§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether steps have been taken to require that troops of the occupying power in Iraq do not have sexual intercourse with Iraqi women; and if he will make a statement. [135436]
§ Mr. IngramI will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 15 September 2003,Official Report, columns 587–88W, on Iraq, if he will list those countries that now have military personnel working with UK and US forces in Iraq, broken down by (a) number and (b) type; and if he will make a statement. [139284]
§ Mr. IngramThe following coalition forces operate within the UK-led Multi-National Division (South East):
Country Units Number Italy 1 Infantry c. 2,800 1 Engineer Regiment 1 Support Battalion 1 Support and Logistics Battalion 1 Carabinieri Regiment Air Force Detachment National Command Centre Administration Detachment Czech Republic 1 Field Hospital c. 100 Military Police Company Denmark 1 Infantry Battalion c. 480 Netherlands Marine Battalion c. 1,100 Military Police Platoon Field Dressing Station Engineer Construction Company Air Force Detachment National Support Element Divisional Staff New Zealand 1 Engineer Company c. 60 Norway 1 Engineer Squadron c. 160 Portugal 1 Military Police Company c. 130 Romania 1 Infantry Battalion c. 750 1 Military Police Company National Support Element Lithuania Infantry Platoon c. 30 Total c. 4,500 The other Multi-National Division (Central South) is led by the Poles and numbers approximately 9,000. It is composed of the following forces: Poland (c. 2,500), Ukraine (c. 1,600), Spain (c. 1,200), Bulgaria (c. 480), 1247W Slovenia (c. 360), Nicaragua (c. 110), Honduras (c. 370), Dominican Republic (c. 300), Mongolia (c. 180), Romania (c. 200), Lithuania (c. 50), Latvia (c. 100), Kazakhstan (c. 30), Slovakia (c. 80), Thailand (c. 900), Hungary (c.300) and the Philippians (c. 100).
There are no multi-national forces operating in the US Area of Operations north and west of Baghdad.
The numbers are approximate as roulement and leave cause modest daily fluctuations.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requests UK authorities have received from Iraqi(a) officials and (b) civilians for assistance for Iraqi security forces to stop illegal oil smuggling along the Shatt-al-Arab waterway; what assistance has been provided; and if he will make a statement. [139680]
§ Mr. IngramI will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) fatal and (b) non-fatal attacks there have been on UK army personnel serving in Iraq since the conclusion of military conflict; and if he will make a statement. [134826]
§ Mr. IngramMany of the following figures have been compiled under operational conditions and may therefore be subject to future refinement and revision.
Decisive combat operations in Iraq ceased on 1 May 2003. Figures for the number of attacks on United Kingdom forces were not collected before 1 June 2003. Between 1 June and 17 October 2003, we assess that there were 101 deliberate attacks on coalition forces in the UK-led area of operations. Five resulted in the deaths of British personnel.
§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the findings of the inquiry into the deaths on 24 June 2003 of members of the Royal Military Police in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [135448]
§ Mr. IngramI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 September 2003,Official Report, column 748W, to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd).
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the lessons the Department has drawn from the recent Iraq conflict regarding(a) logistics, (b) equipment and (c) food provision for armed forces personnel. [136443]
§ Mr. IngramThe Ministry of Defence is currently engaged in a comprehensive exercise to capture and analyse lessons from the operations in Iraq. This includes a full assessment of our logistics (including food provision) and equipment performance. I anticipate the publication of a final report on the major findings of this process by the end of this year.
Some early indicators were identified in our "First Reflections" report published in July. For example, while overall logistics performance was a major contribution to success, a major lesson is the requirement for a robust tracking system to enable equipment and stocks to be tracked throughout 1248W the supply chain. The Department found that the performance of equipment across all three Services matched and often exceeded expectations. Although food provision was not mentioned in detail in this report, the operation confirmed the validity of our current methodology.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Iraqis have been(a) killed and (b) injured in violent incidents involving other Iraqis since first of May in the provinces of (i) Basra City and (ii) Maysan; and if he will make a statement. [136605]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 10 November 20031]: We are unable to confirm the number of incidents in which Iraqis kill or injure other Iraqis in Basra and Maysan. Violent crimes committed by Iraqis against their fellow Iraqis are a matter for investigation by the Iraqi Police. Coalition Forces continue to support the Iraqi Police during their operations and through the provision of training and equipment.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much(a) weaponry and (b) explosives have been seized by British forces in Iraq since 1 May, broken down by type. [136607]
§ Mr. IngramI will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which instruments of(a) international humanitarian law and (b) human rights law have been recognised by the Government as governing the use of force by United Kingdom military personnel in Iraq since the end of the conflict. [136924]
§ Mr. IngramI will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the(a) civilian and (b) industrial infrastructure reconstruction programmes undertaken by his Department in Iraq, including the (i) initiation date, (ii) projected completion date and (iii) units involved; and if he will make a statement. [137519]
§ Mr. IngramI will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK civilians are working for defence contractors in Iraq; for whom they are working; in which areas of Iraq they are working; what risk assessments were carried out prior to them beginning work; what protection they are receiving; and if he will make a statement. [137900]
§ Mr. IngramWe do not hold details of the numbers of United Kingdom contractors currently working in Iraq. Contractors are employed by a number of Government Departments and organisations on projects throughout Iraq. UK forces in Multi-National Division South East (MND(SE)) area of operations constantly review security arrangements for British Citizens in the area for which they are responsible, including contractors. However, it is the contractors' responsibility to assess the risks to their employees prior to deploying them to 1249W Iraq. They are provided with security information, as well as regular liaison with local commanders once in Iraq, to enable them to do so.
