HC Deb 28 February 2002 vol 380 c1461W
Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been saved by Smart Procurement since its inception in 1998; how much it is projected to save over the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [38280]

Dr. Moonie

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 December 2001,Official Report, column 72W.

1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02
Numbers Cost £K Numbers Cost £K Numbers Cost £K
Slovakia 2 75 1 120 5 154
Macedonia 3 200 1 125
Bulgaria 4 63 1 78 2 164

These deployments form part of the Outreach programme in central and eastern Europe which, in turn, is part of the wider Defence Diplomacy mission. Outreach contributes to international stability by assisting countries in the region to establish democratically accountable, cost-effective armed forces capable of contributing both to national and regional security and, increasingly, to international security through participation in peace support operations.

Not all personnel taking part in Outreach activities are captured in the annually published figures. The inclusion of personnel engaged in one-off, short duration activities would distort the overall picture.

There are Defence Attaches in the British Embassies in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Slovakia, all of whom have support staff. They are also not included.

In addition to Outreach deployments, the UK contributed some 2,000 personnel to NATO's Task Force Harvest, which was deployed to Macedonia between 23 August and 25 September 2001. The projected cost for operations in Macedonia for the Financial Year 2001–02 is £8.7 million.

Mr. Soames

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where the British Armed Forces are deployed as at 1 February. [38508]

Mr. Ingram

The latest available figures are for deployment of UK Regular Forces as at 1 January 2002.

All services Naval Service Army RAF
United Kingdom 165,206 37,948 79,874 47,384
Continental Europe 25,132 372 23,041 1,719
Cyprus 3,301 7 2,149 1,145
Gibraltar 402 229 71 102

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