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9 Nov 2009 : Column 43W—continued
Departmental Domestic Visits
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits he has made to (a) repatriation ceremonies for the remains of servicemen, (b) the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Selly Oak and (c) the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court in the course of his official duties since his appointment. [298403]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Following my appointment as Defence Secretary on 5 June 2009, I visited the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Selly Oak, on 2 July. I also visited both the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre a number of times when I was Minister for the Armed Forces.
Ministers have offered to attend repatriations on many occasions but have deferred to the advice of the Service Chiefs that these ceremonies are very much an occasion for the families and the military to pay their respects.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's (a) computers, (b) laptops and (c) memory sticks were (i) lost and (ii) stolen in each month in 2009 to date. [297939]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The MOD takes any loss of information and associated media storage devices very seriously and has robust procedures in place to mitigate against such occurrences. New processes, instructions and technological aids are also being implemented to mitigate human errors and raise awareness of every individual in the Department.
The following table details how many computers, laptops and USB flash memory devices were reported as lost and stolen in each month in 2009.
| Lost/stolen CIS for 2009 | |||
| Device type | Lost | Stolen | |
Departmental Finance
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated monetary value was of his Department's spare parts which have been lost in transit in each year since 2001. [297944]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Data on losses are not held in the format requested, to enable the separate identification of 'spare parts'. This information could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in each year since 1997. [297929] [Official Report, 25 March 2010, Vol. 508, c. 3-4MC.]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Total amounts of all types of bonus paid to MOD civilian personnel in each financial year since 2003-04 are provided in the following table:
| Bonus total (£) | |
Figure for 2009-10 is a partial year figure covering the period 1 April 2009 to 31 October 2009.
We are unable to provide details of bonus payments paid during the period April 1997 to March 2003 as the data are no longer available electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many miles (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department travelled by (i) car, (ii) rail and (iii) air on Government business in each year since 1997. [298539]
Mr. Kevan Jones: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nuclear Submarines
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department has decided to reduce the radius of the emergency pre-planning zone around a berthed nuclear-powered submarine from two kilometres to 1.5 kilometres. [297796]
Bill Rammell: Any decision to reduce the radius of an emergency planning zone is not made by the Ministry of Defence.
The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate is the national authority responsible for determining the radius of the emergency planning zone. The radius is based on assessments of the hazards associated with berthing nuclear submarines, as submitted by the Ministry of Defence, to meet the requirements of the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR 2001).
Reserve Forces
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what niche reserve forces skills have been identified as having the potential to contribute to projects undertaken by the Department for International Development. [297524]
Bill Rammell: Over recent months, the Department has been working closely with DFID on how reservists can contribute to stabilisation operations. The two Departments are developing a framework for reservist employment that includes the identification of necessary niche skills from 14 functional areas ranging from security to reconstruction. This work is expected to conclude over the next few months.
Reserve Forces: Manpower
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) required and (b) actual strength of the (i) Territorial Army, (ii) Royal Marines Reserves, (iii) Royal Naval Reserve and (iv) Royal Auxiliary Air Force is. [289999]
Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2008-09 which was laid before Parliament on 21 July 2009.
Reserve Forces: Training
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he expects any changes to Territorial Army operational training in Northern Ireland to result from the restoration of the training budget. [298599]
Bill Rammell: The Government have repeatedly made clear that no one in the armed forces will deploy on operations without being trained for the role they are being asked to perform. Training for Territorial Army (TA) personnel preparing for mobilisation was specifically exempted from the decision to reduce TA activity for the remainder of the current financial year. Neither this decision, nor the subsequent decision to restore training for all TA personnel this year, has therefore affected the preparations of those in the TA who are currently earmarked for operations.
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