HC Deb 08 May 2001 vol 368 cc22-3W
Mr. Levitt

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what telephone helplines to assist the public are administered by his Department and its agencies. [159505]

Dr. Moonie

The Ministry of Defence administers a wide variety of telephone helplines to assist the public. Our primary public helplines for all general inquiries are the MOD public inquiry office helpline—telephone number 0870 607 4455; and the Welsh language public inquiry office helpline—telephone number 01154 821 413.

We also administer a number of helplines to provide advice to the public on specific subjects. The main helplines are:

Helpline Telephone number
The Low Flying Helpdesk 020 7218 6020
The Veterans Advice Unit 0845 602 0302
The Gulf Veterans Advice Unit 0800 169 4495
The Medical Assessment Programme Helpline 0800 169 5401
The Porton Down Volunteers Helpline 0845 603 9140
The Meteorological Office Helpline 0845 300 0300
The Defence Vetting Agency Helpline 01904 662644
The Defence Suppliers Service Helpline 0117 913 2844
The Defence Diversification Agency (DDA) Connect Helpline 0845 600 1221
Defence Estates Work Services Opportunity Bulletin Helpline 0121 311 2067

The table does not include those helplines created specifically for recruiting purposes, nor for serving military and civilian personnel and their dependants. Nor does it include helplines that may from time to time be administered by individual units or establishments to provide advice on local issues.