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6 Mar 2009 : Column 1852W—continued
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the attacks in southern Sudan by the Lord's Resistance Army; and if he will make a statement. [260321]
Gillian Merron: British and US officials have discussed the current military action by the Governments of Uganda, DRC and Southern Sudan against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), including the need to limit retaliatory action by the LRA against civilian populations in southern Sudan and elsewhere in the region on a number of occasions. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not raised the issue of the LRA with his US counterpart.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken with (a) the United Nations and (b) the European Union to prevent further attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army in southern Sudan. [260324]
Gillian Merron: British officials have closely followed the military operation against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), along with their counterparts in the United Nations Security Council and the EU. The impact of LRA actions on civilian populations forms a regular part of our dialogue with the UN missions in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A UN Security Council Presidential Statement was issued on 23 December 2008, condemning Joseph Kony’s refusal to sign the Final Peace Agreement and welcoming the joint efforts by the Governments of Uganda, DRC, Southern Sudan and the Central African Republic to tackle the LRA. This was followed by further a press
statement in January condemning the retaliatory attacks by the LRA and calling on them to cease its attacks on civilians immediately.
The EU issued a statement on 19 February noting the regional military action against the LRA, condemning the atrocious attacks by the LRA and calling on all involved in the military operation to protect the civilian population from further attacks.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to prevent attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army on Sudan. [260325]
Gillian Merron: The Governments of Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Southern Sudan are currently engaged in joint military action against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). We have urged all parties involved to respect fully international law, do all they can to minimise any adverse humanitarian impact and fully coordinate with the UN missions in the region. We have also called for the protection of local populations from LRA retaliatory attacks. Recent reporting suggests that the numbers of LRA attacks on civilians, which have mainly taken place in the DRC rather than Sudan, is diminishing, although it is unclear whether this is due to better civilian protection efforts, erosion of LRA capability or a change of LRA tactics.
Sudan: Peace Negotiations
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to ensure the comprehensive peace agreement in southern Sudan is upheld. [260323]
Gillian Merron: The Government continuously seek to promote a peaceful resolution for the whole of Sudan, including ensuring the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in southern Sudan is upheld. My noble Friend, the Minister for Africa congratulated the parties to the CPA on the fourth anniversary of the agreement saying:
“The UK is committed to work with both parties and all interested partners to support the CPA and to build stability and prosperity for the people of Sudan”.
The UK plays a leading role in furthering implementation of the CPA. We witnessed the Agreement and are observers on the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC), the body that monitors implementation. We secured the appointment of Sir Derek Plumbly, a senior UK diplomat, as Chair of the AEC. The UK pledged £330 million for development assistance in Sudan for 2008-11 at the Sudan Consortium in May 2008.
We pursue our objectives for Sudan, including ensuring the CPA in southern Sudan is upheld, through close coordination with international partners such as the United Nations, the African Union and non-governmental organisations.
Uganda: Armed Conflict
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to assist the Ugandan authorities to arrest the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Joseph Kony. [260322]
Gillian Merron: The UK has not been approached for, nor provided, support to the joint military operation against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Government of Uganda have entered into regional agreements with the Governments of DRC, southern Sudan and the Central African Republic to execute the three International Criminal Court arrest warrants against the LRA leaders. We welcome this increased regional cooperation between the Governments but urge all parties involved to fully respect international law and to do all they can to minimise the humanitarian impact and fully co-ordinate with the UN missions in the region.
Defence
Armed Forces: Animals
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's animals have died in each of the last five years. [260703]
Mr. Kevan Jones: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Casualties
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the number of service personnel who have survived their injuries following treatment in medical facilities in theatre in each of the last two years. [259666]
Mr. Hutton: Figures for the number of UK service personnel to have attended a UK field hospital in Iraq and Afghanistan for battle or non-battle injuries are shown in the following table. These injuries will have ranged in severity from personnel who were very seriously injured through to minor injuries.
| 2007 | 2008 | |
This equates to a survival rate of 99.49 per cent., which can be attributed to the highly skilled and professional staff of the Defence Medical Services and NHS.
Armed Forces: Housing
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much Modern Housing Solutions has paid in compensation to occupants of service family accommodation for (a) significant defects, (b) missed appointments and (c) damage to property or personal injury in the last 12 months. [260545]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Under the terms of the Housing Prime Contract (HPC), Modem Housing Solutions (MHS) is not required to compensate occupants but does so voluntarily. The actual amounts and type of compensation paid is a private matter between MHS and the individuals concerned.
