§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many injured servicemen have been returned from the Gulf to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on(a) medical and (b) convalescence treatment available to them. [113662]
§ Dr. MoonieBetween 14 February and 21 May, 1,241 United Kingdom Service personnel were aeromedically evacuated from the Gulf, as a result of injury (including non-battle injuries) or for other medical reasons.
Medical treatment was available to UK Service personnel through the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Ministry of Defence Hospital units within NHS Hospitals, NHS Hospitals and the Royal Hospital, Haslar. The Defence Medical Services Rehabilitation Unit, Headley Court provides convalescence treatment for UK Service personnel.
§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects that adequate supplies of Paludrine will be available for use by British forces serving in(a) Northern Iraq and (b) Basra. [109396]
§ Dr. MoonieAdequate supplies of Paludrine are available for use by United Kingdom armed forces serving in Iraq.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions have been given to military personnel on duty in Iraq to safeguard sites and collections of archaeological importance. [109932]
§ Mr. IngramThe United Kingdom is committed to the protection of cultural property during any military conflict regardless of the Campaign. UK Service personnel are provided with briefings on the significance of sites of archaeological interest and museums, and are also informed of their responsibilities when conducting operations near such sites, in accordance with additional protocols to the Geneva Convention.
§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received of civilian casualties in Iraq as a consequence of the dropping of cluster bombs; and if he will make a statement. [110261]
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors underlay the decision to give responsibility for the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to the US. [110349]
§ Mr. HoonNo such decision has been made. Operations to uncover evidence of programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction in Iraq are currently being conducted by coalition forces. Coalition forces include both United States and United Kingdom personnel, in an integrated command structure.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he is taking to(a) prevent further looting of cultural artefacts and antiquities in Iraq and (b) ensure the security of museums and other repositories of works of art and cultural value. [110599]
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§ Mr. IngramSince the liberation of Iraq, Coalition forces have been working to restore security through a number of different means including mobile patrols and vehicle checkpoints. In addition, certain key sites, which are assessed to remain at risk are currently being guarded, including the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad. However, in general the provision of static guards is not an effective means of providing a safe and secure environment.
Our approach is to re-establish local police and guard forces to undertake this task, initially trained and overseen by Coalition forces.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures were taken by Coalition forces to protect the contents of museums in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities during the recent conflict. [110603]
§ Mr. IngramThroughout the military campaign, Coalition forces have taken tremendous care to ensure that damage to museums and other sites of historic, archaeological or cultural importance has been minimised. Great care was taken to ensure that such sites were not targeted by Coalition aircraft. Ground troops were briefed on the need to be especially careful while conducting operations in the vicinity of these sites.
Some looting was reported as Iraq was being liberated, during which time Coalition forces were engaged in other high priority tasks, including war-fighting operations.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Coalition troops, broken down by country,(a) were in place on 10 April 2003 and (b) are currently in place outside Iraqi (i) museums, (ii) libraries, (iii) archives, (iv) monuments and (v) sites; and what proportion of total Coalition troops these figures represent, broken down by country. [110849]
§ Mr. IngramThe information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Whilst combat operations were under way, Coalition forces were not tasked to guard specific sites, as this would have meant that they would have presented themselves as targets, and prevented them from carrying out other high priority tasks. However, exceptions were made for key facilities, such as some hospitals.
Coalition forces are now guarding some buildings such as Ministries and also the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad. However, the preference is to conduct routine patrols that project an unpredictable presence over a wide area.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what efforts the armed forces are making to secure former Iraqi government buildings; and if he will make a statement on the discovery by journalists of Iraqi government documents. [110877]
§ Mr. IngramSince the liberation of Iraq, United Kingdom forces have been working to restore security through a number of different means including patrols, vehicle check points and static guarding. Certain sites are currently being guarded by UK forces including key government buildings and public record offices. Overall, 295W our approach is to re-establish local police and guard forces that will initially be trained and overseen by UK forces.
We are aware of reports that journalists have discovered Iraqi government documents in a building in Baghdad. However, this is an area under the control of United States forces and the decision on which buildings to guard is a matter for them.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to assess the exposure of Iraqi civilians to depleted uranium. [111281]
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his response of 12 May 2003,Official Report, column 38W, on depleted uranium, whether his Department will make (a) radio and (b) television public announcements in Iraq to alert the Iraqi people to the safety precautions needed with depleted uranium; [116214]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 12 May 2003, Official Report, column 38W, on depleted uranium, whether his Department will disseminate this information to Iraqis; [116217]
(3) what action he has taken with non-governmental organisations to develop a strategy to deal with public awareness of the localised dangers caused by depleted uranium used in munitions in Iraq. [115994]
§ Dr. MoonieI will write to my hon. Friends and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministry of Defence Hospital Units have been used for the treatment of casualties from hostilities in the Gulf. [112084]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence hospital units that have received casualties from the Gulf requiring inpatient treatment are the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham, and the MOD hospital units at Frimley Park hospital, Friarage hospital at Northallerton and the Royal hospital Haslar. The MOD hospital unit at the Derriford hospital at Plymouth has treated returned patients but on an out-patient basis only.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British military personnel are performing guarding duties at prisoner of war camps. [112080]
§ Mr. IngramUnder the terms of an agreement reached between the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia at the outset of the conflict, prisoners of war captured by UK forces were held for an initial period by UK personnel before being transferred into the custody of the US. At present, therefore, only US personnel are carrying out guarding duties for prisoners of war held in Iraq. UK personnel have full access to prisoners captured by UK forces and the UK retains primary right of jurisdiction over all prisoners transferred from UK to US forces in respect of acts committed prior to their transfer.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the sources of the knowledge assembled on the Iraqi programme of weapons of mass destruction. [113537]
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§ Mr. HoonSources of information on Iraqi programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction would include sensitive sources covered by Exemptions 1, 4 or 14 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. We will aim to release information concerning evidence of Iraqi WMD programmes when and where appropriate, as we did before the conflict began.
