§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the establishment strength of(a) Tornado GR1/4, (b) Tornado F3, (c) Harrier, (d) Jaguar, (e) Nimrod, (f) Sentry, (g) Tristar, (h) Puma, (i) Sea King and (j) Chinook; how many were (i) allocated to front-line units, (ii) fully serviceable, (iii) unserviceable 1 line, (iv) unserviceable 2 line, (v) unserviceable 3 line, (vi) unserviceable 4 line and (vii) held in reserve use on 1 October; and what percentage of the establishment strength this represents for each category. [95967]
§ Mr. SpellarI will write to the right hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the establishment strength of(a) Warrior variants, (b) Challenger 1, (c) Challenger 2, (d) Saxon variants, (e) AVF 430 variants, (f) Sabre, (g) Striker, (h) Scimitar, (i) Spartan, (j) Sultan, (k) Samaritan and (l) Samson; how many were (i) allocated to front-line units, (ii) fully operational, (iii) unserviceable-fully operational in 24 hours, (iv) unserviceable-fully operational in seven days and (v) unserviceable-fully operational in more than seven days on 1 October; and what percentage of the establishment strength this represents for each category. [95966]
§ Mr. SpellarInformation on the availability state of armoured vehicles in the form requested, specifically the numbers of vehicles held by frontline units together with the numbers that are operational, is classified. I am therefore withholding this information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Defence, Security and International Relations). Information on availability of armoured vehicles allocated to frontline Army units by percentage of establishment strength is however, unclassified. The following table shows availability in this form on 30 September 1999, the most recent date for which figures are available.
91W
Vehicle type Percentage of establishment fully operational Percentage of establishment fully operational in 24 hours Warrior variants 64 70 Challenger 1 Main Battle Tank 39 46 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank 65 70 Saxon variants 61 69 Fighting Vehicle 430 variants 62 73 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Sabre 80 83 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Striker 55 60 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Scimitar 69 74
Vehicle type Percentage of establishment fully operational Percentage of establishment fully operational in 24 hours Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Spartan 76 88 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Sultan 74 88 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Samaritan 68 73 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Samson 65 67 Notes:
- 1. AVF 430 has been taken to include all 430 variants;
- 2. All six Warrior variants have been included under the term "Warrior",
- 3. All five Saxon variants have been included under the term "Saxon",
- 4. Frontline Army units have been taken to mean those of 1(UK) Armoured Division, 3(UK) Division (under Operational Command), and Regular Units of the Reconnaissance Brigade
We do not collect availability data on the number of vehicles which are either "unserviceable-fully operational in seven days" or "unserviceable-fully operational in more than seven days" and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.