§ 10. Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the development of and support given to groups assisting the families of those serving in the Gulf.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe services have a well-established structure which combines the work of official and voluntary organisations in the support of personnel and their families. Since deployment to the Gulf began, steps have been taken to provide increased welfare support to families and we are particularly grateful for the many offers of help we have had from groups and individual people. We have encouraged the establishment of local Gulf support groups and contact points for them have been set up in the Ministry of Defence.
§ 17. Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are his estimates of the cost of replacing equipment lost in the Gulf war to date.
§ Mr. Tom KingTo date the value of equipment lost and ammunition consumed since hositilities began is approaching £250 million. No decisions have yet been taken on the replacement of lost equipment.
133W
§ 18. Mr. ParryTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the level of civilian casualties in the Gulf war.
§ Mr. Tom KingAllied policy is to attack only military targets and facilities supporting Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. Great care is being taken to minimise the risk of injuring civilians and we greatly regret any that occur. Iraq has made various claims, but we have no way of checking them.
§ 19. Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate for the cost of the British contribution to the Gulf operation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Tom KingI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith) earlier today.
§ 21. Mr. LitherlandTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to monitor radioactive fallout following air strikes on nuclear installations in Iraq.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) on 29 January, at column504. We have no evidence of any release of radioactivity from Iraq's nuclear installations.
§ 22. Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the number of persons killed on both sides in the Gulf war.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Members for Vauxhall (Miss Hoey) and for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 18 February at column62.
§ 24. Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review his "Options for Change" proposals in the light of experiences in the Gulf conflict.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Gulf conflict does not invalidate the work done so far on "Options for Change", which reflects the need to retain the capability to react to such emergencies. However, we will ensure that lessons learnt in the Gulf are incorporated in our planning.
§ Mr. SpeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to deploy fixed-wing naval aircraft in the Gulf.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Ministry of Defence has no plans at present to deploy fixed-wing naval aircraft to the Gulf.
§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many qualified plastic surgeons are available in the middle east to deal with burns and soft tissue injuries.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonIt is not our practice to give details of support provision for the Gulf operation. Sufficient plastic surgery facilities are available in theatre to deal with burns and soft tissue injuries before medical evacuation of casualties to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the tour of duty of television correspondents currently with British troops in the Gulf has been extended;
134W(2) whether he will publish a table showing the proposed dates of rotation for television correspondents attached to allied troops in the Gulf.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Ministry of Defence has not established a fixed programme for rotation of TV correspondents attached to British units in the Gulf.