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20 Apr 2009 : Column 67W—continued
Future Large Aircraft
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the future of the A400M programme. [268969]
Mr. Quentin Davies: There have been a number of discussions with the French Defence Minister and with others of our partners, and this dialogue is continuing.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the first A400M transport aircraft to be introduced in the Royal Air Force; and if he will make a statement. [269062]
Mr. Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 February 2009, Official Report, column 1406W, to the hon. Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton).
Kenya: Military Aid
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies of 20 Parachute Battalion of the Kenyan army have received training from the British Army since 2005. [269669]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The UK has provided training to Support Company of 20 Parachute Battalion of the Kenyan army in a programme that commenced in 2007.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department plans to reply to the letter of 3 March 2009 from the hon. Member for Billericay and the hon. Member for Norwich North requesting a meeting on the subject of nuclear test veterans. [268985]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I met with the hon. Member and representatives of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association on Monday 20 April 2009. My hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) was unable to attend.
Military Aircraft
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2009, Official Report, column 424W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, with whom the national contract for providing medium and heavy helicopter lift is placed. [268780]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 March 2009, Official Report, column 424W. The UK currently supplements the NATO ISAF Contracted Air Transport with a national contract through SkyLink Aviation.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1366W, on Hercules aircraft, how many platforms were factored into the figure of 15,680 flying hours for the 2008-09 financial year. [268781]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The figure of 15,680 flying hours related to the period 1 April 2008 to 31 January 2009 and was achieved by a total of 23 Hercules C-130J aircraft.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department is having with Lockheed on the purchase of tactical airlift aircraft. [268782]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Department has had limited discussions with Lockheed Martin Aerospace, without commitment, in relation to possible scope for lease or purchase of additional C-130J aircraft. The discussions are part of wider continuing work to assess all possible options for the temporary mitigation of the capability gap caused by the delay to A400M.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the sources of capital for the (a) suppliers and (b) backers of the A400M aircraft. [268783]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Department undertakes regular analysis of its key suppliers. These analyses are generally done to ensure financial adequacy at a group level rather than for specific projects or contracts, and do not cover precise sources of funding. They are Departmental interpretations of publicly held financial information (e.g. a company’s published accounts).
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the percentage shortfall of required spares for each helicopter type is in the (a) Army Air Corps, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force. [266939]
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the percentage shortfall of required spares is for each helicopter type in the (a) Army Air Corps, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force. [269271]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Information on spares availability is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Military Exercises
Dr. Fox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training exercises have been conducted under the European Carrier Group Interoperability Initiative with the exclusive purpose of improving interoperability (a) between countries operating aircraft carriers and
(b) between countries with naval vessels able to support carrier operations. [269191]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No training exercises have been conducted to date under the European Carrier Group Interoperability Initiative.
Pakistan: Al Qaeda
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any official in his Department was given notice by any representative of (a) the Pakistan government and (b) the US administration of the US air strike on the village of Ali Khel on or before 22 November 2008. [245652]
Mr. Hutton: The Ministry of Defence was not given notice by the Pakistani government or the US Administration of the reported air strike on Ali Khel on or before 22 November 2008.
RAF Brize Norton
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flights from RAF Brize Norton have been abandoned following commencement owing to mechanical faults in each year since 2005. [260691]
Mr. Quentin Davies: A record of all flights originating from RAF Brize Norton since 2005 that were cancelled due to technical faults is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
For part of the requested period, statistics have been collated for flights undertaking airbridge tasks in support of Operation Herrick, Operation Telic and the Falkland Islands Permanent Joint Operating Base. In the period from January 2008 to date, no airbridge flights were cancelled due to technical faults, although some flights did incur delays or airframes were changed due to technical faults on the originally allocated airframe.
Reserve Forces
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) posts and (b) categories of post in public service are incompatible with service in the Reserve Forces. [268972]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No posts in public service are incompatible with service in the Reserve Forces.
Somalia: Piracy
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Royal Navy assets are (a) participating and (b) planned to participate in Operation Atalanta. [269186]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: HMS Northumberland participated in Operation Atalanta from the start of the operation in December 2008 until the end of February 2009. Throughout the mandate of the operation (which expires on 13 December 2009) we have and will continue to provide the operational commander and associated headquarters. No decision has yet been taken on any continuance of the operation beyond its existing mandate.
Trident
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effects of reductions in the value of sterling on the estimated costs of the Trident replacement programme. [269711]
Mr. Hutton: The main part of the programme, covering the successor to the Vanguard Class submarines, has yet to reach the Initial Gate approval stage. In accordance with normal MOD procurement processes, a revised cost estimate that is due in September 2009 will inform this decision and this will include an assessment of the exchange rate risk.
Warships: Construction
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence of 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 647, on the warship construction programme, what the tonnage of the warship construction programme will be. [268864]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The approximate tonnage of each class of warship currently under construction, and their combined total, is provided in the table:
| Class of vessel | Displacement per vessel (tonnes) | Planned number of vessels per class | Total tonnage of class |
| (1) The Type 45 tonnage will change throughout the ship's life due largely to the adoption of an incremental capability approach. Mid-life, mid-mission tonnage has been chosen as a representative figure. (2) Our current plans are for a total class of seven boats. | |||
The Future Surface Combatant and successor programmes also form part of the warship construction programme but are at an early phase in the design process, and decisions on final design have yet to be taken.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Oral Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 16, what the evidential basis was for his statement that the UK has the largest programme under way since the end of the First World War in respect of naval construction. [269193]
Mr. Quentin Davies: I specified in my statement that it related to peacetime construction. I made this statement on the basis of real terms expenditure.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the percentage of farmers who have diversified their business into activities outside food production in each year since 1997. [264679]
Jane Kennedy: Since 2003-04 statistics on farm diversification have been collected through the Farm Business Survey. Prior to this, diversification figures were collected through the June Survey of Agriculture. The two surveys are not directly comparable.
Indications from the Farm Business Survey are that, since 2003-04, the percentage of farms that have diversified their business into activities outside food production has remained stable at around 50 per cent. Detailed figures can be found on the DEFRA website.
Agriculture: Waste Disposal
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many on-farm anaerobic digesters there are in each parliamentary constituency in England. [264120]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 17 March 2009]: DEFRA does not hold the information requested as figures for the number of farm-based anaerobic digestion plants are not collected centrally.
Animal Feed: Imports
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of animal feed ingredients of each (a) type of crop and (b) country of origin was imported in each of the last five years. [268144]
Jane Kennedy: Table 1 shows the volume of animal feed ingredients imported into the UK from 2004 to 2008, split by type and exporting country, as recorded in the Official Trade Statistics. Table 1 excludes whole cereal grains, which are shown in Table 2.
Table 2 shows estimates for the volume imported into the UK from 2003-04 to 2007-08 of whole cereal grain used in animal feedingstuffs. The Official Trade Statistics do not specifically distinguish whole cereal grain for animal feed from that for human consumption. However an estimate of imported cereal grain used for animal feed is derived and published as part of the UK Supply and Demand estimates on a crop year basis (July to June).
This estimate is derived from total import figures from the Official Trade Statistics and survey data on use of cereal grain by various cereal processors. It is not possible to provide a country of origin/despatch breakdown.
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