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JDAMS

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stocks his Department holds of JDAMS; and how many are available for use by forces in the Gulf. [94576]

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Mr. Ingram: Details of munitions available for deployment to the Gulf region could provide a potential adversary with information that could undermine our defence capabilities. This information is therefore withheld in accordance with Exemption 1 (Defence, Security and International Relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

MOD Building

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) rooms and (b) offices are in the main Ministry of Defence building. [95016]

Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence Main Building in Whitehall is currently undergoing a major redevelopment to convert it from cellular office space to an open plan environment. The design incorporates a number of conference, meeting and study rooms on each floor, approximately 320 in total, but there will be only nine offices occupied by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, Ministers and senior officers and officials.

Naval Ships (Gulf)

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provisions he has made for the air defence of naval ships in the event of hostilities in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement. [95135]

Mr. Ingram: In the Gulf, force protection, including air defence, is already provided jointly across coalition forces. Royal Navy ships have the necessary equipment to ensure that they are able to achieve a high degree of integration with coalition assets. Force protection is an issue that is well practised and understood. In addition, the Naval Task Group includes an escort force matched to the size of the Task Group. That escort force is able to provide air, surface and underwater protection. Merlin and Sea Kings with their early warning systems are also available.

QinetiQ

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the on-site security arrangements put in place to ensure continued physical protection of research sites divided between QinetiQ and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratories. [93889]

Dr. Moonie: QinetiQ, is a commercial company and is required to comply with Cabinet Office and commercial regulations set for companies involved in carrying out sensitive defence work. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), as a Ministry of Defence Agency continues to be mandated by MOD security standards. The MOD is satisfied that appropriate, and robust security arrangements have been established at both QinetiQ and DSTL sites.

Radio Equipment

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what personal portable radio equipment, other than Clansmen, is issued to troops deploying to the Gulf; and if he will make a statement. [95136]

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Mr. Ingram: Personal Role Radios have been issued to troops, primarily in infantry units, deploying to the Gulf.

RAF Buchan

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the arrangements for the drawdown of RAF Buchan. [94915]

Mr. Ingram: As the hon. Member will be aware, an Options Study has been completed to determine the most operationally efficient manning levels at RAF Buchan. A decision on the way forward will be made shortly and I will write to the hon. Member with details of arrangements to be put in place for the drawdown of RAF Buchan.

Territorial Army

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Territorial Army soldiers who have not signed for service under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 are liable for mobilisation. [95093]

Dr. Moonie: All members of the Territorial Army may be called out when a call-out order made under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 is in force. However, it is Ministry of Defence policy that members of the Territorial Army whose reserve liabilities predate the Reserve Forces Act 1996 are only called out if they had a liability under a corresponding power in the Reserve Forces Act 1980 unless they voluntarily elected to assume the liabilities of the 1996 Act.

Five call-out orders are currently in force. Of these, three were made under Section 54 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 and two were made under Section 56 of that Act. The corresponding power to Section 54 was Section of the 11 Reserve Forces Act 1980. The majority of members of the Territorial Army had a liability under that section and are therefore liable to be called out. However, there is no call-out power in the 1980 Act which corresponds to section 56 of the 1996 Act. Therefore reservists whose liabilities predate the Reserve Forces Act 1996 and who did not voluntarily elect to assume the liabilities under that Act are not called out under that section.

Terrorism

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how quickly he estimates the armed forces would be able to deploy, with full protective equipment, to deal with a terrorist incident involving chemical, biological or radiological materials, should they be called upon to do so by the civil departments; [95184]

(2) what plans he has to procure more equipment for dealing with a terrorist incident involving chemical, biological or radiological materials. [95183]

Mr. Ingram: I am withholding information about the capability of the Armed Forces to assist in the response to a terrorist incident involving chemical, biological or radiological materials, including notice to move, response times and equipment procurement plans, in accordance with Exemption la of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I refer the hon Member to the supplementary memorandum provided

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by the Ministry of Defence on 10 April 2002 in response to a question from the Defence Select Committee during their inquiry into Defence and Security in the United Kingdom (HC 518-n Col Ev100 Q456).

Troop Deployment

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which countries British troops are stationed; and how many troops there are in each posting. [94759]

Dr. Moonie: I refer my hon. Friend to Tri-Service Publication 6 (TSP 6), "Global Location of Service Personnel", a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library. This is a quarterly publication, the latest edition is as at 1 October 2002.

Warship Repairs

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the state of repair is of (a) HMS Trafalgar and (b) HMS Nottingham; what the estimated cost of repairs is for each; when they are scheduled to be back in the operating fleet; and if he will make a statement. [95032]

Mr. Ingram: On the repair of HMS Trafalgar, I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 20 January 2003 (Official Report, column 65W) to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr Lewis). Surveys of the damage to Trafalgar have recently been completed and her combined maintenance and repair programme is expected to complete in early 2004. Trafalgar is expected to return to the Fleet in the first quarter of 2004, when she will undertake sea trials and training prior to being available for operational deployment. The estimated cost of the repair work is just over £5 million.

On HMS Nottingham, I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made on 3 December 2002, Official Report, column 70WS, and to the answer I gave on 20 January 2003 Official Report, column 64–65W, to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis). The contract for the repair of Nottingham has been placed and the work is underway at Portsmouth.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Military Force

Mr. Burnett: To ask the Solicitor General what principles she takes into account when considering whether the use of military force is permitted under international law. [94379]

The Solicitor-General: The use of military force is governed by the rules of international law. These rules then have to be considered as to how they apply to the particular circumstances of the case. There is a longstanding convention, followed by successive Governments, that neither the substance of the Law Officers' advice, nor the fact that they have been consulted on a particular matter, is normally disclosed outside Government.

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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Broadband

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with BT over the introduction of broadband in rural areas. [93128]

Mr. Timms: Ministers from the Department of Trade and Industry regularly hold meetings with the senior management team of BT to discuss relevant issues; broadband generally constitutes a major topic of discussion at these meetings.

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the local exchanges in South Devon which (a) have been enabled for broadband access and (b) remain without; what the Government's strategy is for increasing broadband facilities; and what the timetable is for delivering these services to South Devon. [95520]

Mr. Timms: The Government's UK Broadband Task Force aims to increase broadband facilities by stimulating the market to increase the roll out and take up of broadband throughout the UK, particularly in those areas never previously served by a mass market, terrestrial solution. The Task Force will also be focusing on the aggregation of public sector demand for broadband in a bid to accelerate roll out and render it more efficient.

There is no specific timetable for delivering broadband services to South Devon in particular; nor does the Government keep lists of which exchanges have and have not been upgraded to deliver ADSL in that area. A list of those exchanges in BT's demand registration scheme where a trigger level has been set can be found at www.bt.com/broadband.

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