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1 July 2010 : Column 624W—continued
Military Aircraft: Procurement
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost of cancelling the (a) purchase of the RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft and (b) Future Rapid Effect System Specialist Vehicles contract. [4597]
Peter Luff: The overall cost of the RC-135 Rivet Joint Project, through life, is circa £1.2 billion and at this early stage of the project life cycle any cancellation costs would be a small fraction of this. Rivet Joint is being acquired through the US Foreign Military Sales process which allows customers to withdraw at any time on payment of all costs incurred to date, and any unavoidable liabilities held by the US Government and its contractors.
On 1 July 2010, the Ministry of Defence announced that a demonstration phase contract for Specialist Vehicles had been signed. The cost of a subsequent cancellation would be agreed with the contractor with the Department paying fair and reasonable costs and liabilities at the time of the cancellation.
Nuclear Weapons: Decommissioning
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to dispose of obsolescent and surplus nuclear weapons. [4863]
Peter Luff: The UK does not have any obsolescent or surplus nuclear weapons that require disposal.
Radioactive Materials
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2010, Official Report, column 470W, on radioactive materials, what security and safety standards apply to the storage and transport of each different class of special nuclear materials. [4751]
Peter Luff: The security standards that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) applies to the storage and transportation of the various categories of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) are consistent with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines such as 'The Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and Nuclear Facilities'. These security standards are designed to protect Defence Nuclear Material against unauthorised access and malicious acts. I am withholding specific details as their publication would be likely to prejudice national security.
On the safety standards applied to storage and transportation, the relevant policy is contained within Joint Service Publication (JSP) 518 'Regulation of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Programme' and JSP 538 'Regulation of the Nuclear Weapon Programme'. For the storage of SNM, the standards applied are the same as those applied to civil nuclear installations under nuclear site licensing. For the transport of SNM, the
JSPs cite the IAEA publication 'Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material', which forms the technical basis of legislation covering the transport of radioactive materials in the UK.
Where exemptions or derogations from the legislation apply, it is MOD policy to introduce standards and management arrangements that are, so far as reasonably practicable, at least as good as those required by the legislation.
Scotland
Video games
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effects of the taxation regime for the computer games industry on the industry in Scotland. [5339]
Michael Moore: I have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a variety of subjects. The June 2010 Budget announced major reforms to business taxation, designed to make the UK the most competitive corporate tax regime in the G20. The video games industry is well placed to benefit from these changes.
International Development
Departmental Manpower
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff are employed full-time by his Department in the (a) water, sanitation and hygiene, (b) health and (c) education sectors; and if he will provide a breakdown of staff numbers by country offices. [4683]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not hitherto held a central record of staff broken down by the categories specified. A significant number of DFID programme staff and professional advisers work across different sectors and multi-disciplinary teams. It is therefore not possible to answer the question as stated without incurring disproportionate costs.
DFID is currently working towards publishing details of staff positions from October 2010 in line with the Prime Minister's recent announcement on transparency across Government.
Developing Countries: Climate Change
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to assist vulnerable and developing countries to support an ambitious global climate change deal. [4628]
Mr Andrew Mitchell:
In "The Coalition; our programme for government", the Government laid out our commitment to "exploring ways of helping the poorest developing countries to take part in the international climate change negotiations". The Department for International
Development (DFID) will take this agenda forward and is currently considering ways to put this commitment into action.
I recently affirmed the UK's Fast Start commitment of £1.5 billion for the period 2010-12, which will help developing countries to adapt to climate change, adopt clean technology and reduce emissions from deforestation.
Developing Countries: Fossil Fuels
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2010, Official Report, column 557W, on developing countries: fossil fuels, if he will take steps to end support for fossil fuel extraction and transport projects by multilateral development banks. [4620]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: I am currently reviewing my Department's position regarding the energy lending of the multilateral development banks in the light of our commitment to poverty reduction and tackling climate change and will set out our position in due course.
Peru: Forests
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is giving to (a) sustainable forestry management projects and (b) projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in Peru. [4668]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) is providing £3.7 million (2008-12) to Global Witness to increase transparency in the management and governance of forests in four countries, including Peru. With this support representatives of the 1,300 indigenous communities that inhabit over 12 million hectares of forest have participated in the development of a new national forest law to be approved this year. This support is also enabling civil society to monitor forest sector transparency and legally ask the Government of Peru for access to information on industrial forest concession allocation.
DFID has provided funding to the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), which has trained Peruvian loggers to improve their harvesting techniques, and helped the national forestry department develop community forest management.
DFID also finances the World Bank-administered Forest Investment Programme and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. Peru has applied for support from both of these funds.
Cabinet Office
Deaths: Cervical Cancer
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of deaths from cervical cancer occurred in women (a) over the age of 60, (b) between 30 and 59 and (c) under 30 years in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [4925]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated June 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what proportion of deaths from cervical cancer occurred in women (a) over the age of 60, (b) between 30 and 59 and (c) under 30 years in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. (4925)
The table attached provides the number and per cent of deaths where cervical cancer was the underlying cause of death in England and Wales, in women aged (a) 60 years and over, (b) between 30 and 59 years and (c) under 30 years, for the years 2001 to 2009 (the latest year available).
The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age and cause are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
| Table 1: The number and percentage of deaths where cervical cancer was the underlying cause, by age, England and Wales, 2001 to 2009( 1, 2, 3, 4) | ||||||||
| Deaths (females) | ||||||||
| Number | Percentage( 5) | |||||||
| 0 to 30 | 30 to 59 | 60+ | All ages | 0 to 30 | 30 to 59 | 60+ | All ages | |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C53. (2) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (4) Deaths registered in 2009 are provisional. (5) Deaths from cervical cancer in each age group as a percentage of all deaths from cervical cancer. | ||||||||
Job Creation: Leeds
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many new jobs have been created in the private sector in Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years; [5156]
(2) how many new jobs have been created in the public sector in Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years. [5157]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated June 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many new jobs have been created in the public sector in Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years; and how many new jobs have been created in the private sector in Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years. (5157 & 5156)
Statistics regarding the number of new jobs created are not available.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment and unemployment are available from the NOMIS website at
National Citizen Service
Mr Timpson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he plans to introduce a National Citizen Service. [4801]
Mr Hurd: Full details of this programme will be announced by the Cabinet Office later this year, with a launch expected in 2011.
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