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6 Mar 2006 : Column 1190W—continued
Leaf Class Tankers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the proposed out-of-service dates are for each of the four Leaf class tankers; and what major refits are planned before those dates. [55538]
Mr. Ingram: On current plans the out of service date for RFA Brambleleaf and RFA Orangeleaf is 2009 with the remaining two tankers, RFA Oakleaf and RFA Bayleaf, leaving service in 2010. In order to keep RFA Bayleaf operational until she is withdrawn from service, minor refit work is due to be undertaken in 2008. No refit work is planned for the other three tankers.
Mental Health Services
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding his Department provides for the treatment of (a) serving personnel and (b) veterans with mental health conditions, with particular reference to (i) post-traumatic stress disorder, (ii) alcohol and drug abuse, (iii) depression, (iv) anxiety and (v) stress. [55606]
Mr. Touhig: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 February 2006, Official Report, column 1406W, to the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Jeremy Wright).
Naval Tasks
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what naval tasks formerly carried out by Royal Navy destroyers and frigates will in future be undertaken by other classes of vessel; and if he will list the class of ship which will be deployed to fulfil each of those tasks. [56585]
Mr. Ingram: Apportionment of Fleet vessels to standing tasks is decided on the basis of operational effects and capabilities required. Hence the most appropriate ships available are assigned to a given task. The Royal Navy is therefore ready, where appropriate, to deploy units other than destroyers or frigates to fulfil naval tasks traditionally fulfilled by them. An example of this is HMS current operational deployment East of Suez. On the same principle, it is perfectly possible that operations in the Caribbean will on occasion be undertaken by units other than frigates and destroyers.
Nuclear Deterrent
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about future funding for a possible new generation of the nuclear deterrent. [50184]
John Reid:
No decisions have yet been taken on any replacement for Trident. Preparatory work is being undertaken by officials on possible options for the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent, including on the costs involved. Funding issues will be addressed, as required, in the normal way once we get closer to taking decisions.
6 Mar 2006 : Column 1191W
Parliamentary Questions
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to give substantive answers to Questions (a) 48822, tabled for named day answer on 8 February 2006, and (b) 50184, tabled for named day answer on 13 February 2006, by the hon. Member for New Forest East. [56584]
Mr. Ingram: Question 48822 requires input from various sources and the correlation of data that are not easily accessible. I expect to reply to the hon. Member as soon as officials have completed the necessary work.
I replied to the hon. Member today in respect of question 50184.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's funding of remedial care for ex-Service personnel with post traumatic stress disorder and related conditions was at facilities provided by the charity Combat Stress in (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003 and (d) 2004; and if he will make a statement. [53795]
Mr. Touhig: Article 26 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983 provides that the Secretary of State for Defence may defray necessary expenses in respect of the medical, surgical or rehabilitative treatment of former member of the Armed Forces which arise from a disablement due to service, provided they are not provided for under other UK legislation. Under this discretionary power, MOD defrays the individual costs of war pensioners undergoing remedial treatment" at the Combat Stress homes for conditions related to their individual pensioned disablement and of related expenses, such as travel costs. The table shows the funding received by Combat Stress under this provision.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 2.1 |
| 2002–03 | 2.4 |
| 2003–04 | 2.6 |
| 2004–05 | 2.8 |
Source:
Ex-Services mental Welfare Society (Combat Stress")
Propellants
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost of buying propellant from overseas for UK weapons and weapons systems has been in the last three years; [55288]
(2) which countries supply the UK armed forces with propellant for weapons and weapons systems. [55289]
Mr. Ingram:
Propellant is provided as an integral part of an ammunition or weapon system and costs are not separately itemised. The source of the propellant is a commercial decision for the manufacturing company.
6 Mar 2006 : Column 1192W
QinetiQ
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies were considered for the contract to manage his Department's practice ranges before the award to QinetiQ in 2003; and for what reasons they were discounted. [50506]
Mr. Ingram: Work to identify a long-term solution to the MOD's requirement for Test and Evaluation Services identified QinetiQ as the only potential bidder with the breadth and depth of experience to deliver the full capability. As such, single source selection process was used to enable the MOD to meet the necessary deadlines for putting arrangements in place.
Rafale Aircraft
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his French counterpart has offered the UK the opportunity of purchasing the marine version of Rafale aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [55248]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 2 March 2006]: Contrary to recent reports in the press, the French Defence Minister did not offer the opportunity to purchase the marine version of the Rafale aircraft. We remain committed to progressing the development and acquisition of the Joint Strike Fighter to meet our Joint Combat Aircraft requirement.
Royal Regiment of Scotland
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps his Department has taken to promote the identity of each of the new battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland; [55896]
(2) whether he has made an estimate of the advertising expenditure his Department would require to achieve for the Royal Regiment of Scotland the same brand recognition as the Black Watch; [55895]
(3) what the advertising budget is to promote the Royal Regiment of Scotland. [55894]
Mr. Touhig: No specific steps have been taken to promote the identity of the new battalions. However recruiting to the new Regiment, and its constituent battalions, is being addressed by Headquarters Recruiting Group, with new recruiting campaigns and a programme of updating recruiting literature and logos on recruiting assets.
There has been no assessment made by the Army of the amount of advertising spend that would be required for the Royal Regiment of Scotland to achieve the same recognition as the Black Watch. The Black Watch's regimental identity has been built over 250 years, the new Royal Regiment of Scotland's identity will grow with time.
Headquarters Recruiting Group spent £50,000 in November 2005 on press advertising to promote recruiting for the Royal Regiment of Scotland. A
6 Mar 2006 : Column 1193W
further £100,000 has been spent in-year updating recruiting literature, vehicles and display equipment with new titles and regimental badges.
Standing Naval Tasks
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 1 March 2006 to Question 54014, on standing naval tasks, what Royal Navy vessels (a) are allocated and (b) are scheduled to be allocated to NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic. [56581]
Mr. Ingram: The Royal Navy assigns one destroyer or frigate to one of the two Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Groups (SNMG1 and 2), formerly known as Standing Naval Force Atlantic and Standing Naval Force Mediterranean respectively. Since early August 2004, a destroyer or frigate has been permanently assigned to SNMG2 in the Mediterranean; the intention is to maintain this commitment. There are currently no plans to assign a Royal Navy vessel to SNMG1.
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