§ Glenda JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence has been found following the conflict that Iraq had continued to develop weapons of mass destruction programmes, in defiance of UN resolutions. [114513]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 19 May 2003]Coalition forces have identified materials which may be related to Iraqi programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction, including vehicles which appear to match descriptions of mobile biological agent production facilities in the document "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction published on 24 September 2002, and as presented to the Union Nations Security Council by the United States Secretary of State. We currently assess that these vehicles are military, are transportable systems designed for producing micro-organisms, and as such should have been declared by Iraq under United Nations Security Council resolution 1441, but were not. Our investigations continue. We expect that the gathering and collating of evidence from various sources of Iraqi programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction to be a long and complex task.
§ Glenda JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence where the sites were from which Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could have been launched in 45 minutes; and whether they have been destroyed. [114515]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 19 May 2003]We are aware of a large number of sites in Iraq which may he related to the development, storage or use of weapons of mass destruction. Investigations into these sites, their status and other potential sources of evidence concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, such as mobile facilities, are underway.
§ Glenda JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2003,Official Report, column 15, in what circumstances it would be inappropriate to publicise the identification of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. [114518]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 19 May 2003]We will aim to release information concerning evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programmes when and where appropriate, as we did before the conflict began. In some circumstances it may be inappropriate to release certain elements of such evidence, for example details of sensitive sources covered by Exemptions 1, 4 or 14 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his US counterpart about the establishment of a UK base in Iraq. [114810]
§ Mr. HoonI have regular discussions with my United States counterpart on matters relating to Iraq. As we have stated on many occasions, Coalition forces will 297W remain in Iraq only as long as necessary to help the Iraqi people to build their own political institutions and reconstruct their country.
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many arrests have been made in Iraq of suspected al-Qaeda(a) operatives and (b) sympathisers since the fall of Saddam Hussein. [116401]
§ Mr. IngramI am unaware of any evidence to suggest that persons detained by the United Kingdom Armed Forces in Iraq have taken part in al-Qaeda operations, or that they have directly assisted or supported such operations.
Whether our coalition partners have such evidence in respect of persons they have detained is a matter for them.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department is providing to members of the Territorial Army and Reserves who have lost their employment after being called up for Operation Telic; and how many such cases have been notified to his Department. [115322]
§ Dr. MoonieAll Reservists benefit from employment protection under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985. Under the Act, an employer has an obligation to reinstate a Reservist his former job following demobilisation. If this is not reasonable or practicable, the Reservist must be reinstated on the most favourable terms of service available.
The Reservists' call-out pack includes information which reservists are required to give to their employer. This sets out the employers statutory obligations under the Act. Reservists also receive information about their rights under the Act with their call-out notice. Furthermore, during the process of demobilisation, they are given further advice regarding how to apply for reinstatement.
To date, we are not aware of any Reservists who have been demobilised from Operation TELIC failing to be reinstated. Nor have there been any approaches to the Reinstatement Committees that are set up to rule on disputes between employers and returning reservists. We are aware of four Reservists who have lost their jobs while mobilised; however, in all these cases the employers are aware of their legal obligations and have given undertakings to discharge these.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel serving on Operation Telic have received(a) LOA and (b) LSSA payments. [115326]
§ Dr. MoonieThis information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Dr. PughTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether(a) the Amariyah Sera and Vaccine Plant, (b) the Al Dawrah Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Institute, (c) Project Baiji at Al Shargat and (laid before the House on 24th d) the Ibn Sia plant at Tarmizah, referred to in the document Iraqs Weapons of Mass Destruction September 2002, have been inspected subsequent to the conflict. [112479]
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§ Mr. HoonInvestigations have begun into sites in Iraq which may be connected to programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction, including those referred to in the document Iraqs Weapons of Mass Destruction published on 24 September 2002. We do not plan to give details of investigations conducted at individual sites until investigations are complete, as investigations may require more than one visit and there is a potential for evidence to be disturbed. We will aim to release information concerning evidence of Iraqi WMD programmes when and where appropriate, as we did before the conflict began.
§ Ms Bridget PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what(a) support and (b) guidance the Government has provided to the Iraq Medical Aid Organisation since that organisations first meeting on 27 April. [115348]
§ Dr. MoonieI am not aware of any Government support or guidance provided to the Iraq Medical Aid Organisation.
Tony WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when NHS staff deployed as reservists in Iraq will return to this country. [115679]
§ Dr. MoonieAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced in a written statement on 30 April 2003Official Report, columns 15–16WS, we will continue to withdraw assets and personnel from the region where possible, but we will maintain an appropriate military presence for as long as is necessary. Therefore, while some Reservists will be demobilised now, others who have a role to play in the stabilisation and rebuilding of Iraq will remain in theatre to complete a six month deployment. As at 20 May 2003 some 1,149 Reservists serving on Operation TELIC had been demobilised. Specific figures for NHS employees are not available.