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23 Feb 2009 : Column 15W—continued
Iran: Missile Development
10. Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for UK defence policy of recent Iranian missile development. [257889]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Upminster (Angela Watkinson).
Military Doctors: Reserve Forces
11. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of military doctors serving abroad are members of the Territorial Army and other reserve forces. [257890]
Mr. Kevan Jones: From a total of 11 medical officers currently serving at the field hospital in Iraq on OP TELIC, five are members of the reserve forces. At the field hospital in Afghanistan on OP HERRICK, three, from a current total of 15 medical officers, are reservists.
Aircraft Carriers: Air Defence Capability
12. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next expects to meet his NATO counterparts to discuss the air defence capability of aircraft carriers. [257891]
Mr. Hutton: There are no specific plans for discussions with NATO counterparts, in the near future, on the air defence capability provided by aircraft carriers.
Afghanistan
13. Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest assessment is of the armed forces' performance against their military objectives in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [257892]
Mr. Hutton: UK and other ISAF troops are making tangible progress in Afghanistan. In Helmand, all the major towns are now under the Government of Afghanistan's control and the insurgents can no longer rest easy in their traditional heartlands. But Afghanistan's problems cannot be solved by military means alone and nor will they be solved quickly. Significant security challenges remain and we are working with the Afghan Government also to improve governance, economic development and the rule of law.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment of the strength and capabilities of the (a) Afghan national army and (b) Afghan national police is. [253714]
Mr. Hutton: Good progress has been made with the Afghan national army (ANA). The ANA is 78,000 strong and in 2008 they led in 60 per cent. of the operations in which they participated.
There are now some 82,000 Afghan police (ANP). Through the US and EU-led programmes ANP capacity has improved.
We will continue to work closely with the government of Afghanistan and the international community to build the capacity of the Afghan national army and police.
Chiefs of Staff
14. Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures there are for co-operation between the chiefs of staff of each of the services. [257893]
16. Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures there are for co-operation between the chiefs of staff of each of the services. [257895]
Mr. Hutton: The chiefs of staff meet informally and formally to discuss matters of mutual interest on a regular and ongoing basis.
Warship Construction Programme
17. Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress has been made on the warship construction programme; and if he will make a statement. [257896]
Mr. Hutton: Good progress continues to be made across the future warship build programme.
Centred on the Type 45 Destroyers, the Astute class submarines, the Future Aircraft Carriers and the Future Surface Combatant, it is providing industry with a strong order book which will continue well into the next decade and beyond.
Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
19. Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on preparations for the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. [257898]
Mr. Hutton: I have regular discussions with the Foreign Secretary on a range of issues, including non-proliferation. Our respective Departments continue to work closely together, and with international partners, to ensure that the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference will be a success.
Trident
21. Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent consideration he has given to the future of the UK's Trident nuclear weapons system; and if he will make a statement. [257900]
Mr. Hutton:
We laid out the Government's decisions on the nuclear deterrent in the December 2006 White Paper, ‘The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent’, which the House voted to support, by a large majority, in March 2007. We expect to reach the Initial Gate approval point for the programme to replace
the Vanguard-class submarines in autumn 2009. This will signify the end of the concept phase. We are also participating in a programme to extend the life of the Trident II D5 missile until around 2042.
ATLAS Consortium
22. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the ATLAS consortium's performance against objectives in implementing the Defence Information Infrastructure; and if he will make a statement. [257901]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The performance of the ATLAS consortium is continually assessed by the DII Programme's governing bodies. The most recent assessment is that performance remains satisfactory against the objectives of the programme.
Specifically, just beyond the 31 January 2009 milestone set for the end of the first increment, 62,800 terminals will have been delivered. This increases confidence in achieving the next milestone of 100,000 terminals to be delivered by the end of December 2009. In addition over half of the MOD population currently have DII Future (DII(F)) accounts and a capability to process secret data is now in place allowing the programme to roll DII(F) into the five major headquarters of the MOD, Royal Navy, RAF, Army and Permanent Joint Headquarters.
ATLAS is also on track to deliver a deployed and top secret capability within planned timescales and financial estimates for the on-contract programme remain within 3 per cent. of the original estimates.
Iraq
23. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the security situation in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [257902]
Mr. Hutton: The overall security situation in Iraq continues to improve, with violence remaining down at levels last seen in 2003. This was demonstrated by the recent provincial elections, which passed with just one reported security incident in Basra, where Iraqi security forces are maintaining the significant security gains achieved over the course of 2008.
