Armed Forces: Suicide

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his Department’s publication, A study of deaths among UK Armed Forces personnel deployed to the 1982 Falklands Campaign: 1982 to 2012, how many and what proportion of (a) 3 Commando Brigade and (b) 5 Infantry Brigade who served in the Falklands campaign committed suicide in each year since 1982. [164602]

Mr Francois: At the cessation of hostilities on the 14 June 1982, there were 25,713 UK service personnel who participated in and survived the Falkland Islands campaign. Of these, tragically, 95 are recorded to have died as a result of suicide or as open verdict deaths between 14 June 1982 and 31 December 2012.

The breakdown of these deaths in relation to the respective brigades is set out in the following table:

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Due to the small number of suicides within each year, and in line with rounding policy, the information requested on suicides by brigade and year has not been provided. However, the total number of suicide and open verdict deaths of all Falkland Islands campaign veterans between 1982 and 2012, published in the Official Statistic report, are shown in the following table.

For each year between 1982 and 2012, there have been fewer than 10 deaths with a coroner confirmed suicide or open verdict. For each year over the entire period, the risk of dying as a result of suicide for the Falkland veterans was no different to the UK general population.

Armed Forces: Wales

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving members of the (a) Royal Air Force, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army have asked for voluntary early release, at each base located in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [163828]

Mr Francois: The information is not held in the format requested. However, statistics on the number of Army personnel who have applied for redundancy under Tranche 3 will be available shortly. Information on the armed forces redundancy programme is published by Defence Statistics and is available from their website at:

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=0&thiscontent=5100&Publish

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Time=09:30:00&date=2010-08-24&disText=Tranche2& from=listing&topDate=2012-08-24

The information published is not broken down by location. I will write to the hon. Member with the breakdown by local authority.

Service personnel who applied for redundancy under Tranches 1 and 2 have already left the Department.

The selection of an individual for redundancy cannot be assumed to imply that the post they occupy on the date of notification is no longer required and as such the geographical distribution of redundancy notices is not a valid basis for assumptions about the future distribution of military posts.

Substantive answer from Mark Francois to Madeleine Moon:

In my answer of 10 July (Official Report, column 266W) I said I would write in response to your parliamentary question 163828 on the number of Armed Forces personnel who volunteered for redundancy from bases in Wales.

The table shows the number of voluntary redundancy applications under Tranche 3 by Army Service personnel based in Wales, broken down by Local Authority area.

Where rounding has been used, totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

The figures in the above table are for those who applied for redundancy under Tranche 3 and who were based in Wales at 1 June 2013. Personnel could have moved location between applying for Tranche 3 (applications were invited between 22 January and 12 March 2013) and 1 June 2013.

The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location and not their location of residence. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.

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Armed Forces: Wimbledon

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether and by whom the military personnel on duty in uniform at the lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon in 2013 were paid for their attendance. [165118]

Mr Francois [holding answer 12 July 2013]: Since 1946, personnel from each of our regular armed forces have been invited by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon to work as Service Stewards at their annual All England Lawn Tennis Championships (AELTC). The stewarding of these Championships normally involves some 300 non-commissioned service personnel.

All service personnel are made aware of this invitation through an annually issued Defence Instruction and Notice. Those who successfully apply to accept the invitation are required to take annual leave to attend the AELTC and are given permission to wear uniform. Service personnel on leave receive their salaries as normal and there are no further costs to the public purse.

Expenses incurred by the service personnel who are stewards at the Championships, are reimbursed to the individuals directly by the AELTC.

Army: Germany

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the building and renovation timetable for the sites earmarked for use as part of the re-basing requirements for forces returning from Germany; and which lead contractors have been appointed. [R] [165783]

Mr Francois: The timetable for forces returning from Germany remains the same as announced in the Army Basing Plan of 5 March 2013. We have commenced the assessment work to progress the Army Basing Programme to the next stage. No lead contractors for build or renovation work have yet been appointed.

Army: Injuries

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers including trainees were (a) treated for and (b) discharged as a result of overuse and stress injuries including Achilles tendinitis, anterior knee pain, mechanical back pain, anterior tibial pain, stress fracture tibia, stress fracture foot, stress fracture pubis and stress fracture neck of femur in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many of those soldiers were (i) under the age of 18 at the time of the injury and (ii) female. [157765]

Mr Francois: For the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 (the latest dates for which data are available), table 1 presents the number of Army personnel with at least one Read code recorded on the primary care system Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP) for the conditions related to overuse and stress injuries.

