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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1553W—continued
| Operation Herrick | |
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stage the Status of Forces negotiations with the Iraqi government have reached; what discussions on the issue there have been with the United Nations, the United States and other nations with a presence in Iraq; what plans there are to present the ensuing agreements to (a) the Iraqi Parliament, (b) the UK Parliament and (c) the United Nations for approval; what consideration has been given to including the status of private security firms of UK origin or with UK personnel in the agreement; and if he will make a statement. [238795]
Mr. Hutton: The UK and the Government of Iraq are negotiating a legal framework to allow UK forces to continue to provide the assistance requested of us by Iraqi authorities, laying the foundations for a long-term normalised bilateral relationship. Our negotiations have made good progress and we expect to reach an agreement prior to the expiry of UN Security Council Resolution 1790 at the end of 2008. We continue to discuss our respective legal requirements with the US and other coalition partners.
We keep in close touch with the UN on Iraq. We have not, however, discussed the future legal framework for military activities in Iraq with the UN, given the agreement we are negotiating with the Government of Iraq would be bilateral in nature. Nor would such a bilateral arrangement require explicit UN approval.
Our intention is that Parliament will have the opportunity to consider any agreement in accordance with the standard parliamentary procedures. The approval procedure in Iraq is a matter for the Government of Iraq.
There are no plans to cover the status of commercial organisations, including private military and security companies, in the agreement.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 18th November 2008, Official Report, column 420W, on Iraq: peacekeeping operations, whether the Iraqi authorities have taken any steps to remove any of the cameras in the last six months. [239172]
Mr. Hutton: As far as we are aware, no steps have been taken by the Iraqi authorities to remove surveillance devices deployed by UK forces in support of operations in Iraq.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Harrier squadrons have served as part of Operation Telic; and on what dates. [239716]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Elements of Numbers 1(F), 3(F) and IV(AC) Harrier Squadrons deployed in February 2003 in advance of operations in Iraq between March and May 2003.
Joint Force Harrier
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces serving with Joint Force Harrier have broken harmony guidelines in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) air crew and (b) ground crew and (i) Royal Air Force and (ii) Royal Navy personnel. [239742]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Information on numbers of RAF and Royal Navy air and ground crew personnel who may have broken harmony guidelines in the last three years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, on average, Harrier squadrons spend four months out of every 12 deployed on Operation Herrick.
Military Aircraft
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how long the Tornado GR4 has been deployed continuously on operations. [238819]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Tornado GR4 has been deployed continuously on operations since June 2001.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 58W, on future large aircraft, what progress has been made in addressing the shortfall in fitting a fuel tank inerting system to the A400M development aircraft. [238840]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The first UK A400M development aircraft which is not currently fitted with pipework for a fuel tank inerting system will be used initially by Airbus for Flight Test purposes in support of the development programme. This will continue for a period of several years, after which it will be refurbished prior to delivery to the RAF. The specific content and extent of this refurbishment work will need to be reviewed and informed as development progresses. This will be the correct time to address the potential provision of fuel tank inerting on this development aircraft.
Military Airlift Services
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the proposal put to him by Crown Aviation on the provision of military airlift services; and if he will make a statement. [238043]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Crown Aviation's unsolicited proposal for the provision of military airlift services was received on 12 May this year. The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Logistics Operations) wrote to Crown Aviation on 5 June explaining how the request would be dealt with and further information regarding airlift capability was sent to Crown Aviation in mid June to allow them to craft their bid in greater detail.
The proposals were considered in the same way as other unsolicited proposals that we have received from other companies and in line with departmental guidelines. Crown Aviation was informed in mid July 2008 that we did not intend to pursue their bid at present time.
Currently our needs are being met by our own organic airlift assets supported by commercial charter. Even so, our airlift requirements are under constant review and these reviews always include analysis of the requirement for the kind of commercial capability that Crown Aviation offer. However, the operating environments in our current theatres mean that it is highly unlikely that any commercial company would be capable of providing aircraft that offered sufficient protection against the attendant threat. The safety of our service personnel remains paramount.
Piracy
Dr. Julian Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance Royal Navy personnel (a) have been and (b) will be given on (i) the impact of human rights legislation on the ability to transfer captured
pirates to other countries, including their own, (ii) the prospect of such captives claiming rights and benefits in the United Kingdom and (iii) whether to take pirates into captivity on Royal Navy vessels. [239467]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 25 November 2008]: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Redundancy
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department left under (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 2005-06; how many of them in each case were paid (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000 in the year before they left; and how much (A) was spent in each of those years and (B) is planned to be spent on such schemes in (1) 2008-09 and (2) 2009-10 by (Y) his Department (Z) each of his Department's agencies. [237357]
Mr. Kevan Jones: To provide this specific information would require a departmental-wide trawl to ascertain the number and cost of involuntary and voluntary staff exits in each year since 2005-06. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
We do hold information centrally on departmental-wide voluntary early release schemes which were launched in March 2005 and March 2008. The following table shows the number of staff who voluntarily left the Ministry of Defence under the departmental-wide voluntary 2005 early release scheme (early retirement or early severance) in each year between 2005-06 and 2007-08, grouped by their basic rate of pay at the time of departure:
| Up to £25,000 | £25,001 to £50,000 | £50,001 to £75,000 | £75,001 to £100,000 | Over £100,000 | Total | |
These numbers vary slightly from those reported previously as different reports have been reconciled. The Ministry of Defence meets the cost of early departures, and this includes the cost of lump sum severance payments and the additional costs of benefits beyond the normal Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) benefits in respect of employees who retire early.
The following table shows expenditure on early departures in each year since 2005-06.
| £ million | |
The following table shows the number of staff who will voluntarily leave the Ministry of Defence under the Departmental-wide voluntary 2008 early release scheme (early retirement or early severance) in the years 2008-09 and 2009-10, grouped by their basic rate of pay at the time of departure. These figures are subject to change as final selections and acceptances are still to be confirmed:
| Up to £25,000 | £25,001 to £50,000 | £50,001 to £75,000 | £75,001 to £100,000 | Over £100,000 | Total | |
The following table shows the expected expenditure of early departures by year.
| £ million | |
The Civil Service Management Code outlines various categories of early departure under which civil servants can retire and be retired early. These categories provide for the circumstances of departure, and details of the compensation benefits associated with these departures are contained in the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. The categories are split between early retirement, which applies to staff aged 50 or over, and early severance, which applies to staff aged under 50.
Staff who leave on compulsory redundancy receive benefits under the compulsory early severance or compulsory early retirement categories, depending on their age. Benefits are also payable to those who leave voluntarily under these categories, and under the flexible early severance, flexible early retirement and approved early retirement categories.
Departments meet the full costs of early departure. This includes the cost of lump sum severance payments
and the additional costs of benefits beyond the normal Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) benefits in respect of employees who retire early.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's staff who left under (a) an involuntary and (b) a voluntary exit scheme in each year since 2005-06 received a severance package of (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if he will make a statement. [239161]
Mr. Kevan Jones: To provide this specific information would require a departmental-wide trawl to ascertain the number and cost of involuntary and voluntary staff exits in each year since 2005-06. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
We do hold information centrally on departmental-wide voluntary early release schemes, launched in March 2005 and March 2008. The following table shows the number of staff who voluntarily left the Ministry of Defence under the departmental-wide voluntary 2005 early release scheme (early retirement or early severance) in each year since 2005-06, grouped by the cost of their severance package:
| Up to £25,000 | £25,001 to £50,000 | £50,001 to £75,000 | £75,001 to £100,000 | Over £100,000 | Total | |
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