However, the circumstances under which it is paid are set out on the compensation page of the company's website at:
Compensation to occupants does not absolve MHS of its contractual obligations to complete work to the standards required under the HPC.
Armed Forces: Motor Vehicles
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what costs are recorded of the track mile performance of the Army’s wheeled vehicle fleet. [261031]
Mr. Quentin Davies: ‘Track mile’ is a term used in connection with tracked rather than wheeled vehicles. Information on operating costs for wheeled vehicles is not held in a format that would enable an estimate per mile to be made.
Clyde Submarine Base: Manpower
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officers and (b) other ranks are employed at HM Naval Base Clyde as crews on Vanguard class submarines. [260952]
Mr. Hutton: As at 1 March 2009, 114 officers and 883 ratings were assigned to Vanguard class submarines. Data are not held in the format that allows identification of the numbers employed at HMNB Clyde. HMS Vigilant ships company will be based at HMNB Devonport for a three-year period while she is undergoing a major refit.
Economic Situation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) summits, (b) conferences and (c) seminars his Department has hosted since January 2008 at which a primary subject of discussion was the effect of the economic situation on matters within his Department's responsibility. [259750]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
We routinely consider the implications of economic factors for defence interests and such issues are likely to have been discussed in a wide variety of meetings and seminars across the Department.
EU Rapid Reaction Force
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which units are assigned to (a) NATO and (b) the EU under the Headline Goal. [261287]
Mr. Hutton:
The Headline Goal is a term used to describe the EU Force Planning process. The UK does not assign units to the EU Headline Goal; the UK offer to the Headline Goal does not commit the UK to any action. Requests for forces to support EU operations are considered on a voluntary case-by-case basis. The UK declaration to the Headline Goal is used for planning purposes only, to determine the shortfalls against the
Level of Ambition (LOA) in order to focus capability development. The UK’s full contribution to the Headline Goal 2010 is detailed in the UK’s 2006 Headline Goal Questionnaire, which we placed in the Library of the House on 22 June 2007.
NATO has a different LOA to the EU and operates a separate Force Planning process. The UK declaration to the NATO LOA is similarly used for planning purposes only and does not commit the UK to any action in NATO operations.
European Defence Agency: Finance
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid to the European Defence Agency in each year since it was established; and what estimate he has made of the sum of such payments to the agency in each of the next three years. [261285]
Mr. Hutton: The amount paid to the European Defence Agency (EDA) in each of the financial years since it was established in 2004 is as set out following:
| Financial year | £ million |
| (1) Estimated. | |
I am unable to provide an estimate of the payments for further years as we have yet to enter into negotiations with other EDA partners over future budgets.
Ex-servicemen: Community Service Orders
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of former military personnel who were serving a community service order in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [261044]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Ministry of Defence collects data on the number of former military personnel serving community service orders and has made no estimate. I set out our plans, in concert with the Ministry of Justice, to conduct research on the proportion of veterans in the prison population, and on offending among those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, in my answer on 26 February 2009, Official Report, column 1061-62W.
Galileo: Secondment
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department’s (a) civilian and (b) uniformed personnel are seconded to the Galileo project. [261286]
Mr. Hutton:
There are two MOD civilians seconded to work in the EU Galileo programme, both funded by the Department for Transport who are the lead Department for Galileo: one seconded national expert on export controls, working in the European Global Navigation
Satellite System Supervisory Authority (GSA); and one seconded national expert on project management, working for the European Commission’s DG Transport and Environment (DG TREN). There are no UK military staff officers seconded to the Galileo programme.
Middle East: Navy
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the Royal Navy is in monitoring (a) Israeli activists at sea and (b) Palestinian seafarers. [261094]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy has no role in monitoring Israeli activities at sea or Palestinian sea-farers.
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces helicopters of each type have been desertised in each of the last 10 years; and what the average cost of desertising a helicopter of each type is. [260565]
Mr. Quentin Davies: All military helicopters that operate in desert conditions have been procured fully equipped to operate in sandy environments. However, maintenance regimes are tailored to address the specific challenges of the operating conditions.
Project Bellringer
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on Project Bellringer; and if he will make a statement. [243558]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I am withholding this information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
RAF Brize Norton
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the average age is of the aircraft chartered for the purpose of transporting service personnel to and from RAF Brize Norton; [260690]
(2) which commercial air operators operate flights from RAF Brize Norton. [260692]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Information on the average age of aircraft is not held.
The following is a list of commercial air operators who operated flights from RAF Brize Norton for the UK MOD in the period from 1 January 2008 to 28 February 2009;
Air Alitalia
Air Berlin Gmbh
Air Charter Express
Air Charter Transport
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