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2 Feb 2009 : Column 871W—continued
Army: Expenditure
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on (a) heavy infantry, (b) heavy artillery, (c) light infantry and (d) light artillery in each of the last 10 years. [252101]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Cyprus: Military Bases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of land in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is given over the private ownership for the purposes of agriculture. [252912]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) of Akrotiri and Dhekelia cover an area of around 98 square miles. Approximately 60 per cent. of this land is privately owned. This land may be utilised by owners as they see fit within the applicable Law.
The functions of government relating to the administration and regulation of agricultural activities, as well as land registration are delegated to the Government of the Republic of Cyprus who would hold the data. The SBA Administration does not hold the information requested and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Defence: Expenditure
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 December 2008, Official Report, columns 65-7WS, on defence equipment, what assessment he has made of the savings from the equipment budget required to be made in the 2009 planning round; and which programmes are being examined for savings. [253459]
Mr. Hutton: As part of the Department's normal planning round we review the full scope of our future equipment programme, alongside other elements of the defence programme, so that judgments can be made on overall priorities and balance of investment to maximise defence capability within the available resources. In my written statement on 11 December 2008, Official Report, columns 65-7WS, I informed Parliament about the major decisions emerging from our examination of the equipment programme and indicated that any further significant changes would be announced following the conclusion of the planning round.
Defence: Military Aircraft
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the material carrying capacity is of the A400M. [250465]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The A400M aircraft has been specified to carry a payload of 32 tonnes. It is currently forecast to meet this requirement, and exceed it under certain scenarios.
Departmental Data Protection
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of staff in his Department have been (a) investigated, (b) suspended and (c) dismissed for losing (i) memory sticks, (ii) laptop computers, (iii) desktop computers and (iv) mobile telephones belonging to his Department in each year since 1997. [248244]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information is not held centrally in the format requested. However, records held centrally of civilian staff dismissed since April 2002 include no cases of dismissal specifically for losing memory sticks, laptop computers, desktop computers and mobile telephones belonging to the Department.
Departmental ICT
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many training exercises have been (a) cancelled and (b) delayed due to the recent computer virus problem affecting his Department; [253358]
(2) how many computers in his Department have been infected with the recently reported computer virus; [253359]
(3) what his estimate is of the cost to his Department of resolving the recent computer virus problem; [253360]
(4) what assessment he has made of the source of the recent computer virus problem which affected his Department; [253361]
(5) how many computers in (a) Iraq, (b) Afghanistan and (c) other UK military bases overseas have been infected with a computer virus in the last two months; and what the (i) name and (ii) location of the base is in each case. [253362]
Mr. Hutton: It would not be in the interests of the UK's national security for the Ministry of Defence to release information regarding the impact of any computer virus infection on its IT systems as this would enable individuals to deduce how successful these infections are against the network and so assist such persons in establishing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 7 October 2008, Official Report, column 608W, on departmental manpower, how many staff in his Department and its agencies are in the redeployment pool; how many of them were placed in the pool after returning from maternity leave; and how many of them have been in the pool for at least (a) six months and (b) 12 months. [250095]
Mr. Kevan Jones: As at 21 January 2009 there were 886 MOD staff in the Redeployment Pool.
The Department’s automated records do not facilitate ready identification of the number of those in the pool who were placed there on their return from maternity leave. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
346 staff have been in the pool for at least six months and, of those, 214 have been in the pool for at least 12 months.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints about advertisements sponsored or funded by his Department were made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in each year from 1997 to 2008; and how many of these were upheld by the ASA in each year. [246648]
Mr. Kevan Jones: This information is not held by the MOD; however, the Advertising Standards Authority report that between January 1997 and December 2008 the following complaints were made about MOD sponsored advertisements:
Royal Navy: four complaints about four cases, none of which were upheld.
Army: 92 complaints about 76 cases, none of which were upheld.
RAF: seven complaints received about seven cases, one of which remains under investigation while the remaining six were not upheld.
