§ Mr. Bruce GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision is made for troops serving with SFOR to phone the United Kingdom. [16219]
§ Dr. ReidA Welfare Telephone Allowance, currently £22 per month, is paid to troops as a contribution towards the cost of their telephone calls. A very few troops in isolated locations where it is not commercially viable to install public telephones, do not receive an allowance, but use the Military MENTOR Satellite System to telephone home.
Those troops based at Gorni-Vakuf have access to the BT Satellite Ground Terminal which has a telephone facility incorporated. The remainder make use of the service provided by Terralink Europa under a supported PFI agreement.
The Croatian PTT is also available in Split, but it is more expensive than Terralink Europa.
§ Mr. Bruce GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what allowance is paid to United Kingdom troops serving with SFOR for phone calls; and what data498W he has collated on allowances paid to troops from other nations for this purpose. [16220]
§ Dr. ReidA Welfare Telephone Allowance, currently £22 per month, is paid to troops as a contribution towards the cost of their telephones calls. A very few troops in isolated locations where it is not commercially viable to install public telephone, do not receive an allowance, but instead have access to Military MENTOR Satellite System to telephone home.
Data have not been collated on allowances paid to troops of other nations for this purpose, but pay and general allowances have been researched in the past. Because of differing Terms of Service and different economic factors between nations, it would not be meaningful to compare individual elements of the allowances package such as the telephone allowance.
§ Mr. Bruce GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the(a) average cost and (b) range of costs per minute of phone calls to the United Kingdom made by troops stationed in Multi-national Division (South West) of SFOR. [16221]
§ Dr. ReidThe average cost of a telephone call from MND SW to the United Kingdom is approximately 87p a minute.
The range of costs are as follows:
- (a) Terralink Europa—60p a minute.
- (b) British Telecom—90p per minute.
- (c) PTT (Public Telephone)—95p per minute.
§ Mr. Bruce GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average case load is of consultant-level surgeons and physicians serving with SFOR. [16226]
§ Dr. ReidI will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Bruce GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the average number of nights out of bed experienced by troops serving with SFOR. [16228]
§ Dr. ReidEvery night that an individual does not spend at his or her unit's permanent station is classified as a night out of bed. Technically, therefore, personnel serving in former Yugoslavia spend nights out of bed for the duration of their deployment.
The average number of nights which troops currently serving in former Yugoslavia have spent away from their base in that country is 1.38 per week. Such absences occur for a variety of reasons, most notably the requirement to patrol.
§ Mr. Bruce GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many chaplains are serving with United Kingdom troops in SFOR; if this represents a normal full complement; and if he will make a statement. [16391]
499W
§ Dr. ReidThere are currently eight Army chaplains serving alongside United Kingdom troops in the NATO-led stabilisation force in Bosnia. This represents a normal complement in relation to the number of major units and soldiers deployed there. In addition, Royal Air Force (RAF) chaplains make regular visits to RAF personnel thereby providing them with full pastoral support; and Royal Navy chaplains accompany ships and Royal Marine units when they are deployed in theatre.