House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for Monday 08 October 2012

Armed Forces: Germany

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate he has made of the (a) up- front and (b) long-term costs associated with the re-basing of the elements of the armed forces based in Germany; [120467]
(2) what estimate he has made of long-term savings arising from the re-basing of those elements of the armed forces based in Germany. [121041]

Mr Robathan[holding answer 11 September 2012]: I refer the right hon. Member to the Statement made by the Secretary of State for Defence, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) on 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 66WS, following which Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials continue to work on the optimum basing solution for the Army’s return from Germany and the associated costs and savings. Detailed work into the financial savings to be made from the move of personnel from Germany to the UK is still ongoing. Once the rebasing is complete the Department currently expects to make savings in the region of £79 million, £95 million and £46 million on allowances, education and medical support respectively. We would also expect the Army’s return from Germany to contribute significantly to the UK economy, since we estimate wages and other local costs of around £650 million per annum are currently spent in Germany. We expect the further work under way to refine these savings, and to determine the likely costs.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Mr Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what treatments are used to treat soldiers diagnosed as suffering from mild traumatic brain injury. [121280]

Mr Francois: The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court is the Defence Medical Services (DMS) centre of expertise for the treatment of symptoms associated with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The DMS policy for the treatment of mTBI is based on the World Health Organisation guidelines, whereby the principle of treatment is to foster natural recovery by reassurance, education, monitoring and by reinforcing an expectation of rapid recovery. Most personnel recover completely from concussion; symptoms usually begin to improve within hours and typically resolve completely within days to weeks. There is no specific drug treatment for the management of mTBI but simple analgesics (e.g. paracetamol) may be used for headache symptoms.
Following a diagnosis of mTBI, the treatment programme consists of four phases. Personnel are entered sequentially into each stage but only progress to the next phase if their symptoms remain. Upon successful completion of each phase the aim is to return the patient to work.
Phase one is primarily education about the effects of mTBI and coping measures that personnel are advised to use.
Phase two lasts for approximately three months and is conducted with an element of face-to-face therapy at the DMRC but is mainly co-ordinated via web and phone-based therapy. The emphasis is on strategy, training, education and referral to specialist services when appropriate.
Phase three is conducted entirely at the DMRC as an intensive cognitive behavioural/psychological education group. The emphasis here is on education, resilience, adjustment, pacing and relaxation. Intensive training is provided for each of these aspects with the aim of helping the patient to find effective methods to manage their symptoms.
Phase four consists of ongoing follow-up and support, and is conducted primarily via phone and web-based support. An active military research programme continues at the DMRC to investigate concussion/mTBI, including blast related injury.

Assets

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assets his Department has sold and leased back over the last 12 months; what the sale price was of each asset so sold; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of