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23 Mar 2009 : Column 16W—continued
HMS Victorious
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Victorious is scheduled to visit the United States for missile tests and missile loading. [264967]
Mr. Hutton: It is our policy not to discuss individual submarine operations.
Joint Working Groups
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the date was of each meeting of each sub-group of each Joint Working Group since 2001; and what the purpose was of each meeting. [265112]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 February 2009, Official Report, column 1149W. In the interests of national security I am withholding further information on the nature or extent of work undertaken by these Joint Working Groups.
Loss of Service Will
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reports his Department has received of the loss of a service will in each year since 2004. [264889]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information requested is not recorded by the Ministry of Defence.
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flying hours were undertaken by each helicopter type in the forward fleet in each year since 2001. [264955]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 173W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox).
Figures for the period to April 2009 are not yet available.
Nuclear Weapons
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which years since 1990 experiments have been carried out with the United States on US warhead designs and nuclear weapons technology. [265113]
Mr. Hutton: Research, including trials, and experiments, is conducted on a regular basis, by the Atomic Weapons Establishment as part of its responsibility for maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of the UK nuclear stockpile in the absence of live testing. Some of this research, is undertaken in collaboration with the United States under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement.
Following publication of the 2006 White Paper, “The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent” (Cmd 6994) and the subsequent exchange of letters between Prime Minister Blair and President George W. Bush in December 2006, additional research is currently being undertaken, some in collaboration with the US,
on how we may need to refurbish or replace our current warheads to help inform decisions, likely to be made in the next parliament.
I am withholding the detail of this collaboration in the interests of national security.
Special Forces
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of British special forces were deployed outside the UK on the latest date for which figures are available. [265126]
Mr. Hutton: It is the long-standing policy of this Government not to comment on matters relating to operations involving British special forces.
Sudan: Military Aid
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the provision of defence training in Sudan in each year since 2003; what training activities were provided; and which (a) provider and (b) recipient organisation participated in each activity. [264326]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: All training delivered by the MOD in Sudan is to members of the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs), which are made up of equally sized elements of the armies of North and South Sudan. JIUs were established as a peace-building measure under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the war between North and South. The CPA mandates members of the international community who supported the peace process, including the UK, to provide training and other support to the JIUs.
The MOD does not, however, directly fund any training in Sudan; instead the UK training programme is financed by the tri-departmental Conflict Prevention Pool. It has included the training of the JIUs' first de-mining Company, delivered by the International Mine Action Training Centre in Kenya, a wide range of individual courses conducted at military establishments in the UK as well as conflict resolution workshops and English language training conducted in Sudan. Specific information for 2003-04 and 2004-05 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, but is assessed to have been very low as we then had no Defence Section in Sudan. Since then the following training activities have been provided:
Financial year 2006-07—£265,000
International Peace Support Briefing Programme (2 students)
International Collective Training Briefing Programme (2)
International Border Security Management Briefing (2)
Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—Nairobi (6)
Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—UK (3)
De-mining training, Nairobi—1 Company (120) of JIUs. British Peace Support Team—East Africa International Mine Action Training Centre
Financial year 2007-08—£248,000
Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—Nairobi (4)
Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—UK (2)
Commissioning Course (2)
International Peace Support Briefing Programme (2)
International Collective Training Briefing (2)
International Battle Group Commanders Course (6)
English language training—Sudan (160)
De-mining Training, Nairobi—1 company (120). British Peace Support Team—East Africa International Mine Action Training Centre
Financial y ear 2008-09—£282,000
Advanced Command and Staff Course (2)
International Peace Support Operations (7)
English language training—Sudan (up to 144)
Train the Trainer (4)
International Logistic Officers Course (1)
In financial year 2008-09 the UK also provided £750,000 through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool to the UN to provide infrastructural support for the JIUs.
Trident
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of spending on the replacement for Trident which will go to US companies. [264971]
Mr. Hutton: The work necessary to ensure the maintenance of the UK's nuclear deterrent is still in the concept phase. The investment decision point, Initial Gate, for the new submarine class to replace Vanguard class is not expected until this autumn. As such, it is too soon for such an estimate to be made.
Warships: Persian Gulf
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy ships were deployed in the Persian Gulf on the latest date for which figures are available. [265143]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy has the following ships deployed to the Persian Gulf as at 18 March:
A permanent Frigate, currently HMS Richmond, is deployed to the North Arabian Gulf patrolling the oil platforms in the Iraqi territorial waters.
A Landing Ship Docking Amphibious, currently RFA Cardigan Bay, also operates around the Iraqi oil platforms providing a training platform for the Iraqi Navy and Marines.
There are four Mine Countermeasures Vessels permanently based at Bahrain, their crews rotating on a four to six monthly basis. The ships: HMS Atherstone, HMS Chiddingfold, HMS Grimsby and HMS Pembrooke.
A Forward Repair Ship, RFA Dilligence also operates in the Gulf and further out into the North Arabian sea providing engineering support, predominately to the Mine Counter Measures Vessels.
