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6 Jan 2010 : Column 441W—continued
In addition to the battalions shown above, there are three incremental Guards companies which are primarily for public duties but which can also be used to augment the other Guards battalions as required.
| Unit | Number not fully deployable |
Armed Forces: Mental Health Services
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on mental health care services for armed forces personnel in (a) Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency, (b) the Highlands and (c) Scotland in each year since 2001. [304649]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The MOD has 15 Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs) in the UK (with additional centres in Germany, Cyprus and Gibraltar), which have since 2004 provided out-patient mental healthcare for members of the armed forces. Three of these are in Scotland: at RAF Leuchars, RAF Kinloss and HM Naval Base Faslane. Armed forces personnel based in the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency who require mental health services will generally be referred to the DCMH at RAF Kinloss, which is a few miles to the east of Inverness in the adjacent constituency of Moray.
Responsibility for individual management of the DCMHs is shared between the single service commands, and it is not possible to separate out costs from overall unit medical budgets. Each service funds its respective DCMHs differently, with funding provision coming from a number of areas. Due to the number of budgets to which costs would be attributable, any detailed study of DCMH finances would incur disproportionate costs.
Armed Forces: Nutrition
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what research his Department has commissioned on the nutritional status of servicemen (a) in theatre and (b) returning from theatre; [304835]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the minimum daily intake of calories required by an infantry soldier on active service in Afghanistan; [304870]
(3) what arrangements exist to monitor the health of service personnel whose diet has been limited solely to field rations for more than the recommended continuous exposure period; and if he will make a statement; [305030]
(4) what assessment he has made of the number of members of the armed forces living off field rations beyond the recommended continuous exposure periods; and if he will make a statement; [305031]
(5) what arrangements exist to monitor exposure to field rations beyond recommended limits; and if he will make a statement; [305032]
(6) what the recommended time limit is on exposure to each in-use type of field rations; and if he will make a statement. [305033]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 7 December 2009]: The health of armed forces personnel on operations is subject to a continuous process of evidence gathering and monitoring. Two specific programmes of work are currently being undertaken to ensure that the food provided for the armed forces on operations is nutritionally fit for purpose: the Surgeon General's Armed Forces Feeding Project (SGAFFP) and the Surgeon General's Casualty Nutrition Study (SG CNS).
The SGAFFP is looking at MOD nutrition and feeding policy across the three services, both pre-deployment in UK-based units and during overseas deployments. In parallel, the SG CNS is examining dietary intake, change in body shape/body composition, micronutrient status and physical fitness before, during and after an operational deployment in healthy personnel and in those who experience combat trauma.
Ensuring that deployed personnel have the right food to provide them with the nutritional intake they need to carry out their operational roles involves much more than just making sure there is plenty of it available at all times. The SGAFFP study is collecting data on actual energy expenditures of personnel undertaking operational roles and on analyses of the tasks being undertaken and work-rest patterns. It will also gather data on changes in body shape (i.e. height, body mass, skin-folds and body girths), physical fitness and dietary intake. In addition, contextual data are being collated describing logistic supply chains and information describing the accessibility and desirability of food provision.
A preliminary review of initial work undertaken, which specifically collated data from personnel undertaking the more physically demanding operational roles under hot environmental conditions, has found no evidence to suggest that personnel in general are being underfed. Although supply chains may at times become compromised such that fresh rations are limited or not available, this has not prevented adequate provision of food to personnel on the frontline, including in 24-hour ration packs. A full analysis of the measurements is progressing.
Joint Service Publication (JSP) 456-Defence Catering Manual-Volume One (Catering Management) Chapter Eight (Operational Catering) contains extensive guidance on the provision of a nutritious and wholesome diet in a range of different operational environments, including the use of Operational Ration Packs (ORP) when operational constraints prevent other types of feeding.
There is no "recommended continuous exposure period" for ORP, which consist of a range of components that
are nutritionally balanced to provide all the macro and micro nutrients that troops may need while on deployment. ORP is normally limited to the first 44 days of an operation, and it would be normal practice to move from ORP to ambient/fresh feeding as early as possible in any deployment, operational circumstances permitting. There is no evidence to date that longer use of ORP where the operational tempo precludes fresh/ambient rations has had any detrimental effect on the cognitive or physical performance of troops, although this is one of the issues that is being looked at in the studies described above.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many servicemen returning from service in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan have been diagnosed with each type of nutritional ailment in each year since 2003. [304869]
Bill Rammell: The total number of individuals who were diagnosed with nutritional ailments while serving in the armed forces and are currently still serving is not held centrally, and could be obtained only by examining the medical records of all personnel. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Parcels
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many delays there were in the delivery of parcels to British troops in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Germany in each month of 2009. [307358]
Bill Rammell: We have not identified any major issues with the delivery of HM forces mail to Afghanistan during 2009. Delivery of mail to Afghanistan and movement around theatre is affected by a number of factors, including the availability of transport assets, the security situation, and a higher priority being given to essential supplies such as ammunition and food. It is therefore possible that some delays may occur either before post enters the British forces post office (BFPO) system or during transit to, or within, theatre but detailed and reliable information on this is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
All mail, including parcels, that arrive in BFPO London are processed within 24 hours so there is no delay in any parcels being dispatched to Germany.
Armed Forces: Theft
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009, Official Report, column 902W, on armed forces: theft, what equipment was stolen in respect of each guilty/proven verdict. [307876]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Information from the three services' and Ministry of Defence police's databases for thefts of Ministry of Defence equipment is shown in the following table. Each line reflects one offence. The severity of the sentences reflects the past records and previous convictions of the individuals involved, as well as the nature of the offence itself.
The information provided pertains solely to thefts of MOD equipment and does not include those cases where the item stolen was not identified as belonging to the MOD.
Information in the years before 2004 is not comprehensive as records relating the RAF personnel could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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