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For the same period, table 2 presents the number of UK Regular Army personnel medically discharged with a principal condition of a stress related injury or disorder.

Army: Training

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the guidance for soldiers conducting UK-based training in hot conditions was last reviewed; and if he will make a statement. [166164]

Mr Francois: The code of practice for the prevention and treatment of climactic injuries in the armed forces for land based activities, including training, exercises and operations, is contained in the Joint Service Publication (JSP) 539.

The heat injury/illness sections of the JSP are kept under regular review by the Heat Injuries Working Group: this working group has representatives from all three services as well as subject matter experts.

The JSP was revised fully in 2012 and published in November 2012.

Business Services Association

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have met representatives of the Business Services Association. [165782][Official Report, 2 September 2013, Vol. 567, c. 1MC.]

Dr Murrison: We have no records of any meetings between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence or Ministers and representatives of the Business Services Association.

We are not aware of any officials meeting with representatives of the Business Services Association but a definitive answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Defence Estate

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to Spending Round 2013, Cm 8639, how reducing costs of construction in the Defence estate will be implemented; and what estimate he has made of how much was saved through this measure. [162503]

Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence’s Spending Round 2013 settlement included a commitment to reduce our spending on our estate capital investment programme

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by £125 million in financial year (FY) 2015-16 through benchmarking our plans against industry best practice and then setting the targets within contracts wherever possible. These savings apply from FY 2015-16 and we will work with our suppliers in the intervening period to establish the precise details of their implementation.

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the total cost of the redundancy programme at the Defence Infrastructure Organisation in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [160963]

Mr Francois [holding answer 24 June 2013]: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has not run a separate redundancy programme in 2010, 2011, 2012 or 2013.

The DIO is part of a departmental wide voluntary early release scheme which has run since 2011, and considers release of people against the departmental need.

Defence Vetting Agency: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the merger of vetting functions of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the Defence Vetting Agency; and if he will make a statement. [164144]

Mr Francois: An independent study is taking place into the future provision of national security vetting. This includes the two main providers of vetting: Defence Business Services and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services. An announcement will be made once a decision is taken on the study's recommendations.

Domestic Visits

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits Ministers in his Department have made to (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales in an official capacity in each year since 2010. [164065]

Mr Francois: For visits to Scotland and Wales from May 2010 to 30 June 2012, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), gave on 3 September 2012, Official Report, columns 56-59W, to the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy).

The number of visits made in an official capacity by Ministers between 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 to Scotland was 10 and to Wales was two.

For visits to Northern Ireland, Ministers visited once in 2010, once in 2011, three times in 2012 and twice in 2013 to date.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times he has visited (a) Scotland, (b) Northern Ireland and (c) Wales in an official capacity since his appointment; and if he will make a statement. [165294]

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Mr Robathan: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) visited Scotland twice but has not visited Wales or Northern Ireland.

ICT

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) computers, (b) mobile telephones, (c) BlackBerrys and (d) other pieces of IT equipment were lost or stolen from his Department in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [156423]

Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes any theft, loss, attacks, or misuse of its information, networks and associated media storage devices very seriously and has robust procedures in place to mitigate against and investigate such occurrences. Furthermore, new processes, instructions and technological aids are continually being implemented to mitigate human errors and raise the awareness of every individual in the Department.

The MOD does not generally record items as ‘lost’. Any incident where an information asset has not been handled and recorded correctly in accordance with our strict guidelines is recorded as the asset being ‘unaccounted for’. In a high proportion of cases where information and communications technology (ICT) is reported as missing it is likely it has been officially disposed of without the correct record being maintained.

352 of the assets recorded as ‘unaccounted for’ in financial year (FY) 2012-13 are a result of a legacy accounting issue with the accuracy of recording assets belonging to a network which was in use from approximately 1990 to 2005 and contained around 88,000 assets. The discrepancy was noted as a result of responses to the Burton report in 2008 but ongoing action to locate the assets resulted in it not being centrally recorded at this time. It was formally reported to the Joint Security Co-ordination Centre (JSyCC) as part of negotiations for a contract transfer in 2012. For this reason it appears in FY 2012-13, although the incident itself will have taken place over eight years ago. Investigations suggest it is very likely that none of these assets has left MOD establishments and that they have therefore not been ‘lost’. However, they are recorded as ‘unaccounted for’ as this cannot be conclusively proven at this time.

