§ 36. Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all support from the services sent to Mozambique to assist flood victims; and what was the income to his Department from leasing equipment and aircraft. [113725]
§ Mr. HoonThe Ministry of Defence has, at the request of the Department for International Development (DfID), provided four Puma helicopters with around 100 support personnel, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort George with an additional five helicopters to Mozambique to assist in the international flood relief efforts.
The current estimate of the MOD's additional costs, which the DfID agreed to reimburse, is around £1.15 million for the four Puma aircraft and support personnel, which includes the cost of both deployment and recovery by civilian charter and RAF transport aircraft. The deployment of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort George is estimated at £1.4 million. It would be highly misleading to refer to this as income; the DfID will merely make good the additional costs the Ministry of Defence incurs in giving assistance.