Written question asked by Gordon Prentice (Labour) on Monday, 14 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 16 November 2005. It was answered by Lord Touhig (Labour) on Monday, 21 November 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are in place to provide entertainment to service personnel in (a) Iraq, (b) Afghanistan and (c) other countries where the military serve.

Answer: Entertainment for service personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and in other countries is primarily delivered by the operational welfare package (OWP). The OWP provides a leisure and relaxation element that includes: British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) multi-television and radio; televisions, videocassette recorders, DVD players and radios; videocassettes or DVDs; live combined services' entertainment shows; newspapers, magazines, books and board games.Eligibility for the OWP is based on the length of time overseas and by personnel numbers. Operations, exercises and deployments require an expected duration of two months or more to be eligible and containing more than 20 personnel, below which it is not cost-effective to provide OWP. In addition, OWP is not provided for locations that have a developed infrastructure, where most elements are available already, or for personnel in receipt of local overseas allowance.BFBS also provides television and radio services to other countries where service personnel are stationed. These include north west Europe, Ascension, Belize, Brunei (radio only), Canada, Cyprus, and the Falkland Islands, together with Her Majesty's ships.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 439 c1558-9W;439 c1560-1W; 29400
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Armed forces Computers Entertainments Iraq Press Peacekeeping operations Radio Television Afghanistan Games British Forces Broadcasting Service
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk