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3 Jun 2009 : Column 550W—continued
Defence
Armed Forces: Foreigners
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2009, Official Report, column 608W, whether his Department has received representation from other governments on the employment of their citizens in the UK armed forces between 2000 and the issue of his Written Ministerial Statement on army nationality policy of 2 February 2009, Official Report, columns 33-4WS. [277010]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence has not received any representation from other Governments on the employment of their citizens in the UK armed forces from 2000 to date.
Armed Forces: Health Services
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department provides to members of the armed forces who have been invalided out of service; what (a) discussions he has had and (b) representations he has received on this issue since 2008; whether he plans to increase the assistance available during the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [277007]
Mr. Kevan Jones: We take our responsibilities for those who are medically discharged from the armed forces seriously. For those requiring assistance, MOD provides health care and welfare support in service, but at service termination the primary responsibility passes to the normal civilian agencies. The Department's Veterans Welfare Service is there to provide advice on issues such as entitlement to pensions and compensation under the Department's no-fault schemes. In the case of the severely injured, the welfare service monitors those discharged for a period of at least two years to provide advice should difficulties arises.
Working together with civilian and third sector agencies, our aim is to achieve a smooth and seamless transition. Those invalided from service are eligible for the MOD's full resettlement package, including support into work where this is appropriate, and automatic configuration
of pension. Where the invaliding disorder is due to service, no fault compensation benefits will be assessed and paid, and for the relevant condition the individual will be eligible for NHS priority treatment with additional benefits such as free prescriptions.
In July 2008 we published the Service Personnel Command Paper, ‘The Nation's Commitment: Cross-Government Support for our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans’, which outlined the pledges we made to ensure service personnel, their families and veterans are not disadvantaged by the unusual demands of serving in the armed forces and to recognise the sacrifices made by their families and those who have served.
As Minister for Veterans, I meet regularly with veterans and ex-service organisations. Topics raised since 2008 have included priority treatment, civilian mental health services, a new study being undertaken into British Nuclear Test Veterans and the issues of cultural understanding that can arise for those who have served when they seek help from civilian health professionals. Officials from the MOD, other Government Departments, the devolved Administrations and the charities continue to work together to address all key concerns, communicating existing entitlements to all those involved, and areas where improvements might be made to arrangements for ensuring a seamless transition back into civilian life.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department allocated to services for members of the armed forces of each (a) sex, (b) regiment, (c) service and (d) age cohort invalided out of service in each year since 2003. [277008]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my predecessor the hon. Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) on 10 March 2008, Official Report, column 14W.
Armed Forces: Pay
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the minimum salary is for a junior officer serving in Afghanistan, excluding operational and separation allowances. [278092]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The minimum annual basic pay for a junior officer serving in Afghanistan including X-factor effective from 1 April 2009 is £24,133.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which military (a) bases and (b) other sites owned by his Department containing accommodation areas are (i) redundant and (ii) shortly to become redundant for his Department’s purposes. [277867]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information requested will take a little time to gather and verify. I will write to the hon. Member with the information that is available as soon as possible.
Departmental Lost Property
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what property has been lost or stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what the estimated cost was of the replacement of such property. [274945]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 12 May 2009]: 1,237 cases of theft of MOD property were reported to the Ministry of Defence police and service police during the last 12 months. It is not possible to identify the individual items reported stolen and the cost of replacing them without incurring disproportionate cost.
Harrier Aircraft
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the GR4 to replace the Harrier GR9/9A in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [277911]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made on 25 February 2009, Official Report, columns 24-25WS.
Industrial Health and Safety
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [274545]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Health and safety is inherent in everything that the MOD does and how our staff, both civilian and service, conduct themselves. We do not separate out such costs associated with compliance with health and safety legislation. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget for helicopter procurement projects has been in each year since 2001. [277524]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The in-year budgets for all helicopter procurement projects for each year from financial year 2001-02 to 2008-09 are shown in the following table.
| £ million | |
These figures exclude funding for emergent urgent requirements and some commodity items bought in support of these projects.
Parliamentary Questions: Government Responses
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to reply to Question 274945, tabled by the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife, on lost and stolen property on 7 May 2009. [277917]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I replied to the hon. Member today.
Somalia: Piracy
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel have been deployed in the Gulf of Aden in each of the last 12 months. [273089]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The number of UK military personnel deployed in the Gulf of Aden over the past 12 months is broken down by month in the following table.
| Number of UK Military Personnel | |
The fluctuations in numbers are caused by Royal Naval ships transiting the region as part of an operation or exercise. For example, most recently, the Royal Navy’s Taurus 2009 deployment in May 2009.
Home Department
Association of Chief Police Officers: Finance
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) budgetary support and (b) other funding her Department has given to the Association of Chief Police Officers in the last 12 months. [276791] [Official Report, 21 July 2009, Vol. 496, c. 9MC.]
Mr. Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 147W.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget is of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) for 2009-10; and what the salary of the (a) President and (b) Chief Executive of ACPO is. [276929]
Mr. Coaker: This is a matter for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
Asylum: Registration
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on the asylum registration card scheme in 2008. [276557]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency does not hold centrally figures on the amount spent on the Asylum Registration Card Scheme. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asylum: Spain
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for asylum entered the UK via Spain and Gibraltar in the last 12 months. [273316]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency does not record statistics in relation to asylum applicants travelling to the UK via Spain and Gibraltar. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case files.
Asylum seekers should apply in the first safe country. A safe country is one of which the applicant is not a national or citizen and in which a person's life or liberty is not threatened by reason of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. It is also one from which a person would not be sent to another state in contravention of his rights under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 New York Protocol.
We are countering asylum “shopping” across the EU through the Dublin Regulation and use of the Eurodac database, which helps us to identify and make returns to the responsible member state. Spain is a party to the Dublin Regulation but Gibraltar is not.
Children: Protection
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police authority area have received the specialist training necessary to work on child protection. [265225]
Mr. Alan Campbell: There is a range of specialist training available to police forces for those working in child protection. This includes the ‘Specialist Child Abuse Investigators Development Programme’ and local multi-agency training in relation to Working Together guidance. The only data held centrally relate to the online element of the Specialist Child Abuse Investigators Development Programme and these are shown in the table.
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