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2 Mar 2009 : Column 1364W—continued
Air Force: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training hours flying time RAF fast jet pilots were able to undertake on average in each year since 2004. [258877]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Armed Forces: Deployment
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce levels of overstretch in the armed forces. [258823]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: While the current situation is manageable it is recognised that the continuing level of operations means that the demands on our armed forces remain significant. While the overall manning situation is improving, there remain challenges in maintaining overall manning levels and significant shortfalls remain in some specific trades. Additional measures to reduce the burden on personnel include: reducing the level on non-operational tasking and ensuring all deployments are essential; regularly reviewing the scale and mix of personnel deployed; increasing recruitment and training; and providing financial and non-financial incentives including retention bonuses for certain trades or specialisations that are experiencing shortfalls and continuance of Service beyond the end of engagements. The Services are also undergoing a restructuring programme to rebalance force structures. The continuing drawdown from Iraq will also improve tour intervals and stretch.
Armed Forces: Training
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Department’s Minute of 17 February 2009, concerning a contingent liability for the costs associated with the Defence Training Review which was laid before the House on that date, if he will refrain from incurring the liability described in the Minute until (a) the Public Accounts Committee and (b) the Defence Committee have completed their consideration of the matter. [259513]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 27 February 2009]: Copies of the departmental minute were provided to the Clerks of the House of Commons Defence Committee and the Public Accounts Committee on 17 February in accordance with established procedures. It is the MOD’s normal practice when laying a departmental minute concerning a contingent liability to provide copies to the two Committees to ensure that they have ample opportunity to raise any issues with Ministers if they wish.
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) in-service dates and (b) current out-of-service dates are for each armoured vehicle type in the Marines. [259212]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Royal Marines operate two armoured vehicles:
| In-service date | Out-of-service date | |
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current out-of-service dates are for each armoured vehicle type in the Army. [259213]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The information is provided in the following table.
| Out-of-service dates | Remarks | |
| (1)( )No planned OSD at present. | ||
Defence Estates: Olympic Games 2012
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter to him from General Sir Richard Dannatt on the venue for shooting events at the London 2012 Olympics. [242082]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 10 December 2008]: I have placed a copy of the note on Bisley that Gen Sir Richard Dannatt passed to my predecessor in September 2008 in the Library of the House.
We remain committed to working with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games to enable the shooting events at the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics to take place at the Royal Artillery Barracks, subject to there being minimal disruption to army personnel, their families, and to the operations of the Barracks.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Department’s Spring Supplementary Estimate, what the reasons are for the £170 million increase in RfR 1 subhead U2; and which assets have fallen in value. [258869]
Mr. Hutton: The 2008-09 MOD Spring Supplementary Estimates requested £170 million of net additional resources for non-cash Annually Managed Expenditure (AME). This covers a £200 million impairment charge due to the downward revaluation of land and buildings (reflecting current UK property market conditions); and also the downward revaluation of land and buildings planned for disposal by Defence Estates. The Defence Estates total holding of land and buildings is currently valued at £20 billion. This increased gross AME provision request was partially offset by a £30 million decrease resulting from a revised equipment impairment forecast.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will break down his Department’s Spring Supplementary Estimates 2009-10 on the same basis as in the answer of 14 July 2008 to the hon. Member for Aldershot, Official Report, column 167W, on departmental public expenditure. [259452]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Hercules Aircraft
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the original expected usage was of each type of Hercules airlift aircraft airframes; when each type came into service; what the expected length of their service life was on entry into service; and what the present rate of airframe usage is. [259668]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Hercules C-130K entered service with the RAF in 1967. Because of the long period of time that has since elapsed, details of the original planned service life and usage of these aircraft are no longer held centrally. As at 31 January 2009 the Hercules C-130K fleet had undertaken a total of 7,527 flying hours in the current financial year.
The Hercules C-130J entered service with the RAF in 1999 with an expected service life of 30 years. Details of the original planned usage of these aircraft are no longer held centrally. As at 31 January 2009 the Hercules C-130J fleet had undertaken a total of 15,680 flying hours in the current financial year.
HMS Vanguard
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department estimates it will cost to repair damage to HMS Vanguard as a result of its collision with Le Triomphant in the Atlantic. [259194]
Mr. Hutton: It is too early to say.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how far HMS Vanguard was from other identifiable vessels at the time of its collision with Le Triomphant. [259195]
Mr. Hutton: I am withholding this information on the grounds of national security.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of sonar equipment on Royal Navy submarines as a result of the collision between HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant. [259197]
Mr. Hutton: It is too early to say as we need to await the conclusions of the review of the incident.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long his Department estimates repairs to the damage to HMS Vanguard as a result of its collision with Le Triomphant will take. [259201]
Mr. Hutton: It is too early to say.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many crew members were on board HMS Vanguard at the time of its collision with Le Triomphant; and what the (a) maximum and (b) minimum crew levels are for HMS Vanguard. [259220]
Mr. Hutton: I am withholding this information on the grounds of national security. The declared complement of a Vanguard class SSBN is 135.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the decibel sound pressure level (dBSPL) of HMS Vanguard’s nuclear reactors’ water pumps was (a) before and (b) at the time of the collision with Le Triomphant. [259221]
Mr. Hutton: I am withholding this information on the grounds of national security.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what speed HMS Vanguard was travelling at the time of its collision with Le Triomphant. [259222]
Mr. Hutton: HMS Vanguard was travelling at very low speed when it came into contact with FS Le Triomphant. I am withholding further information on the grounds of national security.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will undertake an investigation of whether the collision between HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant has had any impact on the marine environment. [259223]
Mr. Hutton: The MOD takes this incident very seriously and a thorough review is under way. We will act on any lessons that might be identified. I can confirm that there has been no compromise to nuclear safety.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has begun disciplinary action as a result of the collision between HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant. [259224]
Mr. Hutton: No disciplinary action has been initiated as a result of the collision between HMS Vanguard and FS Le Triomphant. However, the MOD takes this incident very seriously and a thorough review is under way. We will act on any lessons that might be identified.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department will have with its French counterpart on investigation of the collision between HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant. [259225]
Mr. Hutton: It is too early to say as we need to await the conclusions of the review of the incident.
Military Aircraft
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of (a) the total air transport and tanker aircraft fleet in service and (b) the air transport and tanker aircraft forward air fleet were fit for purpose in each year since 2001, broken down by aircraft type. [258870]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The information requested for the C-17, Tristar, VC-10 and Hercules fleets is provided in the following table. ‘In service’ has been taken to mean the effective fleet, which covers all aircraft barring those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal. Aircraft in the forward fleet (FF) are those that are available to the front line command for operational and training purposes including those that are classed as short term unserviceable; aircraft undergoing scheduled depth maintenance or planned routine fleet maintenance are not included. Aircraft defined as fit for purpose (FFP) are those considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date.
The information requested is not available prior to 2005. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest aircraft.
| Number of aircraft FFP | In-service fleet | FFP as a percentage of in-service fleet | FF | FFP as a percentage of FF | |
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