| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Oct 2009 : Column 1362W—continued
| Royal Air Force | ||||
| Number of positive results | ||||
| Total number of tests | Class A | Class B | Class C | |
| Notes: 1. A single test sample may contain more than one class of drug; the sum of positive test results for class A, B and C drugs may therefore be greater than the overall number of positive results. 2. Cannabis was re-classified from class C to class B in January 2009 and is therefore included in the positive results in whichever class the drug was considered in at the time the test was taken. | ||||
Armed Forces: Foreigners
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many citizens from (a) British Overseas Territories and (b) Crown Dependencies are serving in the British armed forces. [293308]
Mr. Kevan Jones: As at 1 September 2009, the number of UK regular armed forces personnel from British Overseas Territories was 390. This figure includes 40 people who recorded their nationality on the joint personnel administration (JPA) system as 'British Hong Kong'.
Since the introduction of JPA, we cannot identify those from Crown dependencies.
Due to ongoing validation of data from the JPA system, these statistics are provisional and subject to review.
Armed Forces: Housing
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of carbon monoxide poisoning were reported as occurring in services accommodation in each of the last five years. [294001]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There have regrettably been three substantiated cases of carbon monoxide leaks, all in 2007. Immediate action was taken in all three cases and in two cases occupants required medical attention.
This Department takes the health and safety of all occupants of service family accommodation seriously and has a legal duty to investigate all suspected reports of carbon monoxide, test any suspect appliances and conduct annual gas safety inspections.
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many engineers are contracted by Modern Housing Solutions to undertake work on service accommodation; and at what cost. [294002]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Given changes in works undertaken, it is not possible to provide a meaningful figure for the number of engineers contracted at any particular time. The numbers vary depending on the work being undertaken, and seasonal variations.
Armed Forces: Pay
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) overpayments and (b) underpayments of salary there were to armed forces personnel in each month since January 2008; and of what total amount in each case. [293997]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Detailed information about the number of armed forces personnel over and underpaid since January 2008 is not held because the joint personnel administration system used is now in "steady state".
The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency's performance against its key targets for pay accuracy can, however, be found in its annual report and accounts, and copies of these can be found in the Library of the House. Details are set out as follows.
For financial year 2007-08, 99.49 per cent. of personnel were paid accurately with 99.9 per cent. being paid by the due date.
During financial year 2008-09, 97.9 per cent. of personnel were paid accurately with 99.9 per cent. being paid by the due date.
Delays or errors in individual payments can also occur as the result of late or incorrect inputs by individuals or unit human resource staff. We do not hold data on this.
Departmental Information Officers
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers his Department has. [293994]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Currently, there are 110 press officers employed across the Ministry of Defence (as recorded in the Central Office of Information's White Book). This includes civilian and military staff across the Department (including within single services) and is defined as those who directly interface with national or regional media on news issues, and in direct support of operations.
Departmental Pay
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's staff received annual remuneration, including benefits, of £100,000 or more in the last year for which figures are available. [293996]
Mr. Kevan Jones: For financial year 2008-09 the MOD had 95 employees, of these, three have left MOD employment, whose gross earnings paid through payroll for the year exceeded £100,000.
Departmental Training
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many external training courses were attended by staff of his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each course. [289675]
Mr. Kevan Jones: MOD is dedicated to developing its staff and provides training and development opportunities to help employees realise their full potential and support the achievement of business objectives.
External training costs are delegated to lower level budgets and as such, the information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
European Fighter Aircraft
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Typhoon aircraft are expected to be mothballed after delivery to the Royal Air Force. [294484]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The term 'mothballing' has been taken to mean a serviceable aircraft in long-term storage and subject only to Anti-Deterioration Maintenance. There are no current plans to mothball Typhoon aircraft after delivery to the Royal Air Force.
General Richard Dannatt
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his consent was sought for substantive discussions between General Richard Dannatt and the right hon. Member for Witney while the General was a serving officer. [294140]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 19 October 2009]: No such consent was sought.
