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Army: Regimental Strength
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which Army regiments are under established strength; in each case, what is the full establishment; and what is the extent of any shortfall. [HL3891]
Lord Bach: Information on individual regiments is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Details of shortfalls as at 1 June 2004 against each arm and service are given below.
Notes:
The trained requirement for individual Arms and Service Directors is derived from the Regular Army strength requirement (excluding Gurkhas and FTRS) which is published in DASA's Tri-Service Monthly Publication (TSP) 3.
All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
Iraq: Maritime Patrol Force
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the current strength of the Iraqi national maritime patrol force; and what vessels it has in service. [HL3892]
Lord Bach: The "Iraqi national maritime patrol force" includes both the Iraqi Riverine Patrol Directorate (IRPD) and the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force (ICDF).
There are currently 459 personnel in the IRPD and the current holdings are as follows: Six Boston Whalers used for port security; six Searider Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) used for riverine patrol and port security; four Dorys used for training and port security; two ballistic RIBs with a further two due mid-Aug and the final two due four to six weeks later.
There are currently 265 personnel in the ICDF with a further 125 undergoing basic training. The IDCF is currently operating five 27m Predator class Patrol Boats each with a crew of 12. It also has five 22ft Arctic RIBs and this will increase to 10 in September. These will be used for boarding operations.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the arrangements for co-operation between the Iraqi national maritime patrol force and coalition forces for the protection of offshore Iraqi oil installations. [HL3893]
Lord Bach: It is assumed that the reference to the "Iraqi national maritime patrol force" is to the Iraqi Riverine Patrol Directorate and the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force (ICDF).
The ICDF does not yet have a capability to protect its oil installations at sea. It is currently being trained by coalition forces through the Coalition Maritime Assistance Training Team (CMATT) and will take responsibility for oil installation security when it is in a position to do so. Coalition forces currently have full responsibility for security of the oil installations and the firm arrangements for co-operation with the ICDF are being exercised through the CMATT.
Iraq: Martial Law and UK Armed Forces
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether members of the United Kingdom Armed Forces in Iraq may be called on to co-operate in the enforcement of martial law; and, if so, under whose rules of engagement would such forces operate. [HL3894]
Lord Bach: The Iraqi Interim Government does possess the authority to declare martial law. Should United Kingdom forces undertake law enforcement activity in support of such a declaration they would do so under the UK's extant Rules of Engagement at the time.
Gulf War 1990–91: Illnesses
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many war pensions are currently paid for still physically unexplained illnesses which are accepted as being related to service in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. [HL3923]
Lord Bach: The information requested is not held. The war pension scheme provides no fault compensation for any illness or injury which is the result of any service in the Armed Forces regardless of theatre. Awards paid do not relate to particular diagnostic categories but reflect the assessed level of service related disablement.
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many war pensions are in payment to members of the control group, made up of service men and women against whom the health of a group of Gulf War veterans of identical composition has been monitored. [HL3939]
Lord Bach: The requested information relates to personal data collected for medical research. I am therefore withholding the information under exemption 11 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many war pensions are now in payment for medical conditions related to service in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. [HL3940]
Lord Bach: The information requested is not held. War pensions may be claimed at or beyond service termination and are paid for any disablement caused or made worse by an individual's service. They are not linked to a particular campaign and are not paid for specific diagnostic disorders. They reflect the assessed level of disablement due to all service related conditions. There are currently 2,690 war pensions in payment to people whose service includes the 1990–91 Gulf conflict.
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
When the peer review process in relation to a link between service in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict and motor neurone disease began; and when they expect it to conclude. [HL3941]
Lord Bach: The Government have not commissioned research specifically into the prevalence of motor neurone disease (MND) among the United Kingdom veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict.
The Government are aware of two studies in the United States suggesting that US veterans who had deployed to the Gulf in 1990–91 were nearly twice as likely as their non-deployed counterparts to develop MND. The findings were published in the peer review literature last year. The small number of cases identified and the methodological constraints mean that the findings must be considered only as preliminary. Moreover, the increased risk identified was not uniform across all deployed personnel. The research does not link MND with any specific environmental factors associated with Gulf service.
Lord Clement-Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish the letter relating to the independent public inquiry into Gulf War illnesses chaired by the Lord Lloyd of Berwick sent by a Ministry of Defence official on 14 July, as reported in the Guardian on 15 July, to members of the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board and others. [HL4029]
Lord Bach: The letter dated 14 July 2004 from the Director of the Ministry of Defence Veterans Policy Unit to researchers and review board members participating in the MoD programme of research will be placed in the Library of the House. The main purpose of the letter was to advise researchers of the Government's approach to Lord Lloyd's investigation and on the handling of research material which has yet to be published in order to maintain its scientific credibility.
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