The measures in place to protect contractors in Iraq vary according to the threat in the location in which they are working in Iraq, and the nature of the work they are carrying out. For reasons of operational security it would be inappropriate to provide details of the precise measures in place to protect British Citizens in each location, and I am withholding that information under Exemption 1 (Defence, Security and International Relations) of Part II of the Code of Conduct.
§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on planned future force numbers in Iraq. [139374]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 18 November 2003.]: We intend to retain sufficient forces in Iraq to achieve our aims. Force levels are kept under review as the requirements of the mission evolve.
§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Order of Battle for British forces in Iraq is. [139375]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 18 November 2003]: The United Kingdom currently leads the Multi-National Division (South East). UK units within the Division are: 20 Armoured Brigade Headquarters; The Queens Royal Hussars; 1st Battalion The Light Infantry; 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets; The Royal Regiment of Wales; 26 Regiment Royal Artillery; 35 Engineer Regiment; 9/12 Lancers; 4 Composite Logistics Support Regiment; and 2 Field Hospital. In addition, there are a number of non-formed units and smaller elements, making up a total complement of around 10,200. These include the Joint Helicopter Force (Iraq), which has 23 support helicopters assigned. In addition, 2 C-130J and 1 HS-125 are based at Basrah.
§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by date of meeting the companies with which he has discussed the release of employees for reserve service in connection with Operation Telic in the last 12 months. [139614]
§ Mr. CaplinMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence regularly meets with companies to discuss a range of defence issues. No meetings have been scheduled specifically to discuss the release of reservists to support Operation Telic.
§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces have been(a) killed and (b) injured in Iraq since the end of the conflict. [139871]
§ Mr. IngramI will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will arrange for the texts of arrangements agreed by Coalition Governments in relation to custody of persons captured in the course of the war in Iraq to be placed in the Library. [139912]
§ Mr. IngramIn March 2003, the United Kingdom, US and Australian Governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the transfer of Iraqi prisoners. Copies of this memorandum were placed in the Libraries of the1250W House on Friday 14 November. The scope of the memorandum is not confined to major combat operations in Iraq, but also covers those detained subsequently by UK forces.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the performance of the United Kingdom armed forces logistical support vehicles in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [140042]
§ Mr. IngramNo special research has been commissioned or evaluated on the performance of combat support vehicles in Iraq.
The study to identify lessons from operations in Iraq includes an assessment of the effectiveness of logistic support provided to our armed forces across the Gulf region. The initial findings of this study were published in early July in the MOD report, "Operations in Iraq 2003: First Reflections", and we plan to publish a fuller report before Christmas. Generally, the combat support vehicles deployed in support of operations in Iraq have achieved acceptable levels of availability.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the numbers of UK servicemen returned to the UK with diagnosed conditions of illness since the beginning of military action in Iraq. [140201]
§ Mr. CaplinI will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British aircraft were lost during the recent conflict in Iraq. [122005]
§ Mr. IngramOne Tornado GR4 aircraft and two Sea King helicopters were lost during the coalition's military action in Iraq.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the war in Iraq has cost. [111922]
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the additional costs incurred by his Department in connection with the conduct of operations in Iraq in(a) the financial year 2002–03 and (b) the present financial year to date; and what procedure is being followed to recover these from the earmarked reserve established by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. [112090]
§ Mr. HoonThe net additional cost of operations in Iraq for 2002–03 is set out in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2002–03, which is available in the Library of the House.
Operating costs for 2002–03 are £629.531 million and expenditure on capital equipment amounts to £217.680 million. These give a total spend of £847.211 million.
Additional funding will be sought in the normal way through Supplementary Estimates. The costs likely to arise in 2003–04 will be included in the Winter Supplementary Estimate which is due to be published on 27 November.
1251W
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to improve the sharing of information between national contingents at Headquarters, Combined Joint Task Force, in Baghdad. [130334]
§ Mr. IngramSince the start of operations in Iraq we have worked closely with our partner nations to facilitate effective sharing of information including through the use of liaison officers within the Commander Joint Task Force Headquarters in Baghdad. The process undergoes continuous refinement in the light of experience.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance was given to US military forces experimenting with weapon systems in the war in Iraq. [125084]
§ Mr. HoonThe Ministry of Defence maintains many collaborative research partnerships with the United States, though none is specific to Operation Telic.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the agreements made by him to assist the US military forces in using experimental weapon systems in the war in Iraq. [125086]
§ Mr. HoonThe Ministry of Defence neither has, nor has had, any agreements in place to assist any US forces in using experimental weapons systems during Operation Telic.
§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list military operations in Iraq involving(a) British forces and (b) United States forces with Britain's agreement in each month between January 2002 and 19 March 2003; in each case, how many (i) bombs were dropped and (ii) targets there were; what the strategic significance of each target was; and what the operational success rate was. [129897]
§ Mr. IngramI will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.