§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates the Government have made regarding the number of military personnel required to provide support to the civil authorities in response to a large scale(a) conventional and (b) chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attack on the UK. [103410]
§ Mr. IngramThe primary responsibility for handling the consequences of any attack in the United Kingdom lies with the emergency services. The nature of any request they might make for military assistance will be determined by the type, scale, impact and location of the attack and the availability of civil resources. It is therefore not possible to make a specific estimate of the level of military support that might be requested. Information on the contingency plans for specialist Armed Forces responses to terrorist attacks is classified and details are therefore being withheld under Exemption la of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which Department's budget the cost of(a) creation, (b) maintenance and (c) deployment of the civil contingency reaction forces will be taken. [103411]
§ Mr. IngramThe Ministry of Defence budget will bear the cost of establishing and maintaining the civil contingency reaction forces. The treatment of the costs of deployments will be determined case by case under existing arrangements in the same way as other military assistance to the civil authorities.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated cost is of(a) creating and (b) maintaining the civil contingency reaction force. [103412]
§ Mr. IngramThe annual cost of maintaining the 14 civil contingency reaction forces will be some £4.5 million. This comprises the costs of the 406 new Volunteer Reserve posts established within the parent Territorial Army Infantry battalions to support the administration and training of the civil contingency 625W reaction forces, and of the additional man-training days allocated to existing Volunteer Reserve personnel who volunteer for the CCRF role in addition to their current roles.
Start-up costs are estimated to be some £2 million in 2002–03.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many joint regional liaison officers have been created since July 2002 to act as a single point of liaison between civil authorities and the armed forces on emergency planning matters. [103407]
§ Mr. Ingram22 Joint Regional Liaison Officer posts have been established as part of the SDR New Chapter measures to enhance the Armed Forces' capability to respond to requests for assistance from local authorities and emergency services. These measures were announced in the House on 31 October 2002.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many more civil contingency reaction forces are planned. [103408]
§ Mr. IngramThe establishment of fourteen Civil Contingency Reaction Forces was announced in the House on 31 October 2002.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists are deployed in civil contingency reaction forces. [103409]
§ Mr. IngramNone of the 14 Civil Contingency Reaction Forces has yet been deployed.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals there are to commit units and assets from the regular armed forces to home defence. [103413]
§ Mr. IngramThe Ministry of Defence is responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom from military attack, including air defence. The lead responsibility for security within the UK, including the response to the activities of terrorist groups, rests with the Home Office and the police. However, where appropriate, the Ministry of Defence responds positively to requests for military assistance from civil authorities, drawing on available resources. Although fluctuations do occur, a significant number of military personnel are stationed in the UK at any one time and we are also establishing a capability in the Reserve Forces to undertake military assistance.