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7 Dec 2009 : Column 88W—continued
Detailed and reliable information on the number of contractors killed while supporting UK operations in Afghanistan is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Collating comprehensive data on fatalities suffered by our contractors is very difficult due to the variety of contractors and the various ways in which they are employed.
We greatly value the work done by our civilian contractors in supporting operations in Afghanistan and we take very seriously our responsibilities towards them.
Air Force: Military Bases
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) name and (b) rank is of the RAF Commander
at (i) RAF Croughton, (ii) RAF Menwith Hill, (iii) RAF Fairford, (iv) RAF Molesworth, (v) RAF Feltwell, (vi) RAF Lakenheath, (vii) RAF Mildenhall, (viii) RAF Upwood, (ix) RAF Barford St John, (x) RAF Alconbury, (xi) RAF Wyton, (xii) RAF Digby, (xiii) RAF St Mawgan, (xiv) RAF Blenheim Crescent and (xv) RAF Welford; and how many RAF personnel are based at each. [303580]
Bill Rammell: The rank of the RAF Commander and the name and rank of the Station Commander, together with the number of RAF personnel based at the RAF bases in the table are as follows:
| Base | Position | Name/rank | Number of RAF personnel |
The names of the RAF Commanders have been withheld in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Armed Forces: Casualties
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the policy is of each of the armed forces on the confirmation of acting ranks held by members of the armed forces killed in active duty. [303617]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The award of acting rank is given to service personnel who are required to undertake the role and responsibilities of a higher rank, either for a limited period of time, where they have been selected for promotion but their promotion has yet to be confirmed by the individual service authorities, or they have not yet completed pre-requisite promotion courses.
In the event of death while holding acting rank, personnel will continue to be referred to by the rank with which they were formally addressed by immediately prior to their death.
Armed Forces: Housing
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints Modern Housing Solutions received about animal infestations in service accommodation in each of the last five years. [304331]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The requested information is not recorded separately and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints were received by Modern Housing Solutions about accommodation for service personnel and their families in each of the last 12 months. [304332]
Mr. Kevan Jones:
Modern Housing Solutions (MHS) is responsible for the repair and maintenance of some
44,000 service family accommodation properties in England and Wales, and attend some 200,000 response repair jobs each year.
The following table details the total number of complaints received about all aspects of the maintenance and repair service provided for the last 12 months:
| Month | Complaints |
These figures include calls about all aspects of the repair and maintenance service provided by MHS, ranging from missed or late appointments and duration of work, to vehicle parking and debris left on site.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints were received by Modern Housing Solutions on the maintenance of service accommodation in (a) Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency, (b) the Highlands and (c) Scotland in each month in 2009 to date. [304651]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The Housing Prime Contract with Modern Housing Solutions covers England and Wales only. Service family accommodation (SFA) in Scotland is repaired and maintained by Turner Estate Solutions, the regional prime contractor for Scotland, who repair and maintain some 3,000 SFA properties in Scotland.
It is not possible to provide information in the format requested, however, the total number of complaints received about the repair and maintenance service in Scotland for 2009 is provided in the following table.
| Number of complaints | |
Armed Forces: Pensions
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what pension is payable to a soldier who retires after 15 years in the British Army on 30 April 1997 as a sergeant in a (a) Gurkha regiment and (b) regiment recruited in the UK. [304704]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 June 2009, Official Report, column 43W.
Armed Forces: Telephone Services
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been received in the last 12 months about the effectiveness of the emergency contact numbers provided for the families of serving personnel. [304671]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The MOD does not maintain records on the number of complaints made on the effectiveness of the emergency contact numbers provided for service families. However, all calls made on these numbers are recorded.
Climate and Energy Security Envoy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the objectives are of his Climate and Energy Security Envoy. [304475]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The objectives for the joint MOD/FCO climate and energy security envoy are:
To broaden and deepen the debate on the security implications of climate change in key countries;
To ensure increased understanding of climate change risks within the security and defence communities and share best practice;
To address the consequences of climate change for regional and global stability, including the benefits for the military in reducing its own carbon footprint;
To help develop a comprehensive policy approach for climate security across the UK Government.
Cyprus
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the environmental policy for bird protection on his Department's land in Cyprus; [304188]
(2) what account his Department's policy on the trapping of wild birds on its land in Cyprus takes of the provisions of the EU environmental legislation; [304191]
(3) what legislative provisions of the EU Birds Directive apply to the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus; and what steps are being taken to reduce levels of trapping and killing of wild birds in the SBAs. [304487]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The provisions of the EU environmental legislation on the trapping of wild birds, contained in the EU Birds Directive, have been replicated within the Sovereign Base Areas through the enactment of the Game and Wild Birds Ordinance of 2008.
The Sovereign Base Area Administration (SBAA) has taken a policy decision to adopt all relevant EU legislation relating to the protection of the environment. The SBAA is also committed to meeting the obligations arising from the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, and will introduce Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) next year.
The Sovereign Base Areas Police has mounted 64 operations and committed in excess of 3,900 hours this year combating illegal trapping. This has resulted in 56 arrests. The Sovereign Base Areas Administration works closely with the Game Fund of the Republic of Cyprus and NGOs such as Birdlife Cyprus to exchange information and combine our efforts to tackle this activity.
Education also plays a big part in the process, through school and community liaison visits, and particularly through our Environmental Centre at Akrotiri which receives in the region of 10,000 visitors per year, approximately 5,000 of whom are Cypriot school children.
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of trends in the level of bird trapping through (a) liming and (b) mist netting on his Department's land in Cyprus in the last five years. [304189]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The following tables provides the number of offences detected by the sovereign base areas police in each of the sovereign base areas over the past five years.
| Eastern sovereign base area | |||||
| 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 | 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 | 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 | 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 | 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 | |
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