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Afghanistan: Military Vehicles
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the deployment of all Mastiff and Vector vehicles to Afghanistan is on schedule to be completed by autumn 2007; and how many Mastiff and Vector vehicles are available to service personnel for training purposes prior to deployment to Afghanistan. [HL5343]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): We continue to deliver Mastiff and Vector vehicles to Afghanistan and it is anticipated that delivery of initial orders of Mastiff will indeed be completed this autumn. We expect to receive all of the initial orders of Vector by the end of the year and we will continue to deploy them to Afghanistan and the UK training fleet. The noble Lord will be aware that we are seeking to order further Mastiff vehicles, although a delivery schedule is not yet agreed. There are currently 18 Mastiff and 23 Vector vehicles in the training fleet.
Airports: Heathrow
Baroness Valentine asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many immigration officers were employed at Heathrow airport on (a) 1 January 2006, and (b) 16 October 2007; and what arrangements are in place to ensure that border control staffing levels at Heathrow are responsive to the expected numbers of passengers passing through the airport at any time. [HL5620]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): It has not proved possible to respond to the noble Baroness in the time available before Prorogation.
Airports: Passport Queues
Baroness Valentine asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to monitor queues at passport control at United Kingdom airports; and whether they will publish the most recent information. [HL5619]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): It has not proved possible to respond to the noble Baroness in the time available before Prorogation.
Armed Forces: Hospital Care
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are planning specific new detailed measures to improve the hospital care and treatment of military personnel injured in the Iraq and Afghan conflicts. [HL5590]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): Since 2001, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM), based at the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT), has been the main receiving unit for military casualties evacuated from operational theatres such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Military patients benefit from the concentration of five specialist hospitals in the Birmingham area, and receive first-class clinical care appropriate to their injuries.
Military patients have benefited enormously from the advances in medicine, including the treatment of serious wounds, over recent years. Selly Oak Hospital, part of UHBFT, is at the leading edge in the UK in the care of the most common types of injuries (such as polytrauma) that our casualties sustain. Working together, UHBFT and RCDM strive to improve on the very high standards of care already provided to military patients. A military-managed ward was created at Selly Oak at the end of 2006. Military patients are nursed together on this ward when clinically appropriate. Some 39 military nurses and healthcare assistants now work there alongside NHS civilian colleagues.
We shall carry this concept forward into the Birmingham New Hospitals project that is planned to start admitting patients in 2010. We are working closely with the NHS hospital authorities to create a military ward occupying one floor of the new hospital. The new hospital's layout offers increased opportunities for nursing military patients together on such a ward when clinically appropriate, with a nursing team that will be predominantly military. The military ward is therefore planned to offer a distinct military environment, including dedicated space for
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The UK has field hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan which provide deployed hospitalisation and associated support elements, including consultant-led emergency medicine, general, trauma and orthopaedic surgery, intensive care, medium and low dependency nursing care beds and diagnostic support (including computerised tomography), as well as relevant clinical subspecialties. Specific recent or planned measures include the introduction of novel procedures and equipment for improving protocols for haemorrhage, transfusion and resuscitation; improved methods of tracking and managing wounds and associated infections, and improving telemedicine support. These improvements have been developed in conjunction with continuing research in the UK and with allied nations.
Armed Forces: Junior Officers
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
What statistics the general staff use to ensure that sufficient group A direct entry junior officers are being commissioned. [HL5641]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): The commissioning target for direct entry type A officers is revised each year and is based on the annual requirements for junior officers articulated by the Army's corps and regiments. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is required to achieve within plus or minus 20 of this target and has generally succeeded in doing so since 2002.
Armed Forces: Manpower
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the funded strength of (a) the Royal Navy; (b) the Army; and (c) the Royal Air Force for each financial year from 1997-98 to 2007-08; and [HL5451]
What is the planned funded strength of (a) the Royal Navy; (b) the Army; and (c) the Royal Air Force for each financial year from 2008-09 to 2010-11; and [HL5452]
What is the planned trained manpower for (a) the Royal Navy; (b) the Army; and (c) the Royal Air Force for each financial year from 2008-09 to 2010-11; and [HL5453]
What is their current forecast of the numbers of (a) Ministry of Defence civilian level 1; (b) locally engaged civilians (non-operational); (c) locally engaged civilians (operational); (d) Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and (e) trading fund civilians for each financial year from 2008-09 to 2010-11. [HL5454]
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): Historical manpower statistics for each service, including the trained requirement and strength (both trained and untrained) back to 1998 are published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency and are available online at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/.
