§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel(a) have committed suicide in Iraq or since returning to the UK from Iraq and (b) have been returned to the UK from Iraq early because of mental stress. [153691]
§ Mr. CaplinDuring the period 10 January 2003 to 20 December 2003 no member of British service personnel committed suicide in Iraq. Among Service personnel who have since returned to the United Kingdom from Iraq one has died and an open verdict has been recorded by a coroner. In addition six cases have been referred to a coroner for inquest and have not yet been heard.
As of 30 November 2003, the last date for which these data are currently available, 119 personnel had been medically evacuated from Iraq and received treatment for mental health conditions at the Duchess of Kent Psychiatric Hospital.
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the training received by Trooper Sarah Masters prior to deployment in Iraq. [154022]
§ Mr. IngramTrooper Sarah Masters was fully qualified and trained to meet "Call Out" criteria for mobilisation as a member of the Territorial Army.
She was mobilised through the Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre in early February 2003, before transferring to the Reinforcement Holding Unit, where she completed pre-deployment refresher training on her individual military skills and received the mandatory Theatre specific Pre-Deployment Training package.
1636WTrooper Masters, and her colleagues from the Royal Yeomanry, then spent a three week period undertaking collective training at Salisbury Plain Training Area and Chelsea Barracks, London, before deploying to Iraq, where they undertook a further 10 days of collective training alongside their Regular colleagues.
§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outcome was of the investigation into the deaths of the six Royal Military Police soldiers killed in Iraq on 24 June 2003; what documents relating to the case have so far been made public; whether he plans to make public the relevant communications log; and if he will make a statement. [154451]
§ Mr. IngramI refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 6 November 2003,Official Report, column 770. The SIB investigation is still ongoing and we cannot put a timeframe on how long the investigation might take. Once it has been completed a full report will be given to the families concerned. I will make public as many of its findings as possible, subject to operational and other security constraints. We are providing as much information to the families as we are able, consistent with the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation.
§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK representatives there are on the Iraq Survey Group; how many there have been in total since the Group was established; what the cost to date has been of UK representation; and what estimate he has made of the total cost of UK participation in the Group. [154455]
§ Mr. HoonThere are currently 55 United Kingdom representatives on the Iraq Survey Group. There have been a total of 140 UK representatives who have served in the Iraq Survey Group, 94 Service personnel and 46 civilians. The maximum number at any one time was 76 in October 2003.
The Ministry of Defence identifies the costs of Operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs that the Department would have incurred regardless of the operation taking place, such as wages and salaries, are not included. Savings on activities that have not occurred because of the operation—training exercises for example—are taken into account in arriving at the net figures.
The net additional costs incurred by UK personnel attached to the Iraq Survey Group cannot be differentiated from the total net additional cost of UK personnel deployed to the Gulf region.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average planned tour of duty is for troops serving in Iraq. [154677]
§ Mr. IngramI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 November 2003,Official Report, column 755W, to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor).
§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional nuclear biological and chemical warfare training soldiers received in the immediate build-up to Operation Telic. [154756]
1637W
§ Mr. IngramAll soldiers deploying on Operation Telic were, and remain, mandated to have completed individual training that prepares them for surviving and lighting in a nuclear, biological or chemical environment. They also received a familiarisation briefing immediately prior to deployment on Collective Protection, which focused on how to operate within such an environment.
In addition, Unit Commanders attended a Nuclear Biological and Chemical Defence Cadre, focussing on the threat and possible countermeasures, the lessons of which were then cascaded down to their soldiers.
Building on this foundation of individual training, units reinforced this preparation both before and during deployment.
§ Mrs. LiddellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the cooperation between UK forces in Iraq and the Civil Defence forces. [143741]
Mr. IngrainUnited Kingdom forces are training and mentoring the Iraqi civil defence forces including the Iraq Civil Defence Corps and the Police. To date, in the Multinational Division (South-east) area of responsibility almost all of the ICDC's personnel and approaching half of the police have been trained. In addition 20 Armoured Brigade and the Royal Military Police each have embedded personnel in the respective Iraqi organisations as part of the mentoring process.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 4 February 2004,Official Report, column 887W, on the Iraq Survey Group, how many personnel were employed in the Iraq Survey Group in June 2003, broken down by (a) nationality and (b) speciality; and what the projected figures are for the end of 2004. [154239]
§ Mr. HoonThe formation of the Iraq Survey Group was announced on 14 April 2003, and there was a period of transition while elements were being moved into place. We do not hold figures for the transition period that can be broken down by nationality or speciality, but we estimate that there were approximately 450 personnel in the Iraq Survey Group in early June. The United Kingdom contribution would have been Headquarters Staff, interviewers/interpreters and scientific and technical specialists. The current planning assumption is that Iraq Survey Group numbers will remain broadly in line with current numbers for as long as is necessary to complete the Group's task.