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7 Feb 2003 : Column 460W—continued
Depleted Uranium
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effects of depleted uranium munitions on (a) UK troops and (b) the local population of the Gulf. [95916]
Dr. Moonie: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 7 November 2002, Official Report, column 466W to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn).
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what monitoring procedures have been put in place to assess depleted uranium in blood and urine. [95918]
Dr. Moonie: The Royal Society reports on "The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium Munitions" consider three levels of exposure to DU:
- Level I—exposures to personnel in a vehicle that is struck by a DU penetrator, or to personnel entering a struck vehicle immediately, typically to assist injured comrades.
Level II—exposures following combat, typically to personnel working in or on contaminated vehicles to carry out repairs.
Level III—all other exposures, for example, being downwind of an impact or fire involving DU, or brief entry into contaminated vehicles.
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All those considered to have received a Level I or Level II exposure while in theatre (according to the Royal Society definitions) will be advised to accept testing for uranium exposure. All other troops in theatre will also have the opportunity to be tested for uranium exposure if they wish.
MOD's full policy for biological monitoring for depleted uranium (DU) on current and future operations is published on MOD's internet site at: http://www. mod.uk/issues/depleted(uranium/du(biomonitoring/htm.
As part of the public consultation process on provision of a screening programme for estimating DU exposure, it was agreed that a urine test would be more appropriate than a blood test. This is also in accordance with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) guidance on personal monitoring. Their recommendations are for monitoring of urine of faeces or for monitoring the lungs by whole body counting. There is therefore no requirement for blood to be monitored.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many depleted uranium shells will be test-fired during the trials commencing on 3 February at Dundrennan Range. [95972]
Dr. Moonie: Up to 192 rounds will be fired. The exact number will be determined as the firing programme progresses.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps are being taken to monitor the environmental impact of shells testing during the week starting 3 February at Dundrennan Range; [95973]
- (2) if he will make a statement on environmental impact testing undertaken at Dundrennan Range which continues to monitor the effect of depleted uranium shells test-firing. [95974]
Dr. Moonie: These firings will be subject to the same environmental monitoring programmes that have been in place at Kirkcudbright ever since the beginning of the Depleted Uranium munitions trials announced in the House in 1979. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 March 2002, Official Report, column 313W to the hon. Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce).
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions have taken place with the Health and Safety Executive over the effects of test-firing depleted uranium shells. [95977]
Dr. Moonie: No recent discussions have taken place with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over the effects of test-firing depleted uranium (DU) shells. All firings are subject to regulation under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999, which are enforced by the HSE. The HSE needs only to be notified if a new process is used; the processes used for firing DU have not changed since the firing programme began. HSE representatives last visited Kirkcudbright range in January 2001 and confirmed they were content with the health and safety arrangements for firing DU.
Kosovo
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are serving in Kosovo. [95595]
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Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom currently has some 1,400 troops serving in Kosovo.
Means-tested Benefits
Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed services personnel and their families receive (a) income support and (b) other means-tested benefits. [96539]
Dr. Moonie: This information is not held by the Ministry of Defence since the claiming of any benefits by eligible Service personnel is a private matter for the individuals concerned. However, in the case of Income Support, I understand that the website of the Department for Work and Pensions outlines the eligibility criteria for this benefit, including the condition that applicants must work, on average, less than 16 hours a week. It seems improbable therefore that any regular Service personnel would be eligible to claim Income Support.
Merchant Shipping (Gulf)
Mr. Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names and flag states of the merchant ships chartered in support of the current military deployment in the Mediterranean and Gulf regions. [95672]
Mr. Ingram: Some 53 vessels have now been chartered for use in the Mediterranean/Gulf regions. The numbers and flag states are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 8 |
| Isle of Man | 1 |
| The Netherlands | 3 |
| Bermuda | 2 |
| Panama | 1 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Sweden | 2 |
| Spain | 3 |
| Malta | 8 |
| Egypt | 1 |
| St. Vincent | 4 |
| Liberia | 1 |
| Cayman I | 2 |
| Bahamas | 3 |
| Turkey | 3 |
| Italy | 2 |
| Cyprus | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 |
| Marshall I | 2 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Antigua | 3 |
I am withholding the information requested on the names of the merchant vessels involved, under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, due to the overriding need to maintain force protection.
RAF
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many land-based aircraft for (a) strike/attack and (b) offensive support the Royal Air Force has owned in each year from 1980–81 to 2001–02; and if he will make a statement. [95783]
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Mr. Ingram : I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Service Pay
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in what circumstances station specific pay can be withdrawn from a member of the armed forces when they are temporarily assigned to another duty station; [96316]
- (2) whether any member of the armed forces will (a) lose station specific pay and (b) receive less pay as a result of serving in the Gulf. [96317]
Dr. Moonie: The only remuneration that is affected by temporary deployments is Local Overseas Allowance (LOA), which is a non-taxable allowance paid to compensate Service personnel for the necessary extra cost of living overseas.
When personnel are temporarily deployed away from their permanent LOA earning duty station, they no longer incur the full range of additional costs associated with that station. However, it is accepted that they still have ongoing financial commitments overseas and that many have families who remain at the permanent duty station. Consequently all Service personnel continue to receive the full LOA rate for the first 17 days of their deployment. Additionally married accompanied personnel continue to receive their full LOA rate unless their accompanying spouse also leaves the permanent duty station for more than 17 days at which point an abatement of approximately 35% is applied. Single and married unaccompanied personnel lose 20% of their fall LOA rate after the first 17 days.
No Service personnel will receive less basic pay as a result of serving in the Gulf.
Territorial Army Medical Services
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Territorial Army Medical Services are being deployed; what percentage this represents; how many of these are from the field hospitals and how many are from the medical squadrons and field ambulances; what percentage this represents in each case; and if he will make a statement. [95548]
Mr. Ingram: Currently, call up notices have been issued to 202 members of the Territorial Army Medical Services, for possible deployment in support of Op. TELIC. This represents less than 7 per cent. of the Doctors, Nurses and Combat Medical Technicians within the Army Medical Services TA units.
158 personnel have been called up from field hospital units, representing less than 5 per cent. of our relevant TA strength, as well as 44 personnel from medical squadrons, which represents 7.4 per cent. of the total of TA personnel within those units. No call up notices have been issued to personnel from field ambulance units.
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