HC Deb 08 September 2004 vol 424 cc1310-1W
Mr. Keetch

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the last three operational deployments and the length between each has been for(a) 1 Para, (b) 2 Para, (c) 3 Para and (d) 7th Armoured Brigade; and how many personnel have been medically downgraded in each. [187127]

Mr. Ingram

Details of the last three operational deployments of each of the units, and the length between each of those deployments, are shown in the following table.

in policy were produced in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals. [185097]

Mr. Caplin

The Ministry of Defence has produced the following new policy proposals and changes to policy in the periods 2002–03 and 2003–04The Strategic Defence Review: A New Chapter (2002); Delivering Security in a Changing World (Defence White Paper, 2003); and Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities (2004).

These policies have not been screened for their environmental impacts or been subject to separate environmental appraisals.

To address the requirements for policy level environmental appraisal the Department worked with Defra to trial the Integrated Policy Appraisal tool (IPA). The IPA tool has been integrated into Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and the Department is now taking forward environmental policy appraisal work in this context in order to meet policy appraisal commitments.

The MOD continues to carry out sustainability appraisal and more detailed environmental assessments as a result of the implementation of strategic policy decisions, for example, those arising from the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), published in July 2000. This work is supported by the Ministry of Defence's, Sustainability Appraisal Handbook (2003), which underpins the Department's commitment to the environmental aspects of sustainable development as expressed in the Secretary of State's Policy Statement, July 2000.