House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 11 Jun 2009 (pt 0013)

11 Jun 2009 : Column 998W—continued

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who has operational responsibility for air combat missions flown by UK aircraft in Afghanistan; and where that person is based. [278964]

Mr. Quentin Davies: UK Fast Air fixed wing aircraft and Apache helicopters fly combat missions in support of ISAF operations in Afghanistan and are under the operational command of Commander Joint Operations. For fast air fixed wing aircraft, in theatre operational control is provided by the Deputy Coalition Forces Air Component Commander, based in Al Udeid. In theatre, operational control for Apache helicopters is provided by Commander ISAF.

Armed Conflict: Afghanistan

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many systems to investigate and provide compensation for civilian casualties of International Security Assistance Force operations are in place in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [278767]

11 Jun 2009 : Column 999W

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Compensation claims brought against the Ministry of Defence as part of the International Security Assistance Force are considered on the basis of whether or not the Department has a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is a proven legal liability compensation is paid.

The system in place for handling claims for compensation brought against the Ministry of Defence by Afghanistan civilians is through the Department's Area Claims Office based in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province. Claims staff rotate through Musa Qaleh and Sangin and visit support bases at Kandahar and Kabul to handle claims which arise at these locations.

Other members of the International Security Assistance Force have their own systems in place to handle compensation claims.

Armed Forces: Data Protection

Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to standardise the data gathered in records of discharge from the armed forces. [278835]

Bill Rammell: The Service Leavers Certificate has been standardised through the implementation of the Joint Personnel Administration system (JPA). The JPA termination process is common to all three services and requires the same input from units, individuals and service manning authorities. However, the administering of discharges and the issue of associated discharge documentation differs between the three services, reflecting their individual structures and organisation.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel of each (a) rank, (b) regiment and (c) age cohort have been treated for (i) psychological disorders, (ii) post-traumatic stress disorder and (iii) physical injuries in each year since 1997; how many have been discharged as a consequence of (A) a psychological disorder and (B) a physical injury in each such year; which countries each had served in; and how long each had served before discharge. [277005]

Mr. Kevan Jones: Since July 2007 the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) organisation has reported on the treatment figures for psychological disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders, psychiatric morbidity, of the UK armed forces. Quarterly reports for the whole of 2007 and the first two quarters of 2008 are available both in the Library of the House and on the DASA website at

www.dasa.mod.uk

Equivalent verified data prior to 2007 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Casualty statistics are published on a fortnightly basis on the MOD website at:

www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/Operations Factsheets/Operations InAfghanistanBritishCasualties.htm_(Afghanistan)

www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/Operations Factsheets/OperationsIn IraqBritishCasualties.htm_(Iraq)

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Further data broken down by rank, regiment and age cohort are not maintained centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. To obtain these details would require the examination of the individual medical records of each of the patients who has been classified as very seriously injured (VSI) or seriously injured (SI) for the period of the deployment. These records can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality.

The three tables present annual numbers of medical discharges by service between 1997 and 2007, for those discharges where mental and behavioural disorders or musculoskeletal disorders and injuries were the principal cause leading to medical discharge. Figures for 2008 are currently being collated and are not yet available.

Naval Service^{( 1)} medical discharges, by principal cause groups mental and behavioural disorders and musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, number, 1997-2007
	ICD cause group
Year of discharge	Mental disorders	Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries
1997	16	223
1998	31	286
1999	25	321
2000	42	333
2001	30	290
2002	38	276
2003	42	202
2004	29	211
2005	46	223
2006	42	206
2007	40	187
⁽¹⁾ Naval Service includes Royal Navy and Royal Marines

Army medical discharges, by principal cause groups mental and behavioural disorders and musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, number, 1997-2007
	ICD cause group
Year of discharge	Mental disorders	Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries
1997	86	790
1998	94	776
1999	58	804
2000	64	745
2001	104	722
2002	112	734
2003	90	696
2004	121	723
2005	119	676
2006	111	629
2007	114	596

RAF medical discharges, by principal cause groups mental and behavioural disorders and musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, number, 1997-2007
	ICD cause group
Year of discharge	Mental disorders	Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries
1997	19	143
1998	18	91
1999	13	90
2000	21	113
2001	20	71
2002	13	79
2003	28	108
2004	65	71
2005	38	51
2006	78	87
2007	49	109

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It is not possible to provide information on the location where the personnel who were medically discharged served as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The average length of service for Naval Service personnel medically discharged where the principal cause leading
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to discharge was due to mental and behavioural disorders is 10.3 years. The table provides a breakdown by length of service and year of discharge, 1997-2007.

Length of service for Naval Service^{( 1)} personnel medically discharged with a principal cause of mental and behavioural disorders, by length of service, number^{( 2)} , 1997-2007
	Year of discharge
Length of service (years)	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
All	16	31	25	42	30	38	42	29	46	42	40
Less than 5	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	13	12	12	16	11	12	11	7
Greater than or equal to 5 but less than 10	⁽²⁾—	12	9	9	5	7	8	6	14	12	17
Greater than or equal to 10 but less than 15	⁽²⁾—	7	6	8	8	9	7	⁽²⁾—	6	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—
Greater than or equal to 15 but less than 20	⁽²⁾—	5	⁽²⁾—	6	⁽²⁾—	5	6	5	9	9	6
Greater than or equal to 20 but less than 25	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—
Greater than or equal to 25 but less than 30	⁽²⁾—	—	—	⁽²⁾—	—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	—
Greater than or equal to 30 but less than 35	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—
35 or more	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Not known⁽³⁾	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁽²⁾—
⁽¹⁾ Naval Service includes Royal Navy and Royal Marines ⁽²⁾ Small numbers have been suppressed in line with Office for National Statistics Guidelines ⁽³⁾ Entry date information not available

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