It is MOD policy that all portable computers and removable media should be encrypted. Therefore, even when a device cannot be accounted for (or is stolen) the MOD can be confident that the risk of information being compromised is low.

The following table details the number of reported unaccounted for or stolen computers, mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and other pieces of ICT equipment centrally reported within the Department in FY 2010-11, FY 2011-12 and FY 2012-13:

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Katrice Lee

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of when the latest Ministry of Defence Police investigation into the disappearance of Katrice Lee will be concluded; and if he will make a statement. [165273]

Mr Francois: The Royal Military Police investigation into the disappearance of Katrice Lee is ongoing. The investigation is extensive and complex and because of its nature it is difficult to estimate when it will conclude. A significant number of active lines of inquiry are currently being pursued. It would be inappropriate to comment on these in any detail but I can confirm that, for example, the military police are speaking to new potential witnesses who have come forward following a recent television appeal on the German equivalent of the BBC's Crimewatch programme. In doing so, they are working closely with police forces in other countries.

The Royal Military Police are committed to ensuring that the investigation is brought to a conclusion as soon as possible. However, their priority is to ensure that the investigation is thorough and that all potential lines of inquiry have been explored. They also remain committed to inviting a civilian police force to review their investigation in order to ensure that no investigative opportunities have been missed.

Katrice's family are being kept fully informed of progress and they will continue to be updated as the investigation develops.

Mercian Regiment

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of the presentation of new colours to the four battalions of the Mercian Regiment. [161974]

Mr Francois: The presentation of new colours to the Mercian Regiment was funded in part through charitable sources.

The cost to the Department of the presentation ceremony was in the order of £38,000 which largely related to transporting personnel from the four battalions and moving two Warrior vehicles to support recruiting activity around the presentation event. This figure does not include the cost of the colours themselves.

The role of the colours has great historical significance in their use as a rallying point. British military history is full of instances of gallantry including the colours and their defence. Today, colours are the ceremonial evidence of a regiment and its spirit, a moral rallying point recording their often illustrious history.

Military Bases: Poole

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the future of the Royal Marine Commando Base in Poole; and if he will make a statement. [165548]

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Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to close the Royal Marine Base in Poole.

Military Decorations: World War II

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of those who are eligible have applied for the Bomber Command clasp to date; how many of those applications have been (a) rejected and (b) accepted; and what estimate he has made of the number of members of Bomber Command who are ineligible for the clasp. [161077]

Mr Francois: We are collating the statistics which my hon. Friend has requested and I shall reply to him shortly.

Navy: Greenock

Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current status of the Royal Naval buildings in Greenock is; and what future plans he has for these buildings. [165000]

Mr Francois: In accordance with the Department's normal disposal procedure the site is being offered for sale on the open market. A closing date for offers of 28 June 2013 has now passed with a preferred bidder identified.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months. [162648]

Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) accesses a pan-Government framework contract for the purchase of print and electronic journals on subscription. The contract is primarily used to purchase academic, technical, medical and trade publications for the MOD colleges, training centres, technical information centres and medical units, including those in operational theatres. A small number of recreational titles are taken for use in personnel recovery centres. Expenditure under this contract is shown in the following table:

Figures for each individual year have been compiled using the same methodology which in some cases may differ to that given in answers to previous parliamentary questions on this subject.

Unit newspaper requirements tend to be fluid and subject to short-notice amendment. They are not therefore suitable for fixed-term subscription. MOD units may make their own supply arrangements with local distributors. Information on such arrangements is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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Redundancy

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many officials in his Department resident in Scotland have been made redundant through compulsory redundancy schemes since May 2010; and how much this has cost his Department; [165557]

(2) how many of his employees resident in Scotland have been made redundant through compulsory redundancy schemes since May 2010; and what the cost to the public purse of such schemes has been. [166220]

Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not run a compulsory redundancy scheme for civilian personnel since May 2010.

Reserve Forces

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time volunteer mobilised reservists were subject to a deduction of earnings request from the Department for Work and Pensions in financial years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [156714]

Mr Francois: The number of volunteer mobilised reservists that were subject to a deduction of earnings request in each of the financial years (FY) 2010-11, 2011 -12 and 2012-13 is shown in the following table:

Figures have been rounded to protect the confidentiality of individuals in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Code of Practice for Official Statistics 2009.

