§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which British embassies and high commissions have a military attaché; what are their ranks; what staff they have; and what is the cost of the military department in those embassies and High Commissions. [39940]
§ Dr. ReidThe following British Embassies and High Commissions have a resident military attache: Abu Dhabi, Accra, Amman, Ankara, Athens, Bangkok, Beirut, Belgrade, Berne, Bogota, Bonn, Brasilia, Bratislava, Bridgetown, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Canberra, Caracas, Colombo, Copenhagen, Damascas, Dhaka, Doha, Dublin, Guatemala City, The Hague, Harare, Helsinki, Islamabad, Jakarta, Kampala, Kathmandu, Kiev, Kingston, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Lisbon, Madrid, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Muscat, Nairobi, New Delhi, Nicosia, Oslo, Ottawa, Paris, Peking, Prague, Pretoria, Rabat, Riga, Riyadh, Rome, Santiago, Seoul, Singapore, Sofia, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Vienna, Warsaw, Washington, Wellington, Zagreb. A further 70 countries are covered by non-residential accreditations. The military attaches are provided by the three armed services and comprises of, 1 Major-General, 2 Commodore RN, 17 Captains RN, 8 Commanders RN, 2 Lt Commanders RN, 9 Brigadiers, 33 Colonels, 17 Lt Colonels, 2 Majors, 3 Air Commodores, 12 Group Captains, 9 Wing Commanders, and 2 Squadron Leaders. They are supported by 3 Commissioned Officers, 66 Senior Service Non-Commissioned Officers, 45 Civil Servants (Personal Secretaries/Administrative Officers) and 125 Locally Engaged civilians.
The cost to the Defence Budget is £20.8m. The direct cost to the FCO budget is estimated at around £10m.
133WThe overall cost of the Military department in those Embassies and High Commissions is £30.8m.