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6 Apr 2010 : Column 1194W—continued
Other equipment projects are planned to be procured from the core equipment programme to be made available for operations in Afghanistan. These include land equipment, information systems and services and helicopter projects and the 7th C17. Many other equipment projects procured from the core equipment programme have delivered capability in support of other operations.
Mr. David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Operation Eagle's Summit in 2008 necessitated the redeployment of British forces from elsewhere in Helmand Province. [325239]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: While extensive support was provided by British forces to Operation Oqab Tsuka (Eagle's Summit), to move a turbine from Kandahar to Kajaki, it did not require the long-term redeployment of British troops from elsewhere in Helmand Province.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the Scout vehicles will carry out in Afghanistan; and what the cost of each such vehicle will be on deployment in theatre. [325452]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The Scout vehicles will be the principal reconnaissance vehicles of the British Army and will replace Scimitar vehicles which are currently deployed in Afghanistan. The final numbers and costs will be determined at the manufacture investment decision point.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what main weapons systems Scout vehicles will have on deployment in Afghanistan; which companies are the (a) manufacturers and (b) suppliers of the ammunition for the vehicle's main weapons systems; what the cost is per round of ammunition; and what estimate he has made of the lifespan of the barrel of the main weapon system per number of rounds fired. [325453]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The intent is for the Scout vehicle's main weapon system to be the 40 mm Cased Telescoped Cannon provided by Cased Telescoped Ammunition International, a joint private venture between BAES and Nexter. On current plans, BAES will produce the ammunition for the cannon at their facilities in Glascoed, South Wales under the Department's Munitions Acquisition Supply Solution (MASS) contract. The cost of each round of ammunition will be determined during commercial negotiations before the MASS contract is amended to incorporate the 40 mm ammunition. The lifespan of the barrel will be established during the qualification programme for the cannon and ammunition. The qualification programme consists of an extensive series of tests and trials to ensure that the cannon and ammunition are safe, reliable and effective for use by the British Army.
Air Force
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to retain the Royal Air Force as a separate service after the next Strategic Defence Review. [325552]
Bill Rammell: Yes, it is my policy to retain the three services.
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) contracts and (b) sub-contracts related to the construction of two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy have been let; in which constituencies he expects work arising from such contracts and sub-contracts to take place; and if he will make a statement. [324990]
Mr. Quentin Davies: In July 2008, the MOD placed a contract with the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) for the manufacture of two Queen Elizabeth (QE) class aircraft carriers. Work on the QE class aircraft carriers is now under way in five UK shipyards-Appledore, Rosyth, Govan, Portsmouth and Tyne, with work due to start at the sixth and final yard, Birkenhead, in the next few months.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 21 January 2010, Official Report, column 437W. An updated list of sub-contracts will be placed in the Library of the House, which includes the constituencies where work will be carried out.
Armed Forces: Health Services
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department has allocated for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers returning from active duty to (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [325311]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Financial information is not held in the format requested. Owing to the number of different internal budgets to which costs would be attributable, any detailed analysis of Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMH) finances would therefore incur disproportionate costs. The majority of mental healthcare for service personnel is provided through MOD's 15 military-run 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.
In-patient care, when necessary, is provided in specialised Mental Health units under contract with an external provider. Between April 2004 and March 2009, this was provided by the Priory Healthcare Group, and costs in each financial year are contained in the following table:
| Contract value (£ million) | |
These figures take into account the cost of assessing patients as well as any in-patient treatment programmes provided; the individual care needs of each patient will vary depending on their particular medical circumstances. They also include services provided by the Priory Group between 1 December 2003 and April 2004 prior to the formal contract start date.
The contract with the Priory Group has been replaced by one awarded in November 2008 to a partnership of seven NHS trusts led by South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust. They admitted their first patients under this contract in February 2009. Costs for its first year of operation will be available in summer 2010. Prior to April 2004, in-patient care was provided at MOD's Duchess of Kent psychiatric hospital at Catterick; full historic costs back to 1997 are not available.
The Ministry of Defence takes the mental health of its personnel very seriously. While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious issue, and one we are making every effort to address, PTSD itself makes up only around 5 per cent. of the mental health burden of the armed forces. The majority of service personnel who develop a mental health condition will suffer from less serious conditions, such as neurotic or adjustment disorders, but we offer assessment and treatment to individuals who might be concerned about any aspect of their mental health.
The DCMHs are located to be convenient for major centres of military population, and support the provision of healthcare that is available through service primary care facilities. Many of the less serious mental health disorders are managed by primary care providers; sometimes cases are co-managed by DCMH staff and primary care staff.