These statistics do not include complaints about TV or Radio broadcasts made between 1997 and 2006 as this information is not centrally held.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expert advisers have been commissioned by his Department and its agencies since 1997; on what topic each was commissioned; and whether the adviser so appointed made a declaration of political activity in each case. [246958]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The data requested are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However public appointments to the MOD's non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are run through a visibly open, fair and rigorous recruitment and selection process under the rules of the Office of the Commissioner of Public Appointments (OCPA). Successful candidates have to declare their political activities. Information on MOD's public appointments can be found at:
In respect of information on MOD's special advisers, since 2003 their names, overall costs and the number in each pay band are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Detainee Numbers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will update the figures given on detainee numbers as set out in his letter of 17 November 2008 to the right hon. Member for North East Hampshire; and if he will make a statement [253242]
Mr. Hutton: I will shortly be updating the House on this issue.
International Security Assistance Force
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on sourcing the requirement for International Security Assistance Force’s Operational Reserve Force; and if he will make a statement. [249743]
Mr. Hutton: I have had numerous discussions with my NATO counterparts on the subject of troops contributions. Through the force generation process, NATO is working to fill the Operational Reserve Force for ISAF. This requirement was identified on NATO’s Combined Statement of Requirement in 2006. There are in-theatre reserves available.
Iraq
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces are working as part of NATO training forces in Iraq. [253206]
Mr. Hutton: Currently, there are 18 members of the UK armed forces working as part of the NATO Training Mission in Iraq.
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors he will take into account when making decisions on the number of troops to be deployed in Iraq. [250903]
Mr. Hutton: As the Prime Minister set out on 18 December 2008, Official Report, columns 1233-1235, we will complete our remaining military tasks in Iraq by 31 May 2009 and move to a normal bilateral defence relationship. As part of the future relationship, the government of Iraq have indicated that they would like the UK to continue to provide military training and education. The precise scope of this training and education will inform decisions on the number of UK service personnel in Iraq after 31 July. Decisions will also be based on advice from our military commanders and conditions on the ground. On the basis of our discussions with the Iraqi government to date, I anticipate that this future activity would involve no more than around 400 UK service personnel, which military commanders judge should be sufficient to support the delivery of these tasks safely and effectively.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq by July 2009 on the airbridge; [251982]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of commercial (a) planes and (b) ships to be hired to assist with the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq; and what the cost to his Department is estimated to be. [251983]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Plans have not yet been finalised for the recovery of equipment and personnel from Iraq. Until such time, it is not possible to quantify the amount of lift that will be necessary to move all the items and personnel. It is intended, however, that the majority of the recovery will be conducted by surface means using the MOD RoRo resources as far as possible in conjunction with commercial liner services. As the requirement to sustain Iraq reduces, the requirement for the lift will diminish.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2009, Official Report, column 35W, on Iraq: peace keeping operations, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of co-operation between his Department and the Department for International Development on conflict prevention immediately prior to the invasion of Iraq. [253210]
Mr. Hutton: Prior to the invasion of Iraq, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development (DfID) worked together on planning for Operation TELIC, including on humanitarian and reconstruction issues, and in other areas of stabilisation and conflict prevention. The House of Commons Defence Committee recognised in its report, ‘Lessons of Iraq’, published on 16 March 2004, that DfID was a ‘key player’ in planning for the post-conflict situation in Iraq. This close co-operation has continued ever since.
Military Aircraft
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the C17 aircraft operated by the armed forces have been fitted with titanium parts manufactured by Western Titanium. [251746]
Mr. Quentin Davies: RAF C-17 aircraft are fitted with titanium components manufactured by Western Titanium. There are no safety or airworthiness issues arising from the use of these components.
Military Aircraft: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of helicopters of each type available for training purposes was in each year since 2001. [251705]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Dedicated helicopter flying training for all services is carried out by Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) at RAF Shawbury, with further training for Army personnel carried out by DHFS at Middle Wallop. The contract requires the delivery of flying hours, rather than a specific number of aircraft. It is up to the contractor to decide how many aircraft are required to deliver the required hours. The number of helicopters that the contractor has used to deliver the flying hours required in each year since 2001 under the DHFS contract is:
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | ||
Once initial training has been completed, all further training requirements are serviced by helicopters in the Forward Fleet. There are many categories of flying training which are carried out on Forward Fleet aircraft that are also used for Operational purposes. It is not therefore possible to identify aircraft used solely for training.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 January 2009, Official Report, column 37W, which provided the numbers of helicopters in the Forward Fleet.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of aircraft of each type available for training purposes was in each year since 2001. [251706]
Mr. Quentin Davies: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
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