Government Communications
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department (a) are classified as Government communicators and (b) have access to the Government Communications Network. [293995]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Our records indicate that the Ministry of Defence has 508 staff classified as Government communicators, all of whom have access to the Government Communications Network for their professional development. This figure is split approximately 35 per cent. service and 65 per cent civilian employees. These staff principally perform communications roles and include: press officers, media, marketing, internal comms, e-media, stakeholder communications, media training, events, visits, branding, design, publications, our deployable military media operations capability, strategy and planning.
Iraq and Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving soldiers have injuries sustained during operations in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan. [293632]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 16 October 2009]: For the period 1 January 2003 to 15 September 2009 (the latest date for which casualty data is available) 1,521 soldiers (Army personnel only) who are currently serving sustained injuries on operations in Iraq.
For the period 7 October 2001 to 15 September 2009 (the latest date for which casualty data is available) 841 soldiers (Army personnel only) who are currently serving sustained injuries on operations in Afghanistan.
Please note that Service personnel may have deployed to both theatres of operation and therefore it is possible for an individual to have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan on separate occasions. Any such individual will have been counted once in both datasets.
The information supplied in this answer is a subset of that published on the MOD website on a fortnightly basis.
Mediterranean Region: Navy
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy personnel have taken part in Operation Active Endeavour in the last two years. [293818]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The number of Royal Navy personnel who have taken part in Operation Active Endeavour in the last two years is approximately 3,600.
Military Aircraft
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to improving helicopter support to front line services by (a) providing short refresher courses to recently retired personnel, (b) providing short refresher courses to crews serving in ground appointments, (c) taking flying-current crews from flying training appointments and (d) providing financial retention incentives to air crew. [294493]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The level of aircrew manning is currently sufficient to meet the tasks that they are required to undertake.
Aircrew who rejoin the services following retirement already undergo refresher training before taking up flying appointments, as do flying crew returning from non-flying assignments.
The proper distribution of flying crews between the flying training system and front line units is reviewed regularly. It is, of course, vital that the flying training system remains sufficiently manned to maintain the throughput of crews onto the frontline.
On financial retention incentives, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 October 2009, Official Report, column 430W, to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).
Military Attachés
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which UK embassies in the Middle East a defence attaché is deployed. [294485]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There is a defence attaché deployed to the following UK embassies in the middle east:
Bahrain
Iraq
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen.
Parachute Regiment: Manpower
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members there are of the Parachute Regiment; and how many of them are combat available in the parachute role. [294492]
Mr. Kevan Jones: As at 19 October 2009, there are a total of 1,076 members of the Parachute Regiment of which 676 are combat available in the parachute role.
The figures above are for the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Parachute Regiment and, include both officers and soldiers.
Combat available has been interpreted as personnel who are able to be deployed and are ready to parachute. This figure therefore excludes recruits arriving in the Battalion who have not yet completed their parachute course, those who are not jump trained and who are not fully effective to deploy.
I am withholding the information for 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Territorial Army
Mr. Lancaster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision to reduce Territorial Army (TA) training on (a) the morale of members of the TA, (b) the
ability of the TA to support the regular Army on operations and (c) retention rates in the TA. [293127]
Bill Rammell: This year is very challenging in resource terms, and success in Afghanistan must take priority. As such, the Army has directed that the regular forces and the reserves must focus available resources on supporting the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan, which means reducing activity levels elsewhere. All TA activity not directly in support of operations will therefore be stopped or reduced for the remainder of this financial year. This does not affect TA soldiers who have been or will be earmarked for deployment to Afghanistan. These individuals are getting and will continue to get the training that the Army considers necessary to prepare them for their deployment.
The Army recognises the potential impact on the morale of those whose opportunities to train will be reduced, and the possible consequent impact on TA retention. However, the current fiscal climate requires that we direct resources where they are most needed, and our priority remains the support of current operations, where the TA continues to make a vital contribution.
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army reservists live in (a) Pembrokeshire and (b) Wales. [294324]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Data on the UK residential location of members of the Territorial Army are not held centrally in databases of individual records, and it is therefore not possible to provide figures for the numbers of Territorial Army reservists living in Pembrokeshire or Wales.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |