§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy for troops engaged in(a) expeditionary and (b) peacekeeping operations to be issued with sets of enhanced body armour as part of their personal equipment. [151358]
§ Mr. IngramUnited Kingdom armed forces deploying on peace support operations already routinely receive Enhanced Combat Body Armour (ECBA). The policy for the issue of ECBA to UK servicemen and women prior to their deployment to operational theatres is under review.
§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sets of ceramic body armour have been issued by the Department in each year since 1992. [152080]
§ Mr. Hoon[pursuant to his answer, 26 January 2004, Official Report, c. 6]I need to correct that answer. Ceramic body armour (ceramic plates) has been issued since 1992 when an initial issue of 32 individual plates was made. Each soldier requires one pair of plates. Combat Body Armour or Enhanced Combat Body Armour is not usually issued as a complete set.
Instead, units request the number of components (covers, fillers and individual plates) required to make up the sets that they need. Current estimates of the issue history of ceramic plates since their introduction into service show an average of approximately 4,000 issues a year up to 1999 when nearly 23,000 were issued. Most recently in 2003 more than 80,000 individual ceramic plates were issued.