§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the cost to the defence budget of the emergency deployment to Northern Ireland in each financial year since 1991–92. [34860]
§ Mr. IngramI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2001,Official Report, column 348W, to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws).
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many forces personnel have been committed overseas in each month since January 2000; and where. [34832]
§ Mr. IngramThe numbers of UK regular forces located overseas since January 2000 are given in the table. These figures are published twice yearly in TSP6 "Global Deployment of Service Personnel", which is held in the Library of the House.
housing and finance briefings, workshops, seminars, relevant training and assistance in job-finding. The range of activities and the amount of time available to individuals to undertake them depends on the length of time spent in the regular armed forces. The most comprehensive service is available to those with at least five years `reckonable' service, although those who are medically discharged at any time after the completion of basic training are also eligible for the full service. These services are currently provided in the form of a partnership between my Department and the Coutts Consulting Group, and are known as the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). A job-finding service is offered for those who have at least three years of reckonable service. A lesser level of support is available to those who have served less than three years in the armed forces, and who are not therefore eligible for the CTP. The CTP commenced operations on 12 October 1998, and has its own dedicated website, www.ctp.org.uk.
A Veterans Advice Unit also exists and provides a single point of contact for ex-service personnel seeking advice on where to obtain expert help on individual issues.