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8 Jan 2007 : Column WA1
Written Answers
Monday 8 January 2007
Afghanistan: Ammunition
Viscount Waverley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any units of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan have run out of ammunition; if so, what the circumstances were; how long was the delay before resupply; and whether any lives were placed at risk. [HL859]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): At no time have troops on the ground run out of all ammunition types available to them. There have been occasional instances where units in remote locations might have exhausted supplies of a particular ammunition type during a specific attack or operation. In such instances, our helicopters have done an excellent job in resupplying ground forces, sometimes in very dangerous circumstances.
In the rare incidents where we could not get UK troops stocks of specific ammunition moved forward within the required operational timeframe, we have shared stocks of coalition force ammunition. It is standard practice to share equipment between ISAF nations where necessary and on occasions the UK has provided ammunition to other nations.
Afghanistan: Counter-narcotics
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How the United Kingdom has contributed to establishing counter-narcotics intelligence structures in Afghanistan. [HL902]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: We work closely with the Afghan Government and other international partners in support of counter-narcotics operations in Afghanistan.
The UK is working with the Afghan Government to establish an operations directorate in the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan that will include a department of intelligence. This department will evaluate and analyse intelligence from the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan provincial offices. It will also share intelligence with other Afghan law enforcement agencies and international partners.
Between June 2005 and December 2006, the UK has delivered basic training to 93 intelligence and investigation personnel in Kabul and five of the key provincial Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan offices—Jalalabad, Kunduz, Mazar, Herat and Helmand.
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Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have been given any indication by the Government of Afghanistan as to when the Ministry of Counter Narcotics will become operational; and how the Ministry's role will differ from that of the counter narcotics division of the Ministry of the Interior. [HL903]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics has been operational since December 2004. Under the Afghan counter narcotics drugs law, the Ministry of Counter Narcotics is responsible for co-ordinating counter narcotics activities and programmes of the Government of Afghanistan as set out in the national drug control strategy. The counter narcotics division of the Ministry of Interior has the responsibility under the counter narcotics drugs law for the implementation of the law enforcement strand of the national drug control strategy.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Who surveys, monitors and verifies the eradication of drugs in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. [HL904]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) surveys, monitors and verifies the eradication of opium poppy in Afghanistan, including Helmand province. The UK and other international partners provide financial support to UNODC to do this work.
Afghanistan: Drug Seizures
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many drug-related seizures have been made in the Helmand province of Afghanistan; and how many drug-related laboratories have been destroyed in the province since the NATO operation commenced. [HL901]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: There are no official figures available for the number of seizures and drugs laboratories destroyed in Helmand province. According to the United Nations Development Programme annual report on the Afghan Law and Order Trust Fund for the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, 425 drugs laboratories were destroyed and 165.5 tonnes of drugs were seized nationwide in Afghanistan.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces are authorised to provide training and operational support to Afghan counter narcotics forces. They have not been deployed to take direct action against the drugs trade.
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Afghanistan: Drug Traffickers
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend United Kingdom military forces deployed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan to target drug traffickers, as distinct from drug growers, operating in the province. [HL851]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): Under the terms of NATO's operational plan for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), ISAF forces can provide, within means and capabilities, training and operational support to Afghan counter-narcotics efforts. But they are not there to take direct action against the drugs traffickers or to eradicate opium poppies in the fields. That is a job for the Afghan Government.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many suspected drug traffickers United Kingdom forces deployed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan have detained and handed over to the Afghan authorities. [HL852]
Lord Drayson: UK Armed Forces deployed in Helmand province have not detained any drug traffickers.
The UK, as Afghanistan's partner nation on counter-narcotics remains committed to supporting the Afghan Government in implementing their national drug control strategy. The arrest and prosecution of drug traffickers is conducted by Afghan drugs law enforcement agencies, the Counter Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force and the Government of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Helmand Province
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What impact current deployments in the Helmand province of Afghanistan have had on (a) air crew training, and (b) air fleet availability in other theatres of operation. [HL742]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): We have a robust training system for air crew training which is not affected by current deployments. UK Armed Forces have sufficient aircraft to meet all current operational commitments.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How United Kingdom military forces deployed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan are structured. [HL743]
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Lord Drayson: As part of the International Security Assistance Force laydown, the UK task force in Helmand reports to Regional Command (South), which is led by Dutch Major General Van Loon. The task force is currently commanded by Brigadier Jerry Thomas, with 3 Commando Brigade providing the task force headquarters and the core of the deployment, although they are supported by numerous other ground and aviation units to deliver a tailored all-arms capability to suit the operational environment in Helmand.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements the Helmand provincial security co-ordination centre has for working with other provinces in Afghanistan. [HL818]
Lord Drayson: In each Afghan province there is a Joint Provincial Co-ordination Centre, which oversees the activities of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. Within Regional Command (South), co-ordination between provinces is conducted through the Joint Regional Co-ordination Centre (JRCC), located in Kandahar. Any liaison with provinces in other regions would be conducted by the JRCC and by the national security co-ordination system based in Kabul.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How the strategic delivery unit in the United Kingdom embassy in Kabul will co-ordinate and monitor reform and reconstruction activities in the Helmand province in Afghanistan; and what working arrangements it has with government departments involved in these activities. [HL991]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The strategic delivery unit (SDU) supports the work of our embassy in Kabul by providing a comprehensive overview and assessment of the UK's progress in implementing its strategic objectives in Afghanistan and in particular in Helmand province. It also provides advice on the implementation of the UK strategic plan for Afghanistan and for Helmand and on linkages and dependencies with the Afghanistan Compact, the Afghanistan national development strategy and the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy. Within the governance, economic and social development strands of the UK strategic plan, the SDU monitors and reports on reform and reconstruction activities in Helmand. The SDU reports regularly through the ambassador to the Cabinet Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; the Ministry of Defence and to the Department for International Development.