While there are no DCMHs located in Wales itself, we nevertheless have arrangements in place to ensure that mental healthcare can be provided conveniently and flexibly, while reflecting the number of service personnel in the principality and their wide dispersion. Staff from the DCMH at Donnington in Shropshire run regular clinics in locations which cover all the major concentrations of personnel in Wales, namely Valley, St. Athan, Brawdy and Brecon, as well as at locations on the Welsh border such as Chepstow and Hereford. They will additionally visit individual patients as required at their home or other location. Personnel based in Wales who need to attend a DCMH will usually be referred to that at Donnington, although other units, such as those in Portsmouth and Plymouth, may be used if more convenient.
Armed Forces: Housing
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service family accommodation properties in England and Wales were identified as awaiting disposal or demolition in each year since 2004; and how much rent was paid to Annington Homes for those properties in each of those years. [322038]
Mr. Kevan Jones: It will take more time to collate and verify the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member.
Substantive answer from Kevan Jones to Willie Rennie:
In my answer of 12 March (Official Report, column 479W) I undertook to write to you with details of how many service family accommodation properties in England and Wales were identified for disposal or demolition in each year since 2004: and how much rent was paid to Annington Homes Ltd (Ltd) for those properties in each of those years.
The following number of properties were handed back to AHL in each year financial year since 2004-05. I also provide the following number of MOD owned properties that were disposed of, normally by open market sale, or demolished:
| Financial year | Number of properties handed back to AHL | Number of MOD properties disposed of | Number of properties demolished |
It has not been possible to determine from records held how much rent was paid to AHL for each property from the point it was identified as being surplus to the MOD's requirements to when it was actually handed back to the company.
Armed Forces: Manpower
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers subject to manning control have been downgraded to Grade P 4 since 2007. [325136]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Decisions on the particular regiments and service roles on which soldier manning control points will be focused have not yet been made by the Army. Each individual case will be considered on its merits, irrespective of gender.
Armed Forces: Merseyside
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2010, Official Report, columns 9-10, on armed forces: Merseyside, how many young people in the UK cadet forces were recruited into the armed forces in each of the last five years. [325005]
Mr. Kevan Jones: There is no requirement for recruits into the armed forces to specify whether they had previously been a member of any cadet force.
The cadet forces organisations seek to raise the awareness of opportunities for personal development in young people and support their career. They are not recruiting organisations, although it is acknowledged that where the cadet experience leads to a young person joining the armed forces, this is a benefit to defence.
Armed Forces: Training
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned closure of the research and assessment facility at the Defence Academy; and if he will make a statement. [321500]
Bill Rammell: The Defence Academy research and assessment branch undertook broad non-technical research in an evolving range of geo-strategic studies and cross-cutting global issues which centred around statecraft and governance. The Academy is currently assessing how non-technical research capability can still be delivered by reviewing the arrangements that it has in place with its academic providers Cranfield University and Kings College London to optimise the Academy's research in a manner which supports its primary activity (to enhance defence capability by providing high quality, relevant, progressive training and education underpinned by research to the four services) as well as contributing to the MOD's broader research effort.
The Academy is also looking at closer integration with activity sponsored or conducted by the Directors Defence Studies, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and the Defence Concept and Doctrine Centre in order to mitigate any loss of capability through the closure of the research and assessment branch.
Defence Medical Services
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) which private companies Defence Medical Services uses to hire civilian medical locums to work at UK medical facilities on deployed operations; [324582]
(2) how many civilian medical locums have been employed by Defence Medical Services to provide support to Operation Herrick; and what the (a) specialism, (b) length of deployment and (c) cost was of each such locum. [324583]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 20 March 2010]: The company with which the Defence Medical Services (DMS) holds an enabling contract for contracted medical support (nursing, medical support services and doctors) is Frontier Medical. Each deployment is ordinarily for a three-month period and cover has only been required for up to eight posts at any one time.
Set out in the following table are the total costs of the locums employed on Operation Herrick for each financial year since April 2007 to August 2009, together with the total numbers of individual personnel who have deployed at any time between the dates shown.
| Financial year | Total individuals deployed at any time in period as civilian locums | Operation | Total cost £ million |
The service chiefs have decided that detailed data will no longer be published where this would highlight potential pinch points within the armed forces, including the DMS. I am withholding information on pinch points as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
In order to maintain appropriate external scrutiny of such data, the Department will continue to provide comprehensive restricted manning data to the House of Commons Defence Committee.
Defence: Scotland
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department incurred in (a) equipment expenditure, (b) non-equipment expenditure, (c) service personnel costs and (d) civil personnel costs in Scotland in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10. [324959]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth
[holding answer 29 March 2010]: Estimated direct Ministry of Defence (MOD) expenditure
for Scotland in the categories requested for the years where data are available is presented in the following table:
| 2007-08 current prices (£ million) | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million. 2. Figures relate to expenditure in the whole Scottish Government office region rather than to any individual military or civilian establishments. 3. Indirect expenditure, such as subcontracted work, is not reflected in the figures. 4. Personnel costs exclude contributions made by MOD to the Armed Forces Pensions Scheme and War Pensions Scheme. | |
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