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14 Dec 2009 : Column 822W—continued
The MOD is currently in the process of modifying the criteria against which it collates management information on the medical fitness of service personnel. Whereas previously we have measured the medical "fitness for task" of service personnel, we are now moving to a process of measuring the numbers who are medically "fully deployable", "limited deployable" and "non-deployable". This will help us to focus our efforts on maximising the numbers available to deploy on operations.
We have been working on the collection and validation of figures recorded against the new criteria, using data obtained from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. The aim is to provide reliable, validated data by spring 2010.
Armed Forces: Mental Health Services
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers prescribed medication for psychological problems following active service have been posted back to active service in Iraq. [306955]
Mr. Kevan Jones:
Specific details of the number of personnel prescribed medication for mental health disorders as a result of active service and who have returned to operational duties are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the
individual medical records of members of the armed forces are examined by medical staff prior to deployment and the armed forces use a medical grading system which considers both mental and physical health. Both of these factors mean that personnel are not sent on operational deployment if their medical history gives any significant cause for concern.
Armed Forces: Northern Ireland
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much it has cost his Department to maintain the Army in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979. [305411]
Bill Rammell: Information is not held back to 1979. It is possible to provide data from the point at which General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland was allocated his own budget to manage. Changes in MOD accounting methodologies over time make year on year comparisons difficult.
The figures in the first table are the cash outturn for the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland Top Level Budget which was first created in 1991-92.
| £ million | |
The second table shows outturn figures for the same Top Level Budget for financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06. In 2001-02 resource accounting was introduced in the MOD. The practice of the time was to include cost of capital charges and depreciation in the final outturn figures for Top Level Budgets.
| £ million | |
In 2006-07 cost of capital and depreciation charges were removed from Top Level Budget accounts. The following figures therefore reflect cash outturn only.
| £ million | |
Armed Forces: Weapons
Willie Rennie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at which of his Department's bases in the UK
weapons were reported as having been (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last 12 years; and how many and what type of weapon was involved in each case. [305627]
Mr. Quentin Davies [holding answer 10 December 2009]: This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For the overall figures of weapons reported as lost or stolen over the requested period, broken down by type, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 November 2009, Official Report, columns 419-20W.
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration his Department is giving to changing the Mastiff vehicle suspension to improve its off-road performance. [306744]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Department is continually evaluating the performance of all vehicle fleets. Both variants of the Mastiff vehicle have already received upgrades to improve its suspension, performance and reliability and we continue to monitor its performance accordingly.
Caparo Group
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings (a) he, (b) other Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Angad Paul in each of the last three years. [302869]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: None of the Ministers within my Department have met with Angad Paul.
Christmas
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of. [305638]
Mr. Kevan Jones: MOD building decorations including Christmas trees are paid for from non-public funds or staff subscription. The exception was the contracted-out facilities management services for Main Building and Old War Office Building in Whitehall, which did include an annual £5,000 provision for Christmas decorations. This was subsequently removed from the contract in 2008.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009. [306689]
Mr. Quentin Davies: Decorations in MOD buildings including Christmas trees are not paid for from public funds but are paid for from non-public funds or staff subscription.
Defence Estates Byelaws Review: Manpower
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalent staff the Defence Estates Byelaws Review Team has on its establishment; and how many posts on the Review Team are vacant. [305609]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The Defence Estates Byelaws Review Team currently has only four staff on its establishment (some of whom have been engaged on other work) and one administrative post which is presently vacant.
Defence Nuclear Weapons Regulator
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalent staff the Defence Nuclear Weapons Regulator has on its establishment; how many of these are inspectors; and how many posts on the Regulator's establishment are vacant. [305608]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The Nuclear Weapon Regulator (NWR) is an officer within the broader Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR), which regulates both the nuclear weapons and nuclear propulsion programmes.
DNSR has 23 full-time equivalent staff; 16 of these are inspectors. Of these 23 staff, 10 report to NWR and, of these 10, six are inspectors. One inspector post (managed by NWR) is currently vacant on a short-term basis pending the arrival of the nominated individual. There are no other DNSR vacancies.
Some members of DNSR support both activities, so the number of people that NWR manages is not the same as the number of people involved in regulating the nuclear weapons programme.
Defence: Equipment
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in the (a) procurement, (b) production and (c) delivery to combat zones in Afghanistan of vehicles offering increased protection against roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices. [306517]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: We are continuously delivering improvements to our fleet of protected vehicles in Afghanistan to ensure that they meet operational requirements. By the end of this year the number of vehicles in theatre will have increased by 36 per cent. since August; this includes 93 per cent. more Mastiff and 77 per cent. more Ridgback. We are also buying Warthog vehicles to replace the Viking on operations in Afghanistan, and, as announced by the Prime Minister on 1 September their delivery is being brought forward. The first Coyote and Husky vehicles have been delivered to training, and the first vehicles will deploy to Afghanistan before the end of the year.
We are also looking to the future and anticipating new threats, and have begun a programme to develop the next generation of light protected patrol vehicles.
Defence: Expenditure
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) expenditure and (b) near cash expenditure there was on defence (i) including and (ii) excluding military operations in each year since 1997. [305040]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The MOD's total expenditure (outturn) in near cash and non cash, including and excluding the cost of all military operations charged to RfR 2, for each year since 2001-02 is provided as follows.
| £000 | ||||||||
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
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