Afghanistan: Serious Injuries
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British soldiers have been seriously injured in Afghanistan (a) since 2001 and (b) since January 2006. [257894]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Since the start of coalition operations in Afghanistan in October 2001, 175 British service personnel have been very seriously or seriously injured. 165 of these individuals incurred their injuries since January 2006.
Afghanistan: Civilian Casualties
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps UK forces are taking to minimise the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. [257897]
Mr. Hutton: We deeply regret any incidents where civilians are killed as a result of actions by international forces. Procedures are in place, and being constantly updated in the light of experience, both to minimise the risk of these casualties occurring and to investigate any incidents that do happen. In addition troops undergo comprehensive individual and collective training before they go on operations. Significant resources and effort are put into understanding properly the operational environment, including details of the civilian population who wherever possible are warned of impending operations.
We should, however, remember that insurgents are the real threat to the safety and security of the Afghan people through their indiscriminate use of violence.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 14 October 2008, Official Report, column 1016W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, when he expects the review to be completed. [255588]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The review of UK detention records has been a major undertaking; we hope to publish the findings in the near future.
Ammunition
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether British armed forces have used white phosphorus munitions in (a) Iraq since 2003 and (b) Afghanistan since 2001; [254686]
(2) when white phosphorus munitions were last used in action by British armed forces; and in what circumstances they were used. [254688]
Mr. Hutton: In Afghanistan, white phosphorus munitions are routinely used to protect troops on operations by producing a smoke screen to provide cover. Records show white phosphorus munitions were last used for the same purpose in Iraq in 2005.
In accordance with the UN third convention on conventional weapons, UK training in the use of white phosphorus emphasises that it should be used solely for its intended purpose and not as an anti-personnel weapon.
Ammunition: Exports
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK has made any exports of white phosphorus munitions in the last 10 years. [254687]
Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply:
BERR’s Export Control Organisation only has information on licences issued, not actual exports. 67 licences have been issued since March 1999 for munitions that, like white phosphorous munitions, are designed to create illumination or act as an incendiary. Because the export licence application form does not require the exporter to provide the chemical composition of munitions to be exported, it is not possible to say how many—if any—of those 67 related to the export of white phosphorous
Armed Forces: Blood
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will request NHS Blood and Transplant to supply pathogen inactivated blood products for military personnel use. [255760]
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ask the NHS Blood and Transplant Service to supply pathogen-inactivated blood products for use by military personnel. [256969]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Pathogen inactivation (PI) is a process designed to eliminate pathogens—i.e. viruses, bacteria and fungi—from water, air or donated blood. The majority of the blood held in-theatre by the Defence Medical Services is supplied by the UK National Blood Services (NBS), which does not routinely carry out PI on its blood products. However, the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO—a Department of Health NDPB) will be reviewing options to reduce the risk of bacterial infection in platelets, including pathogen inactivation, in early 2009, which will inform decisions on its use in the UK. It would be premature of MOD to pre-empt the results of this review.
Armed Forces: Deployment
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of personnel in each pinch point trade in the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Air Force exceeded harmony guidelines for tour intervals in the latest period for which figures are available. [257685]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: As I stated in my answer on 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1521W, it is not possible to identify the tour intervals for individual service personnel who are considered to be in pinch point trades. The Joint Personnel Administration system is designed to identify where individual harmony guidelines, as a whole, are being broken rather than the intervals between tours.
Armed Forces: Drugs
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the incidence of substance misuse amongst members of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [258185]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: MOD monitors regularly the incidence of substance misuse in the armed forces. The services have robust policies and procedures in relation to the taking of unlawful drugs, as well as a comprehensive range of measures for raising awareness of and dealing with alcohol abuse. The evidence is that the level of taking unlawful drugs by service personnel is far below that of their civilian counterparts.
Armed Forces: Housing
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2009, Official Report, column 1264W, on departmental housing, how many houses owned by his Department were rated as grade (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006 and (iii) 2007. [251695]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Officials are working to identify what information can be provided. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Substantive answer from Kevan Jones to Willie Rennie, dated 2 1 February 2009:
My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 27 January 2009 , Official Report, column 305W about grades of Service Family Accommodation.
The following breakdown of Service Family Accommodation properties worldwide by each Grade for Charge (GfC) at 1 April 2005, 2006, and 2007 respectively.
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