Afghanistan: ISAF Headquarters
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 12 December (WA 179), whether the replacement composite headquarters for the International Security Assistance Force has been validated by means of an exercise prior to deployment; and, if so, what was the nature of the exercise. [HL847]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): Key personnel in the future ISAF composite headquarters have undergone training exercises related to their deployment at the NATO Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway.
Afghanistan: Mentor and Liaison Teams
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How the roles of United Kingdom operational mentor and liaison teams partnered and deployed alongside Afghan forces differ from the roles of embedded trainers. [HL817]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): Operational mentoring and liaison teams (OMLTs) and embedded training teams play similar roles in developing the capacity of the Afghan National Army, the main difference being that embedded training teams are US-operated whereas OMLTs operate under the auspices of NATO.
Afghanistan: NATO
Lord Luke asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is any procedure whereby NATO members can be expelled or suspended from the organisation in light of their inability or unwillingness to provide troops to take part in the organisation's operation in Afghanistan. [HL881]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): There is no mechanism for expelling or suspending a NATO member. All allies contribute troops to the NATO operation in Afghanistan and at the recent Riga summit reaffirmed their commitment to the operation's success.
Afghanistan: Registered Refugees
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many registered refugees have officially returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran and other countries since 2001; how many of those have also returned to those countries periodically and have been double-counted; and what are the estimated net figures for returnees. [HL666]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) 2005 global refugee trends report published in June 2006 estimates that 4.6 million Afghans have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran and other countries since 2001. UNHCR does not estimate how many of these 4.6 million have subsequently returned to neighbouring countries and as such we are unable to provide a net figure for returnees. The UNHCR report is available on the UNHCR website at www.unhcr.org.
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Afghanistan: Taliban
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What information they have received about the activities of Taliban sympathisers in Pakistan's Pashtun-majority federally administered tribal areas; and what representations they are making to the Government of Pakistan about this threat to the safety of British troops in Afghanistan. [HL848]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Government of Pakistan have made extensive efforts, with considerable loss of life, to improve the rule of law in their border areas, and have moved substantial resources to the border regions to quell insurgent activity and prevent illegal cross-border traffic. We share Pakistan's concern about the Taliban influence in the federally administered tribal areas and continue to monitor the results of the peace deal recently negotiated with tribal elders in North Waziristan Agency.
President Musharraf reaffirmed his commitment to combating the Taliban and reducing activity across the border into Afghanistan and his support for stability in Afghanistan when he met my right honourable friend the Prime Minister on 19 November. The UK-Pakistan joint declaration confirms a commitment to co-operate more closely on Afghanistan and counter-terrorism.
Agriculture: Set-aside
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the policy purpose of set-aside under the single farm payment scheme; and whether this has changed with the introduction of single farm payments. [HL790]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Despite the introduction of the single payment scheme, set-aside was retained as a production control measure as part of the 2003 CAP reforms. The Government have already signalled our view to our EU partners that constraints on production such as set-aside should be eliminated as part of the 2008 CAP reform health check.
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are proposing to make any changes in the set-aside rules for 2007—08 and subsequent years. [HL791]
Lord Rooker: A number of minor amendments and clarifications were included in the Set-aside Handbook and Guidance for England—2007 update which was sent to all SPS applicants in November. A recently adopted EU regulatory change on set-aside penalties will also be applied under the 2007 SPS.
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Looking to 2008 and beyond, consideration is being given to achieving a better alignment between set-aside management conditions and Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition 12 (eligible land not in agricultural production). Final decisions on that initiative and any further suggestions for change will take into account Commissioner Fischer-Boel's recent comment that the future of set-aside will be considered as part of the 2008 CAP reform health check.
Armed Forces Act 2006
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What secondary legislation will be necessary to bring into full effect the Armed Forces Act 2006; which pieces of secondary legislation will be subject to the affirmative order procedure; and when they will be laid before Parliament; and [HL933]
What papers not subject to parliamentary proceedings will be necessary to bring into full effect the Armed Forces Act 2006; and when these papers will be laid before Parliament. [HL934]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): To answer the noble Lord's questions will require a lengthy and detailed response. I will therefore write to the noble Lord and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
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