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Lord Vivian asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bach: The operational welfare package (OWP) is in the process of being implemented in all Gulf locations where operational and environmental factors allow. In order to provide the degree of support appropriate to the different stages of the deployment the OWP is being implemented in phases. While the aim is to provide as much of the OWP as possible, commensurate with the phase of the operation, commanders are aware that there are necessary limitations to what can sensibly be delivered.
The operational welfare package for United Kingdom Armed Forces serving in the Gulf comprises the following:
Lord Vivian asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bach: Details of the manpower requirements for 1 April 2002 and 1 October 2002 by individual service are shown in the table below:
1 April 2002 | 1 October 2002 | Difference | |
All services | 196,150 | 195,350 | ¸800 |
Royal Navy | 39,180 | 38,570 | ¸610 |
Army | 106,970 | 106,980 | +10 |
Royal Air Force | 49,990 | 49,800 | ¸190 |
Notes:
Figures are for full-time trained requirement.
All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore the totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.
The requirement figure as at 1 October 2002 is 800 personnel fewer than 1 April 2002. The Navy requirement figure shows the greatest change, showing a reduction in requirement of 610 during the period in question. The reductions were due to ships entering refit and would have been offset later by ships emerging from refit.
A review of the Army's future manpower requirement concluded last year, resulting in a revised manning target of 106,978 (106,980 rounded). This was published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency in June 2002. The previously published figure was 106,973 (106,970 rounded).
The change in the RAF requirement figure of ¸190 is due to small variations in the requirement which occur throughout the year reflecting decisions taken as part of the manpower planning processes.
Lord Vivian asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bach: The Accompanied Service Review was completed in December 2002 and concluded that accompanied service continues to play a vital role in the Army's operational effectiveness and is the preferred choice of the vast majority of Army families.
Long service advance of pay (LSAP) is one of the principal allowances that impacts on accompanied service. The LSAP work is ongoing and no change in current policy is expected before the short term plan for 200405.
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston): The figure of 447,600 non-industrial civil servants quoted refers to full-time equivalents, mandate only departments. The headcount figures for 1 April 2002 shows there were 488,300 (mandate and paper returns) non-industrial civil servants, of whom 225,150 are men and 263,150 are women.
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: On 1 April 2002 the total number of industrial civil servants was 27,720 (headcount), of whom 23,550 are men and 4,170 are women.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
To what extent the failure to launch the HAZMOD data network by the originally scheduled date of October 2002 is attributable to lack of funding or technical difficulties.[HL1837]
What action has been taken by the Ministry of Defence and what progress has been made to assist house purchase through the long service advance of pay to members of the Army at an earlier stage than is currently allowed.[HL1946]
How many of the 447,600 non-industrial civil servants employed on 1 April 2002 were men and how many were women.[HL1828]
How many industrial civil servants were employed on 1 April 2002; how many were men; and how many were women.[HL1829]
When it is anticipated that the HAZMOD data network to co-ordinate emergency services' responses in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack will be launched; and[HL1836]
7 Mar 2003 : Column WA138
Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The HAZMOD extranet (previously referred to as HAZMOD intranet) was a small pilot project, managed by a research group within the Home Office and subsequently the Cabinet Office, which investigated the access to maps by emergency planners and others using internet technology. The project lasted two and a half years and cost £175,000.
Recent analysis undertaken by the Cabinet Office showed that better and faster approaches to securing the same information are now available elswhere and are already in use by a range of organisations. The Government therefore consider that it can best support local authority emergency planners through the provision of advice on the development of geographical information systems. Emergency planners at the local level will also continue to draw data from police commanders, who have direct access to information from central government.
A letter explaining the position was sent on 24 February 2003 by the Cabinet Ofice to all the emergency planners involved in the project. The letter was also published on the UK Resilence website (www.ukresilience.info).
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The Department for Transport has a programme of research into the relationship betweeen visual field impairment and driving. Three relevant research projects are at various stages:
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