§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding he has allocated to NBC training and equipment; whether he has plans to increase this funding; which regiments have specialist NBC training; what plans he has to extend that training; and if he will make a statement. [84853]
§ Mr. IngramThe information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
All armed forces personnel are given training to protect themselves in a nuclear, biological and chemical military environment, as part of their basic training. This is refreshed at regular intervals. For financial year 2002–03 the full resource cost of operating the Defence Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Centre (DNBCC) Winterborne Gunner, which is the tri-service nuclear, biological and chemical training establishment, is expected to be approximately £4 million.
The Joint Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Regiment is specifically trained to provide the UK's armed forces capability in biological weapon detection, chemical and nuclear survey and reconnaissance and personnel decontamination in a deployed military NBC environment. The cost of operating the regiment for financial year 2002–03 is planned to be approximately £24.5 million.
The level of NBC related funding and training is kept under constant review as part of the normal management process.