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9 Dec 2008 : Column 47W—continued

Tax Credit

Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual cases of tax credit overpayments his Department has taken to court to seek recovery of overpayments in (a) each month of 2008-09 and (b) each year from 2003-04 to 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. [240303]

Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1926-27W.

Taxation: Medical Treatments

Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of tax revenue received by the Exchequer from taxation of private medical treatment provided by employers to employees in 2007-08. [240807]

Mr. Timms: HMRC does not yet have information on the tax revenue received from the taxation of private medical treatment in 2007-08. The tax liability as a result of all taxable benefits provided by employers to employees is published annually on the HMRC website in Table 4.5 at this address:

A forecast of the total tax liability from private medical and dental treatment or insurance provided to employees by their employers in 2007-08 will be published in spring 2009.

VAT

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his estimate of the cost to businesses of his announced change in the rate of value added tax. [241381]

Ian Pearson: The impact assessment setting out the compliance costs for business can be found on the HM Treasury website at the following address:

Defence

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel have been (a) injured and (b) killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan since 2001. [240349]


9 Dec 2008 : Column 48W

Mr. Hutton: The numbers of service personnel killed and injured while serving in Afghanistan are published on the Departmental website at fortnightly intervals, two weeks in arrears, at the following address:

For convenience, the figures to 15 November 2008, the latest available, are reproduced in the following table:

 Casualties (very seriously or seriously injured) Fatalities

2001

0

0

2002

1

3

2003

1

0

2004

6

1

2005

2

1

2006

31

39

2007

63

42

2008

58

39


It is not possible to provide precise figures for injuries or fatalities resulting from action by friendly forces since it is not possible in each and every case precisely to determine definitively whether incidents were caused by enemy, Afghan or coalition forces.

Armed Forces

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what definition his Department uses of harmony with regard to each of the three services. [240495]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 8 December 2008]: Harmony Guidelines are formulated by the single services. Each of the services has a slightly different metric that reflects the ethos and expectations of armed forces personnel. The guidelines are kept under regular review in order to ensure that they reflect the operational requirement of the Department but remain balanced with the requirement of training and recuperation, including leave. Part of recuperation considers retention issues and the assessment of the work/life dynamic is of particular concern. Harmony is split into two related but separate requirements: unit harmony, that primarily relates to force structures and commitments; and individual harmony, that relates to the effect of all separation on individual service personnel.

The Harmony Guidelines are given in the following table.


9 Dec 2008 : Column 49W

 Unit Harmony Guideline Individual Harmony Guideline

Royal Navy

Force planners assume that RN and RM units will, over a three year period, spend a maximum of 60 per cent. of their time deployed and 40 per cent. of their time in their base port

The Royal Navy sets Separated Service as a maximum of 660 days Separated Service in a rolling three year period

Army

The Army uses FORM (Formation Operational Readiness Mechanism) to plan for Army units to conduct a six month operational tour followed by an interval of 24 months

The Army tries to adhere to 415 days Separated Service in a 30 month rolling period

Royal Air Force

On the whole, the RAF deploys personnel on individual basis with the RAF Regt being the major exception. The RAF utilises the Operational Deployment Guideline to plan for personnel and units to spend four months on deployed operations followed by 16 months at base

The Royal Air Force has a Separated Service planning target of 280 days in a 24-month rolling period


Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will break down the basic salary levels in the armed forces by (a) service and (b) rank; [241749]

(2) what the pay grades are of officers above the NATO rank of OF-3 in all three services, broken down by rank. [242032]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Pay rates for all members of the armed forces up to the rank of Brigadier and equivalent are recommended by the independent Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB) in its annual report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence. Copies of the AFPRB’s 37(th) report—2008 (Cm 7315) and its Supplement (Cm 7347), which covers the pay of service medical and dental officers, are available in the Library of the House. Both reports show the recommended pay rates for officers and other ranks, for financial year 2008-09, by service rank (including NATO equivalent) and spine point. The recommendations contained in both reports have been accepted in full by the Government and implemented with effect from 1 April 2008.

Pay rates for all senior service officers of the ranks shown as follows are recommended by the independent Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) in its annual report to the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Health.

Copies of the SSRB’s 30(th) report on senior salaries (Cm 7388) are available in the Library of the House. The recommendations contained in the report in respect of senior service officers have been accepted in full by the Government and implemented with effect from 1 April 2008.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces will be on active duty abroad on 25 December 2008, broken down by location. [241982]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The endorsed force level for UK military operations are set out in the table. While we do not routinely comment on future troop deployments, we have no reason to believe these figures will change significantly by 25 December 2008.


9 Dec 2008 : Column 50W
Location Endorsed number (at 5 December 2008)( 1)

Afghanistan

8,050

Southern Iraq

4,100

Baghdad(2)

250

At sea

1,050

Falklands/South Atlantic

1,500

Qatar

700

Cyprus

300

Kuwait

550

Kosovo

150

Bahrain

50

Bosnia

Less than 50

Other(3)

150

(1) Rounded.
(2) Providing support to the Senior British Military Representative—Iraq.
(3) Small scale deployments in support of EU and UN missions, and headquarters liaison officers.

The precise number of personnel in each theatre at any one time fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits and other factors.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's housing sites have reported infestations from (a) vermin, (b) insects and (c) any other pests in the last 24 months. [241979]

Mr. Kevan Jones: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel there are, broken down by (a) service, (b) rank, (c) age and (d) sex. [241751]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Information on service and sex can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 1—Total Strength of UK Regular Forces by gender. TSP 1 is published on monthly basis and the latest information as at 1 October 2008 can be found at:

Information on rank can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 9—UK Regular Forces Rank Structure. TSP 9 is published on quarterly basis and the latest information as at 1 October 2008 can be found at:

Information on age can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 8—UK Regular Forces by age and sex. TSP 8 is published on an annual basis and the latest information as at 1 April 2008 can be found at:


9 Dec 2008 : Column 51W

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers with the NATO rank of OF-3 or above are employed by each of the three services, broken down by rank. [242031]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Information on the number of officers with the NATO rank of OF-3 or above employed by each of the three services, broken down by rank can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 9—UK Regular Forces rank structure. TSP 9 is published on quarterly basis and the latest information as at 1 October 2008 can be found at:

Armed Forces: Parcels

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of parcels sent from members of the public to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan but not addressed to an individual which had not been delivered in the latest period for which figures are available; and how such parcels were treated by the British Forces Post Office. [240451]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 8 December 2008]: We do not record separately the number of unsolicited parcels received from members of the public by personnel deployed on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) policy is that unsolicited mail will be moved to operational theatres as and when there is sufficient spare capacity to move it without affecting the mail from family and friends. The recent MOD publicity campaign seeking to discourage unsolicited parcels has significantly reduced the volumes of unsolicited mail currently being processed by the BFPO and as a result the relatively small quantities of such mail are being processed with minimal delay. I should, however, emphasise that any return to the sorts of volumes of unsolicited mail witnessed last year could result in substantial delays to personal mail and we cannot allow that to happen.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ongoing pension scheme commitment is given to service personnel, broken down by (a) rank and (b) length of service. [241748]

Mr. Kevan Jones: All individuals are provided with an induction pack on joining the armed forces which contains information about pension provision. Similarly, when they leave service, they receive a leaver’s pack which includes details about their pension benefits.

Full details of all the armed forces pension schemes and their provisions are in the public domain and can be found at:

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