PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS FROM PS2 THE LEADING U.K. GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMPANY
Contact:
DEFENCE
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has received representations from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or on his behalf, in connection with the location of the final assembly of the CVFs. [211433]
Mr. Ingram: No.
Aircraft Servicing
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was of servicing Harrier jets at RAF Cottesmore in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004. [210932]
Mr. Ingram: The Harrier Integrated Project Team provides logistic support to the entire Harrier Departmental Fleet at a variety of different locations. To collect the information necessary to give an accurate assessment of the value of repair and maintenance work carried out at RAF Cottesmore would be very time consuming and at disproportionate cost.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total value was of work undertaken by BAE Systems at (a) RAF Cottesmore and (b) RAF Marham in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2004. [210933]
Mr. Ingram: This information is not held in the format requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was of servicing Tornado jets at RAF Marham in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004. [210934]
Mr. Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Clothing Contracts
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the country of origin was of fabric samples tested for the cut and sew contract; and when the tests took place. [212141]
Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 20 December 2004, Official Report, column 1372W. Tests on the fabric were carried out at independent accredited test houses during November 2004 in China and in the United Kingdom. All tests confirmed that Ministry of Defence specification requirements are being met.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many garments have been delivered by the factory in China for the cut and sew contract. [212142]
Mr. Ingram: The first significant delivery under the cut and sew contract, consisting of 12,900 towels, was satisfactorily made in November 2004. Other deliveries under this contract to date have been 28 Dress Warm Weather (delivered 22 October 2004) and 3,666 Trousers Action Working Dress (delivered 29 November 2004). More recently, on 8 January deliveries of 17,769 undergarments, which meet the required specifications, were received from a Chinese sub-contractor, ahead of the contract schedule.
Cluster Munitions
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) UK-owned and (b) foreign-owned companies have manufactured cluster munitions in the UK since 1998 for use by (i) the armed forces of the United Kingdom, (ii) the armed forces of another country and (iii) others. [200293]
Mr. Ingram: No United Kingdom or foreign-owned company has manufactured air or ground launched cluster munitions in the UK for the armed forces of the UK since 1998. However, BAE Systems undertake fusing and packaging of ground launched cluster munitions to meet current MOD requirements. I am not aware of any UK company manufacturing cluster munitions for export since 1998.
European Security Research Advisory Board
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who the UK representatives will be on the European Security Research Advisory Board. [211255]
Mr. Hoon: Following its Communication “Security Research: the next steps” of 7 September 2004, the European Commission invited member states, along with a number of organisations, to nominate high-level strategists in the field of security-related research for possible membership of the European Security Research Advisory Board. The question is interpreted as relating to nominations made by Her Majesty’s Government, a