Reserve Forces: Mental Health Services

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has to improve mental health services for current and former Reserve forces personnel. [164118]

Mr Francois [holding answer 8 July 2013]:The mental health of our personnel and veterans is a top priority for the Government that is why we have committed £7.4 million to ensure there is extensive mental health support in place for those who need it.

Support is out there for service personnel and veterans who are suffering mental health problems. This includes tailored NHS mental health services, priority treatment for veterans with a service related health problem, the Big White Wall online mental well-being service which is available to those serving, their families and veterans on a 24-hour basis and a 24-hour helpline with Combat Stress, so service personnel and veterans can seek help at any time.

Deployed reservists have the same access to mental health services as regulars—including the mental health team deployed on operations in Afghanistan, consisting of three mental health nurses and a visiting consultant

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psychiatrist. If reservists return to the UK with mental health problems they are not demobilised but would access treatment through the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) in the UK.

If a reservist develops a mental health problem after demobilisation they are entitled to high-quality mental healthcare from the NHS. In addition reservists deployed overseas since 2003 are able to attend the Veterans and Reserves Mental Health Programme in Chilwell. This provides mental health assessments, and, if diagnosed to have a combat-related mental health condition, out-patient treatment for reservists via one of the DCMHs.

In the recently published White Paper on Reserve Forces we proposed the extension of occupational health provision to ensure consistent access to these services for all reservists. This will provide a mechanism to identify a range of issues, including mental health problems, and assess the implications in the context of service in the reserves.

As part of the Government's ongoing commitment to ex-service personnel with mental health problems, £2.5 million from the LIBOR fines has been awarded to programmes which will support mental health programmes for veterans in the future.

In addition, the right policies and intervention strategies must be underpinned by good quality evidence. To this end, the MOD funds a considerable amount of research into mental health issues, for example, the broad range of studies undertaken by the King's Centre for Military Health Research, including those covering reservists.

Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many senior civil servants left his Department and public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment in each of the last three years; and what the value of such payments was. [164397]

Mr Francois: The number of senior civil servants (SCS) who left the Ministry of Defence and associated public bodies under the Voluntary Early Release Scheme (VERS) in each of the last three financial years (FY), including the total value of the severance payments, are set out in the following table:

These figures represent all non-compulsory departures of SCS under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme since its reform in 2010. The current scheme is designed to encourage voluntary rather than compulsory departure. All costs fall in the year of departure, whereas under the terms of the previous, pre-reform, scheme there could be costs extending for up to 10 years from a departure.

Territorial Army: Scotland

Mr Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which sites are used by the Territorial Army (TA) in Scotland; and how many TA personnel are based at each such site. [164110]

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Mr Robathan [holding answer 8 July 2013]:I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance UK personnel provide to the US operation of drones from the Combined Air Operation Centre at Al-Udeid. [R] [166205]

Mr Robathan: The UK has around 40 personnel stationed in the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at Al-Udeid which provides command and control in support of operations in the Gulf and Afghanistan. This includes a wide variety of tasks and platforms eg strategic airlift to and from Afghanistan. UK personnel

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may support a wide range of combined operations provided these are consistent with national directives.

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham of 15 May 2013, Official Report, column 221W, on unmanned aerial vehicles, on how many occasions flights of unmanned aerial vehicles have taken place in each of his Department's reserved airspace areas within the UK in each of the last 10 years; what the purpose of each such flight was; and what type of unmanned aerial vehicle was flown on each such occasion. [R] [166283]

Mr Robathan: Available information on the number and location of flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), either on the military register or operating under a military flight test permit, in each of the last 10 years, is provided in the following table:

Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department provides services to people resident in Wales or usually resident in Wales. [166101]

Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence does not normally provide services separately to people resident in Wales or usually resident in Wales. However, in line with Military Assistance to the Civil Authority (MACA) principles, Defence can provide assistance to other Government Departments or devolved Administrations to help to deal with situations that are beyond the capability or capacity of the civil authorities, e.g. in the event of severe flooding.

Welsh Language

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has a current Welsh Language scheme; when that scheme was adopted; and whether it has been reviewed since May 2011. [166083]

Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence's Welsh Language scheme was first introduced in 1999 and last reviewed in 2009.