For future years, the defence budget includes provision for the full planned regular trained service manpower requirements. Our requirement for 1 April 2008 was set out in MoD Defence Plan 2007, and is shown in the table below.
Forecast levels for MoD civilian personnel on 1 April 2008 were published in the Government's expenditure plans 2007-08. These (together with a separate figure for Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) personnel) are set out below.
| 1Level 1 includes permanent and casual civilian personnel and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries but excludes Trading Funds. | |
The requirement for Armed Forces and civilian manpower beyond 2008 is kept under constant review and has not yet been set formally.
Armed Forces: Territorial Army
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is a Territorial Army unit on the Isle of Man; and, if so, how many members it has. [HL5557]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): There are no Territorial Army units on the Isle of Man.
Armed Forces: War Pensioners
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 8 October (WA 2) and the reported tracking by the Ministry of Defence of medically discharged service personnel, for the first time under its six-month pilot scheme, what health effects were tracked and why; when the scheme was
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): It is not clear to which tracking pilot the noble Lord refers. Following the MoD welfare conference in April 2007 it was agreed that there should be regular monitoring of the welfare needs of seriously injured personnel, regular and reservist, and veterans by designated service welfare staff and the Veterans Welfare Service. This would begin in service and continue to service termination and for at least two years after discharge, with an option to carry on beyond that date as required. Protocols to support seamless transition from service to civilian life setting out actions, time course and lead welfare service have been developed and agreed and the aftercare service has now been implemented. The service is being documented and will be fully evaluated.
Lord Tyler asked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the average time taken to process war pension claims from Gulf War veterans in each of the last seven years. [HL5612]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): The Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) has confirmed the average clearance times for Gulf War veterans considered under the war pension scheme over the last six years are as follows:
All average clearance times are rounded to a whole day and include both Gulf War 1 and 2 claims. Data are not available for 2000-01.
Carers
Lord Bradley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to improve the support given to (a) adult carers, and (b) child carers. [HL5728]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Government’s new deal for carers involves a number of strands which will improve the support given to all carers, including young carers.
We have committed to continuing the carers’ grant throughout the next spending review period as part of the area based grant. Since 1999, the carers’ grant has given councils over £1 billion to help them support carers.
In addition, in the report Aiming high for disabled children: better support for families, the Government set out plans for improving outcomes for disabled children supported by £340 million of new investment
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The Department of Health is currently leading on a cross-government review of the 1999 Prime Minister’s Strategy for Carers. As part of this review, we have sought the views of carers of all ages, including young carers. The revised strategy will be published in spring 2008 and will set out our vision to support carers in the short, medium and longer term.
The Government are also championing the establishment of a carers’ advice line to give carers the information they need. We are making up to £3 million a year available to support this service. In addition, we are developing an expert carers’ programme which will provide vital training for carers. We are making up to £5 million per year available to fund the programme.
Finally, we have already made £25 million available to enable councils to provide short-term cover for carers in emergencies.
Children: Missing
Lord Bradley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many children were reported missing in England in each police authority area in each of the past five years. [HL5729]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): It has not proved possible to respond to my noble friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Common Agricultural Policy: Single Farm Payment
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Jonathan Shaw MP, on 3 September (Official Report, 1785W), what were the constituent parts of the cost of administering the single payment scheme in 2005 and in 2006; and what were the information technology investment costs. [HL5499]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Total costs for the implementation of the single payment scheme involving mainly information technology investment costs from the beginning of the programme to 31 March 2006 were £122 million.
The full information in relation to costs of administering the scheme is not currently available as the analysis required to provide the breakdown into constituent parts is taking longer than expected. When the data have been collated I will reply directly to the noble Baroness and copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
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