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2 Nov 2009 : Column 639W—continued
Mr. Bob Ainsworth:
The RAF makes a vital contribution to operations in Afghanistan. Our aircraft perform a number of roles such as: close air support; reconnaissance and surveillance; providing support to land operations; and re-supplying front line troops. In particular, Chinook
and Hercules aircraft provide an invaluable aeromedical service with rapid transfer to specialist care facilities in Afghanistan. As part of the airbridge, C17 and Tristar aircraft provide a consistent and reliable service moving large numbers of personnel into sometimes hostile environments under difficult conditions and medically evacuating injured service personnel back to the UK. Many RAF personnel also fulfil a range of roles on the ground, including force protection around Kandahar airfield and Camp Bastion.
Gray Report
23. Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how he plans to implement the recommendations made in the Gray report on defence acquisition. [296704]
Mr. Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) and Dunfermline and Fife West (Willie Rennie).
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy personnel have been deployed in Afghanistan in each month since January 2006. [293791]
Bill Rammell: The percentage of Royal Navy personnel deployed in Afghanistan as a proportion of the endorsed troop level by Operation Herrick roulement is provided in the following table:
| Herrick roulement | Date | Royal Navy personnel deployed as a percentage of the endorsed UK troop level for Operation Herrick at the time( 1) |
| (1 )Rounded to the nearest 5 per cent. at the mid-point of each roulement to provide the most consistent representation of personnel in theatre. | ||
The precise number of personnel in each theatre at any one time fluctuates very significantly and on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces and visits.
The higher percentage of Royal Navy personnel for Herrick roulements 9 and 5 are accounted for by the deployment of 3 Commando Brigade as Task Force Helmand which increased the proportion of Royal Navy personnel in Afghanistan.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many additional Chinook helicopters he expects to be deployed in Afghanistan in 2010. [296785]
Bill Rammell: We are converting eight Chinook Mk 3 helicopters to a support helicopter role. The first of these aircraft will be delivered for training purposes before the end of this year, with the remaining seven being delivered by the end of 2010. This will increase the size of the pool of Chinooks available for deployment but I will not comment on the specific number of helicopters to be deployed to Afghanistan as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Air Force: Manpower
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Air Commodores and (b) Air Marshals were on the active list in the Royal Air Force in each year since 1997. [294010]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The number of Air Commodores and Air Marshals in the Royal Air Force at 1 April each year since 1997 is provided in the following table. The ranks of Air Vice Marshal and Air Chief Marshal have also been included in the table for clarity.
| Paid rank | ||||
| 1 April | Air Chief Marshal | Air Marshal | Air Vice Marshal | Air Commodore |
| (1 )Provisional. Notes: 1. The figures are for trained Royal Air Force only and therefore exclude Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves and all other Reserves. 2. Due to the implementation of the new Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) System all Royal Air Force data from 1 May 2007 are provisional and subject to review. 3. These figures are published regularly in TSP 9 which is available at: www.dasa.mod.uk. 4. This information is held in the House of Commons Library. | ||||
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the fleet of aircraft carriers was last refurbished; and what the life expectancy of the fleet is. [296356]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The current fleet of three Invincible Class aircraft carriers all underwent a major refurbishment (refit) at Rosyth between 1999 and 2005. HMS Ark Royal completed in 2001, HMS Invincible completed in 2003 and HMS Illustrious completed in 2005.
On current plans, the Out of Service Dates (OSDs) are: HMS Invincible 2010, HMS Ark Royal in 2014 and HMS Illustrious 2016. Our ship programmes are kept under continuous review to ensure that the In-Service Dates for the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class carriers remain coherent with the OSDs for the Invincible Class.
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent plans are for the procurement and future use of the new aircraft carrier; and if he will make a statement. [296698]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Government remain fully committed to the manufacture of two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. The carriers are a core component of the overall Carrier Strike Programme and a cornerstone of future defence policy.
Armed Forces: Cadets
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to funding for the Army Cadet Force on his Department's fulfilment of its commitments under the Government's Youth agenda. [296294]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 28 October 2009]: The Ministry of Defence's main effort is Afghanistan and in the very difficult financial climate hard decisions have had to be taken. This has resulted in a reduction to the funds available for this year to our Cadet Forces, and specifically to the Army Cadets. This decision has not been taken lightly.
The Department's commitment to the Youth agenda remains undiminished as evidenced by our recent response to the Milburn Report where, despite the challenging financial situation, we have accepted in principle the recommendation to ensure that those state school pupils who wish to get involved in Cadets may do so. We are investigating innovative methods of extending cadet provision to state school pupils which include working closely with the Department for Children Schools and Families.
Financial constraints prevent the Government from meeting this recommendation in full, immediately. However this year, for example, we have delivered an additional six London Challenge Partnerships (Independent School CCFs offering Cadet places to neighbouring state school pupils) and the Air Cadet Organisation plans an annual expansion, targeted at state school pupils, of 700 cadets per year until 2018.
Armed Forces: Housing
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department allocated to the provision of soldier accommodation in (a) total and (b) the West Midlands in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2008. [296840]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The information is not held centrally in the format requested and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to upgrade soldier accommodation. [296841]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The provision of good quality living accommodation for both married and single service personnel continues to be a top departmental priority. Decades of under funding means that the standard of service accommodation has lagged behind the expectations of our people. Some housing stock is old.
Investment over the last seven years has begun to correct this, but there is much more to be done. The Department plans to invest some £3 billion on accommodation improvement programmes over the next decade. Since 2001, over £200 million has been spent upgrading some 14,000 service family accommodation (SFA) properties to the top standard for condition.
More remains to be done, but progress is being made and over 90 per cent. of SFA is now at the two highest standards for condition. Our aim is to ensure that by March 2013 very little, if any, of the occupied SFA estate should be below standard 2 for condition.
In addition, since 2003, some 35,000 new or improved single living accommodation bed-spaces have been delivered as part of a £1.4 billion programme that will see a further 21,000 delivered by 2013.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what maintenance programmes are in place for soldier accommodation. [296842]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There are various prime contracts, private finance initiatives (PFI) and other arrangements in place across the Department for the maintenance of accommodation for service personnel. These include the Housing Prime Contract, the Regional Prime Contracts, Project Allenby Connaught and the Colchester Garrison PFI among others. Although these arrangements vary in size and scope, they include programmes of pre-planned maintenance and provision for reactive maintenance to be carried out within agreed response times.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to build new soldier accommodation in the UK. [296843]
Mr. Kevan Jones: In addition to the 35,000 single living accommodation bed-spaces delivered in the UK since 2003, the majority of which are new builds, the Department plans to deliver an additional 20,000 bed-spaces by 2013.
Requirements for new service family accommodation (SFA) are usually satisfied through bulk hirings or purchases on the open market.
However, examples of sites where new SFA may be built or procured, include Salisbury Plain, Innsworth, St. Athan, Litchfield, Stafford and Catterick.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence through which commercial rental agencies his Department facilitates the substitute single living accommodation scheme. [297383]
Mr. Kevan Jones: All Substitute Service Single Living Accommodation is sourced via the Ministry of Defence contractor, HCR Ltd.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average occupancy rate of the Defence Estates' housing stock was in each year since the formation of Defence Estates; and if he will make a statement. [296984]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The following table, extracted from the United Kingdom Defence Statistics published on 30 September 2009, shows the requested information for Service Family Accommodation properties in the UK.
| United Kingdom | |||||||||
| 1990 | 1997 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
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