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27 Jan 2009 : Column 309W—continued
Military Aid: Belize
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) joint manoeuvres and (b) other military co-operation there has been between the UK and Belize in each of the last 20 years. [250737]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Substantial British support has been provided to the Belizean Defence Force (BDF) since Belize's independence in 1981.
The British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB), formed in 1994, co-ordinated joint training
activities and military co-operation initiatives but details of these for the last 20 years are not recorded.
Examples of joint manoeuvres and military cooperation in the last three years, and activities which we expect to continue, include:
The BDF has provided an opposing force for numerous exercises, in particular for six battlegroup size exercises;
BDF personnel have participated on three six-week jungle courses;
The UK Civil Military Cooperation group has provided comprehensive disaster relief training for the BDF during an exercise in 2006;
The BDF provide opposing forces for The Infantry Battle School (IBS) final exercises and the IBS reciprocates by providing one free place for a BDF junior officer on each of its three platoon commanders battle courses in the UK;
British helicopter support is provided free to the government of Belize and the BDF for approx 10 hours per month. Furthermore, emergency Forward Aero Medical Evacuation to hospital is provided by BATSUB for BDF soldiers if injured;
Where the BDF lacks the equipment or resources to repair facilities if BATSUB has the expertise or the equipment to assist it will. Occasionally it is deemed appropriate to fund repairs if there is joint utility for BATSUB. A recent example is the replacement of a failed lighting system in the BDF's ammunition compound;
Where British Army equipment becomes beyond economical repair authority is sought from the MOD UK to gift the equipment to the BDF. A recent example is 30 x 4 ton Bedford trucks;
Joint civic events are held throughout the year, e.g. Remembrance Day parades, a military and police tattoo and a BDF open day;
In 2008 the government of Belize authorised a British recruiting team to spend a month in Belize testing and evaluating over 700 Belizean applicants for the British Army in UK. Approx 130 were successful and some are already undergoing training in the UK.
Military Aircraft
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) required and (b) actual level of spare part availability is for each aircraft type in the Royal Air Force. [Official Report, 18 November 2009, Vol. 501, c. 1MC.] [249704]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The required level of spares for RAF aircraft is included in contractual agreements with industry, or is set by the Front Line Command. The achieved level of available spares is measured as part of these agreements.
The following information for the required and achieved level of spares is provided as at 30 November 2008 unless otherwise stated. Although not used as a performance indicator as part of a contract with industry, the off the shelf satisfaction rate (OTSSR) is also measured for some aircraft types, and is therefore included in the table. The OTSSR is defined as the percentage of demands for spares satisfied direct from MOD stock.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on helicopter (a) procurement and (b) maintenance in each year since 2001. [249706]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The amount spent on helicopter procurement in each financial year since 2001 is shown in the following table.
| £ million | |
In addition, sums in the region of £500 million have been spent on maintenance and support of in-service helicopters in each financial year since 2001-02. This includes equipment support, some stock consumption and manpower costs, along with the costs associated with the repair, maintenance, overhaul and associated Post Design Services. Other maintenance costs elsewhere, such as at the Front Line Commands, have not been included as these figures are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Official Cars
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what cars are (a) owned, (b) leased, (c) hired and (d) otherwise regularly used by his Department, broken down by cubic capacity of engine. [250131]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence has two lease agreements in place for the provision of the majority of non-operational cars (white fleet vehicles). It does not therefore own such vehicles under these arrangements. As at 31 December 2008 there were 8,701 cars leased under the UK and British forces Germany white fleet contracts. The engine sizes are broken down as follows:
| Class | Size | Number |
|
Upper Medium (1600-2800 cc)-e.g. Ford Mondeo/Vauxhall Vectra | ||
|
People Carriers (1800-2000 cc) e.g. Ford Galaxy/ Renault Espace |
MVRIS is a motor industry system which provides data on the registration of new vehicles in the UK.
The MOD also hires vehicles as and when required. This amounted to approximately 185,000 last year for the UK mainland. This can be broadly broken down as follows:
MVRIS class B 24 per cent.; class C 60 per cent.; class D 14 per cent.; class I 12 per cent.
MOD agencies such as the Defence Support Group, Met Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and overseas dependencies are outside of the White Fleet contract and have separate local arrangements. These details are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Information on the small number of cars owned by Ministry of Defence for use on operations is being withheld as its disclosure could prejudice operational capability.
Pakistan: Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what matters relating to Pakistan's nuclear weapons and their impact on security in the subcontinent were discussed on his recent visit to Pakistan. [250157]
Mr. Hutton: These matters were not discussed.
International Development
Departmental Secondment
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have (i) met and (ii) spoken on the telephone to representatives of (A) Anglo American plc, (B) BHP Billiton plc, (C) Rio Tinto plc, (D) Vedanta plc and (E) Xstrata plc since April 2007; and how many staff from each such company have been seconded to his Department in that period. [245890]
Mr. Thomas: The following table shows the number of meetings and consultations by telephone which Ministers have had with the five companies since April 2007.
| Minister | ||
| Contact since April 2007 between DFID and: | phone | meeting |
The information requested on meetings and calls between officials and these five companies cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
No staff from these companies have been seconded to the Department for International Development (DFID) since April 2007.
Olympics
Departmental Cooperation
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics on what dates since June 2008 she has met (a) the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, (b) the Director General of the Government Olympic Executive, (c) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (d) Treasury officials to discuss the budget for the 2012 Olympics. [250266]
Tessa Jowell: I have frequent meetings with a wide variety of colleagues to discuss all aspects of the 2012 Olympic programme. Naturally, many of these discussions include the budget.
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