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5 Feb 2009 : Column 1406W—continued
One amphibious brigade from the Royal Navy to HG2010.
A member state's declaration to the Headline Goal indicates the range of forces that could be made available to support potential EU operations. It does not bind the member state to providing the forces declared for any specific mission.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to paragraph 106 of the Explanatory Memorandum of 11 December 2008 on the French Presidency Report on European Security and Defence Policy, European Union Document No. 16686/08, what (a) resources and (b) capabilities the UK has declared for the (i) Maritime Rapid Response Concept and (ii) Air Rapid Response Concept for 2009. [254421]
Mr. Hutton: The Maritime Response Concept and the Air Rapid Response Concept are mechanisms to speed up the force generation process in the EU and do not indicate any standing forces. The UK has committed no capabilities or resources specifically to either concept but has set out in its response to the EU Headline Goal 2010 the forces, including maritime and air, that are potentially available for planning purposes for EU missions.
Military Aircraft
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the in-service date for the A400M airlift aircraft. [252864]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Airbus Military has announced a series of delays in the development and production of the A400M programme, and has recently indicated that first deliveries to customer nations will be three years after the achievement of first flight of the A400M prototype. Airbus has indicated that first flight will occur no earlier than the second half of 2009, and has also announced a slowdown in its production plans. Early A400M production aircraft will be delivered to some of our partner nations and therefore the first UK delivery would occur at least six months after Airbus delivers the first A400M. This suggests that initial UK deliveries could not start before 2013 and therefore the estimated in-service date of the A400M (defined as acceptance into service of the seventh aircraft) would be 2014.
Navy: Contracts
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what multi-activity contracts (MACs) the Royal Navy has; and what the (a) scope, (b) monetary value and (c) date of expiry of each MAC is. [254362]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Royal Navy has 11 commercial agreements that can be described as multi-activity contracts of varying size, value and scope. These range from services provided under a 15-year partnering arrangement to a small contract for catering and cleaning services. Details are provided in the following table:
Warships
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria were used to determine the successful bidder for the Royal Navy contract entitled Specialist Vessel Requirement S&MO CB/3193; and if he will make a statement. [254449]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The contract for the provision of harbour support and coastal re-supply services to the Falkland Islands was awarded on 23 January 2009 following an open competition that fully complied with MOD guidelines and EU regulations. All bids received were assessed on a fair and equitable basis against stringent operational requirements and criteria to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. The most technically compliant and affordable bidder was awarded the contract.
Public Accounts Commission
National Audit Office: Future Work Programme
7. David Taylor: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission when he last discussed the National Audit Office's future work programme with the Comptroller and Auditor General. [254304]
Mr. Alan Williams: The Comptroller and Auditor General is responsible for the selection of topics for the National Audit Office's future work programme. He discusses the actual topics with the Public Accounts Committee. The Commission's role is to ensure that adequate resources are available for the NAO's programme. The Commission last discussed the National Audit Office's work with the Comptroller and Auditor General on 2 July 2008 when it examined the Office's Corporate Plan.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Arms Control
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what increased resources his Department has dedicated to tackling chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism threats, as referred to on page 12 of his Department's Autumn 2008 Performance Report. [246260]
David Miliband:
We are increasing programme spend from £2 million for the financial year 2009-10 to £3 million for the financial year 2010-11. Eight officers within the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Directorate for Defence and Strategic Threats cover aspects of work related to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism; this represents an increase in the number of staff dealing with the issue. In addition there are officers at posts overseas working on CBRN as part of their portfolios.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of contractors and suppliers to (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have reported that they are compliant with the Government’s security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008. [245323]
Gillian Merron: This information is not held centrally in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the cost of collecting it would incur disproportionate cost. The FCO’s Senior Information Risk Owner wrote to the FCO’s main contractors in December 2008 reminding them of their responsibilities under the Data Handling Report in managing data securely. FCO contracts include new security clauses which are applicable to all contracts involving personal data.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract. [245344]
Gillian Merron: The information requested is not held centrally, and the cost of providing it would be disproportionate.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 22 July 2008, Official Report, columns 99-102WS, on what date Mr. Ravi Gurumurthy was appointed. [242156]
Gillian Merron: Mr. Ravi Gurumurthy was seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 28 June 2007.
Departmental Surveys
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department’s central media and communication unit spent on public surveys in each of the last three years. [247920]
Gillian Merron:
Communication Directorate within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office acts as its central media and communication unit. Only a small number of public surveys have been carried out by the directorate
in the last three years. Between April 2006 to March 2007, and April 2007 to March 2008, there were none. From April 2008 to January 2009 the directorate spent an estimated total of £25,000 on public surveys.
Embassies: Operating Costs
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the running costs of each British diplomatic mission overseas were in the last financial year for which information is available. [242201]
David Miliband: I will write to the right hon. Member separately with details of the costs of each British diplomatic mission overseas for 2007-08, and will place a copy of these details in the Library of the House.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Billericay dated 28 October 2008 on the subject of the John Williams draft of the Iraq dossier. [248487]
Gillian Merron: I responded to the hon. Member on 19 January 2009.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government’s policy on the recent Arab Peace Initiative is. [248125]
Bill Rammell: The Arab Peace Initiative offers Israel recognition by, and normalisation of relations with, the 22 Arab League States as part of a comprehensive peace. The Government believe that it provides a positive vision for the progress in the Middle East Peace Process. We are working with the Governments of Israel and of the Arab world to pursue a such comprehensive peace.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agreements there are affecting the use of British military airbases for the transfer of weapons from the United States to Israel; and whether the terms of such agreements have been invoked in the last two months. [249201]
Mr. Quentin Davies: I have been asked to reply.
The Ministry of Defence has a system in place that requires all countries to seek clearance for all aircraft registered as military or state aircraft that wish to enter, fly over or depart from UK airspace or for civilian aircraft wishing to land at military bases. All other types of aircraft are subject to the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority. A request for MOD clearance includes the final destination of the flight and details of any dangerous cargo that may be in transit. I can confirm that we have had no such requests for clearance from the US with regards to flights on to Israel in the last two months.
Morocco: Trade
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance his Department has issued to firms about trade with Morocco where such trade draws upon the resources of the Non Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara. [244030]
Gillian Merron: Commercial deals are a matter for the companies concerned. However, the Government work to ensure that companies are aware of the undetermined status of the non self-governing territory of Western Sahara when trading with Morocco. The UK supports UN efforts to resolve the conflict and urge all parties to achieve a mutually acceptable solution that provides the people of the Western Sahara with an opportunity to exercise their right of self-determination.
Energy and Climate Change
Coal: Imports
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much coal was imported in each of the last 10 years; how much he forecasts will be imported in the (a) current year and (b) next three years; and if he will make a statement. [250076]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 3 February 2009]: The following table shows how much coal was imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years. Provisional annual figures for 2008 will be published in the March edition of Energy Trends.
| Amount (Thousand tonnes) | |
| Source: Table 2.1.1 Long Term Trends, Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2008. | |
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