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11 Jun 2009 : Column 1006W—continued
Army: Vehicles
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many combat vehicles of each type are in service with each infantry battalion; who the manufacturer of each type of vehicle is; and how many of each type of vehicle are available under urgent operational requirements to each battalion. [278966]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The information requested for all “combat” vehicles is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The number of armoured tracked vehicles in service with each Infantry Battalion is shown in the following table.
| Unit | Warrior | CVR(T) | FV430 |
BAE Systems (formerly Alvis Vickers) manufactures all three vehicle types. None of these vehicles were procured through the Urgent Operational Requirement process. We do not release the numbers of vehicles available for deployment on operations, as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the security and capability of the armed forces.
Puma Helicopters
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has awarded the contract for the upgrade of the Puma helicopters; and if he will make a statement. [278758]
Mr. Quentin Davies: No contract for the upgrade of our Puma helicopters has been placed.
RAND Corporation
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of each study commissioned by his Department from the RAND Corporation since 1997. [249733]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The following studies are accessible electronically as follows:
Remuneration and its Motivation of Service Personnel: Focus Group Investigation and Analysis
Motivations and Attitudes of New Recruits Regarding Remuneration Issues: Focus Group Investigation and Analysis
Information Sharing Among Military Headquarters: The Impact on Decision Making
Outsourcing and Outfitting Practices: Implications for the Ministry of Defence Shipbuilding Programmes
Monitoring the Progress of Shipbuilding Programmes: How Can the Defence Procurement Agency More Accurately Monitor Progress?
Differences Between Military and Commercial Shipbuilding: Implications for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence
Options for Reducing Costs in the United Kingdom's Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) Programme
The United Kingdom's Naval Shipbuilding Industrial Base: The Next Fifteen Years
The United Kingdom's Nuclear Submarine Industrial Base, Volume 1: Sustaining Design and Production Resources
The United Kingdom's Nuclear Submarine Industrial Base, Volume 2: Ministry of Defence Roles and Required Technical Resources
The United Kingdom's Nuclear Submarine Industrial Base, Volume 3: Options for Initial Fuelling
Sustaining Key Skills in the UK Naval Industry
The Royal Navy's New-Generation Type 45 Destroyer: Acquisition Options and Implications
Assembling and Supporting the Joint Strike Fighter in the UK: Issues and Costs
Copies of some studies are not held or are being withheld as their disclosure would, or would be likely
to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces, prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and another state or prejudice commercial interests.
Somalia: Piracy
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2009, Official Report, column 1159W, on Somalia: piracy, what records the Royal Navy keeps of the (a) identity and (b) activities of piracy suspects captured by its forces; and if he will make a statement. [273044]
Bill Rammell: When suspected pirates are encountered, Royal Navy personnel will collect evidence and take witness statements, as the police would during a criminal investigation. This information is then used to assess whether the evidence against the pirates is sufficiently strong to merit transfer to a third party state for the purpose of further investigation and, if appropriate, prosecution. If such a transfer is made, the evidence is passed to the authorities of the receiving state.
The Royal Navy keeps a record of those suspected pirates detained and transferred to the Kenyan authorities.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Learning for Pleasure
10. Mrs. Cryer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage people to learn for pleasure. [279011]
Ms Rosie Winterton: “The Learning Revolution” White Paper sets out our ambitious vision for informal learning in the 21st century, with an extra £30 million funding.
University Places
11. Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for university places were made for the academic year 2008-09; and how many students were accepted. [279012]
Mr. Lammy: UCAS data on full-time undergraduates shows there were 502,000 UK domiciled applicants last year.
Of that, 405,000 had accepted a place by the end of clearing.
18. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of new students who will apply for university and college places in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010. [279022]
Mr. Lammy: There were 457,000 UK domiciled UCAS applicants as of March this year. This is a 35,000 increase on the same point last year.
We do not have any estimates of applicant numbers for 2010.
Royal Mail
12. Mr. Mackay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress has been made on the proposed part-privatisation of Royal Mail. [279014]
Mr. McFadden: The process to find a strategic partner for Royal Mail is ongoing. There has been interest and we are pursuing this with the companies concerned. As the Secretary of State has said
“Our criteria, set out clearly in February, make it clear that any strategic partner must be motivated to modernise Royal Mail over the long term, and must offer value for money for the taxpayer. We will not do a deal at any price. There is some way to go and it may well take longer to reach agreement with a partner than it takes to debate and agree this Bill.”
For commercial confidentiality reasons, it would not be appropriate to reveal the identities of the potential partners.
Student Finance
13. Mr. Randall: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the proposed timetable and scope is of his Department’s review of student finance. [279015]
Mr. Lammy: My right hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State for Education and Skills, told the House in January 2004 that there would be an independent review of tuition fees once we had evidence on the first three years of the variable fee regime. The first three years of operation will not be concluded until the autumn. Ahead of the tuition fee review, the Government will publish their framework for the future development of higher education.
Balance of Trade: UK and India
15. Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the balance of trade between the UK and India was in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [279017]
Mr. McFadden: Bilateral trade between the UK and India is worth £12.13 billion.
Exports of UK goods and services to India in 2008 amounted to £5.89 billion(1).
Imports of goods and services from India to the UK in 2008 amounted to £6.24 billion(1).
(1)Source: Office of National Statistics.
South West Regional Development Agency
16. Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the performance of the South West Regional Development Agency against its objectives. [279018]
Mr. McFadden:
RDAs, through their corporate plans set out key organisational objectives and deliverables. These set out their contributions to the Regional Economic Strategies. The Department has well established arrangements to assess the performance of RDAs, including
SWRDA, against their corporate plan objectives through the RDA tasking and performance framework. These arrangements are under review as part of the SNR implementation. Further information will be laid in the House Library.
Further Education Capital Budget
17. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria apply to allocation of funding from the further education capital budget; and if he will make a statement. [279019]
Kevin Brennan: In line with Sir Andrew Foster’s recommendations, the Learning and Skills Council has been consulting on the best approach to prioritise projects.
It has been confirmed that this will involve two processes—the first to ensure urgent projects can go ahead in the summer, the second to enable needs-based projects to go ahead as further funding is made available.
The criteria for projects to proceed in the first process include:
whether the project is ready to start;
its education and skills impact;
its contribution to local economic and regeneration priorities;
co-dependency with third parties;
the condition of the estate; and
value for money.
Basic Skills
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the delivery of the Government's Skills Agenda. [279013]
Kevin Brennan: This Department will continue to ensure the delivery of the Government Skills agenda. In support of these measures:
we are this year spending an unprecedented £5 billion on adult skills, including £925 million on Train to Gain;
we are spending over £1 billion on apprenticeships, bringing Government funding for apprenticeships to its highest ever level;
we are providing targeted help for those who have lost their jobs or are facing redundancy; and
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