§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stocks of depleted uranium weapons are held in the theatre of conflict around Iraq; and under what conditions they would be used. [100278]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 3 March 2003]: We have a duty to provide our troops with the best available equipment with which to protect themselves and to succeed in conflict. Depleted Uranium (DU) tank ammunition is judged to be the most effective weapon against armour. United Kingdom forces currently deploying to the Gulf have DU munitions available as part of their armoury for potential operation.
I am withholding the information requested on stocks of DU weapons in accordance with Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
1030W
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence has 13 main archive facilities. By far, the largest is the central Records Repository that is located at Hayes in West London. The repository houses the bulk of the MOD's archived material but there are other, smaller, MOD record stores in locations around Great Britain. The following table shows these locations with staff numbers for the years 1997 to 2003 with explanatory notes. Only staff who work 'hands on' in a file store are included. The figures reflect established numbers ie they do not take into account temporary staff vacancies at any time, and they are based on permanent full-time equivalent staff. All posts are civil service unless stated in the notes. The total number of staff that were/are employed in departmental file stores in each year are shown in the last row of the table. To date 42 civil service members ofstaff have transferred to the private sector over the period.