fleet. The numbers of Tornado GR4 aircraft that are in service, in the forward available fleet (FAF) and considered fit for purpose (FFP) are detailed in the following table. FAF aircraft are those that are available to the front-line command for operational and training purposes; aircraft undergoing scheduled depth maintenance, or planned routine fleet maintenance are not included.
Aircraft defined as FFP are those considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date; this does not include aircraft undergoing short-term forward maintenance and other minor works. The FAF and FFP figures shown are the average for the month of October 2008, and have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
| Tornado GR4 | Number | Percentage |
The figures do not reflect the fact that an aircraft assessed as not FFP may be returned to the front line at very short notice to meet the operational need.
Trident
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made, with reference to the Trident submarine replacement programme, of (a) the adequacy of the contingency set aside, (b) the robustness of the calculation of inflation over the programme lifetime and (c) whether value-added tax will have to be paid for all or part of the expenditure on the programme. [237102]
Mr. Quentin Davies: In compiling the initial estimates of the procurement costs involved in sustaining our independent deterrent capability set out in the December 2006 White Paper: The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent (Cm 6994) the Ministry of Defence followed HM Treasury guidance and the figures recognise uncertainty and the tendency for costs to be underestimated. As the costs mature through the Concept phase, they will capture the interdependent nature of the costs of the different elements of the programme.
Like the rest of Government, the MOD manages its finances so that inflation is taken into account. The figures set out in the White Paper are shown at 2006-07 prices but the Department's internal budgetary planning allows for the impact of inflation. The additional funding that the MOD received as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 settlement was provided on this basis.
The Ministry of Defence has assumed that VAT will be zero-rated for the submarine platform in the same way it currently applies to the Astute programme. The actual tax treatment of all the elements of the programme cannot be determined until nearer the time the contracts are placed and the precise manner in which we will procure the programme elements has been determined. The associated risk that the current VAT treatment assumptions may change has been recognised in compiling the estimates for the programme.
Olympics
Departmental Early Retirement
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many employees in her Office have taken early retirement since its inception; and at what total cost. [238965]
Tessa Jowell: Since its inception no employees in my Office have taken early retirement.
Olympic Games 2012: Ministry of Defence
Mr. Malins: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether the terms of reference set for KPMG in relation to its report on venue options for the 2012 Olympics included an instruction to hold discussions with the Ministry of Defence. [237719]
Tessa Jowell: [holding answer 20 November 2008] KPMG was instructed to assist in the evaluation of the options analysis including for the use of the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich as the venue for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games shooting competitions. As announced following the Olympic Board on 19 November, the KPMG report will be published but it will be necessary to ensure it does not contain commercially sensitive material.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibility strategic health authorities have to manage the performance of primary care trust services commissioning in order to reduce harm from alcohol. [237161]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department's operating framework for 2008-11 describes the business processes required throughout the system to support delivery against national and local priorities, ensure local accountability and drive transformation for the benefit of patients. As part of the operating framework, the Department put in place a new vital signs indicator for the national health service from April 2008 that will measure change in the rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions.
Primary care trusts (PCTs) need to choose, in consultation with local partners, which Tier 3 indicators to prioritise locally. 99 PCTs have chosen alcohol as a Tier 3 indicator. Assurance of this process must take place at local level, between the strategic health authority (SHA) and PCT.
Where a PCT identifies reducing the rate of alcohol- related hospital admissions as a local priority, they will set annual plans to be jointly signed off by SHAs and in the case of any agreed local area agreement (LAA) priority, by the regional Government Office (GO). The Department's teams in each GO will work with the SHA to ensure this process is managed effectively in each region.
The intention is that performance against all vital signs indicators will be published annually. This will allow a local population to understand how well or poorly their local PCT is performing across a range of commissioner responsibilities and will be part of local conversation between PCTs and their populations. PCTs will therefore want to track progress against all the vital signs indicators.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what he plans to include within the new standardised codes for alcohol-related activity under NHS Connecting for Health; and when the codes will become active; [237163]
(2) what each of the current Read codes for alcohol-related activity is. [237250]
Mr. Bradshaw: There are currently three different versions of Read codes (4byte, Version2, and Clinical Terms Version 3 - CTV3) in use within the national health service in England, and SNOMED CT which is the strategic terminology that is being deployed in new systems. All concepts authored in Read codes are simultaneously authored in SNOMED CT.
A complete list of over 300 published Read codes relating to alcohol-related activity, listed according to the CTV3 preferred term, has been placed in the Library. These codes are available for use now.
All versions of the Read codes and SNOMED CT are published bi-annually, in April and October. To date NHS Connecting for Health has received no further requests for additional coding to support the recording of alcohol-related activity for inclusion in the next scheduled release, planned for April 2009.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) the quantity and (b) quality of data on alcohol screening. [237252]
Dawn Primarolo: We have taken steps to enable primary care practitioners to record their work in alcohol identification and brief advice. New Read codes for general practitioners computing have been available since May 2008. This enables data to be collected locally and nationally.
Work undertaken in future as part of the recently announced clinical Directed Enhanced Service (DES) for identification and brief advice for alcohol misuse for newly registered patients and as part of Locally Enhanced Services (LES) for additional adult groups in individual primary care trusts (PCTs) can be recorded using the new codes.
Use of the new codes will enable PCTs and the Department to monitor how identification and brief advice is being taken up in primary care.
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