In addition two units, the Frigate HMS Portland and the Tanker RFA Wave Knight, permanently operate predominately in the North Arabian sea, Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden, but make routine visits within the Persian Gulf for maintenance, consolidation and crew rest and recuperation.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Drugs
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the area in hectares and proportion of cultivatable land in Helmand province which is under cultivation for poppies; and if he will make a statement. [263417]
Bill Rammell: The UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2008 estimates that 33 per cent. (103,590 hectares) of the land in Helmand with the potential for agriculture was devoted to poppy cultivation in 2008. In their winter survey, UNODC has indicated that there may be a slight decrease in the cultivation of poppy in Helmand in 2009. Final figures for 2009 will be published in the summer when UNODC releases the executive summary of its Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2009.
The UK welcomes the early signs that cultivation of poppy in Helmand may be reducing. We continue to support the government of Afghanistan’s national drug control strategy which aims to reduce poppy cultivation sustainably in Afghanistan.
AIDS
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has allocated for the next financial year to fund its commitments under the Government's AIDS strategy in 2009-10. [260210]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to using its overseas network of posts to support ‘Achieving Universal Access’. Posts in are being encouraged to use their existing budgets to support effective national AIDS responses to halt and reverse the spread of HIV, in particular among vulnerable groups. It is therefore not possible to state how much the FCO will allocate to funding for the Government's AIDS strategy in 2009-10.
Bali: Terrorism
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Indonesian government on concluding the judicial process of those who masterminded the terrorist attack in Bali 2002. [264109]
Bill Rammell: There are currently no judicial processes in Indonesia relating to the Bali 2002 terrorist attacks.
We would welcome any further legal processes aimed at bringing to justice those suspected of involvement in the Bali attacks. It is the policy of the Government, that terrorists should always be brought to justice. However, the UK does not support the use of the death penalty. We advocate an end to the death penalty world-wide, regardless of the individual or the crime.
Belarus: Human Rights
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Belarus. [265589]
Caroline Flint: The full extent of our human rights concerns in Belarus is detailed in the 2008 Human Rights Report, which will be published on 26 March 2009. We remain concerned about the overall human rights situation in Belarus, but small improvements have been made in the areas of media freedom, freedom of assembly, electoral reform and political imprisonment during the six months from October 2008 to April 2008 that the EU suspended travel restrictions to encourage reform.
To reflect the mixed progress made by Belarus during this time, the EU has taken the decision to extend the suspension period for a further nine months, and renew the common position (the legal basis for the travel restrictions and an asset freeze) for 12 months. We will take this opportunity to continue to encourage Belarus to make further progress on human rights in order to align itself with EU standards.
Burma: Political Prisoners
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the number of political prisoners in Burma. [265357]
Bill Rammell: The UN Special Rapporteur on Human rights in Myanmar, Mr. Tomas Quintana, in a statement to the Human Rights Council on 18 March 2009, indicated that there remain over 2,100 prisoners of conscience in Burma. This figure is in line with our own estimates.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Burmese Government on the sentencing of Eint Khaing Oo for reporting on Cyclone Nargis. [265877]
Bill Rammell: We condemn the lack of media freedom in Burma and the arrest and detention of journalists, including Eint Khaing Oo.
Our ambassador in Rangoon frequently raises the need for the release of all political prisoners in Burma with ministers in the military government. We also take every opportunity to underline our concern in our public statements and through the EU, UN Security Council and UN human rights bodies. We support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human rights in Myanmar, Mr. Tomas Quintana, who, in a statement to the Human Rights Council on 18 March 2009, again called on the Burmese authorities to release all prisoners of conscience.
Burma: Politics and Government
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Burmese authorities on the political situation in Burma. [264125]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 19 March 2009]: We continue to do all we can to generate international pressure for a peaceful transition to democracy and respect for human rights in Burma. The Common Position adopted by the EU restricts ministerial contact with the military regime.
In his contacts with the Burmese authorities, our ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises the urgent need for all political prisoners to be released and for all opposition and ethnic groups to be allowed to play their full part in shaping the country's future.
Elections planned for 2010 will have no credibility unless these fundamental issues are addressed.
Burma: Religious Freedom
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief on reported violations of religious freedom in Burma, with particular reference to reported discrimination and persecution of Christians and Muslims. [264919]
Bill Rammell: We are concerned by reports that the Burmese authorities have closed places of worship for religious minorities and childcare centres run by Christian groups in Rangoon. We condemn the marginalisation or persecution of any community based on their religious beliefs or ethnic background. Although it makes the reported abuses no less serious, we believe that the persecution of religious minority groups by the Burmese authorities is often based on their ethnicity and perceived threat to security rather than their faith. We view the regime’s actions as part of a wider deterioration in the human rights situation in Burma.
The issue of religious freedom is within the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, which covers human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We hold regular discussions with Mr. Quintana and his team concerning the human rights abuses we believe to be taking place in Burma, and fully support his efforts. Our ambassador in Burma regularly raises the issue of human rights in his meetings with Burmese government officials.
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