§ Lembit ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investment the Government are making in retraining members of the Russian armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [27833]
§ Mr. HoonAs at 31 December 2001, the Ministry of Defence's Russian Resettlement Project has spent £7.6 million on the retraining of 13,000 retiring and recently retired officers of the Russian armed forces. The Ministry of Defence funds resettlement courses at five cities around Russia. The range of training courses is aimed at the local job market and covers, for example, logistics, business administration, IT systems and English language.
The Russian Resettlement Project is a major success story of our defence relationship with Russia. Employment is found by 70 per cent. of graduates within four months of successfully completing the course.