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Libya: Armed Conflict

Answer

As of 1 June 2011 there were around 900 RAF personnel deployed overseas on Operation Ellamy. We have made use of existing overseas bases such as Cyprus and maintain a small HQ presence within NATO in Naples and Poggio as well as having a small number of liaison officers deployed to the HQs of our allies. In addition a small number of personnel are deployed to Benghazi, Libya in support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office mission there.The RAF personnel deployed in support of Operation Ellamy are a mixture of formed units and augmentees, the breakdown across the major deployed locations and the capabilities they are supporting as at 1 June 2011 is shown in the following table.

	Capability supported	Number of RAF personnel¹
Gioia Dell Colle, Italy	Typhoon Aircraft	550
	Tornado Aircraft
Trapani, Italy	Sentry Surveillance Aircraft	150
	VC10 Tanker Aircraft
Naples, Italy	Headquarters staff	<50
Poggio Renatico, Italy	Headquarters staff	50
Akrotiri, Cyprus	Nimrod Surveillance Aircraft	100
	E3-D AWACS Aircraft
	Sentry Surveillance Aircraft
	VC10 Tanker Aircraft
Total deployed on Operation Ellamy		900
¹ Rounded to the nearest 50 personnel

The precise number of personnel overseas fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits arid a range of other factors. We do not, therefore, publish actual figures for personnel deployed.As I have said before, I expect the cost of the UK's involvement in NATO operations over Libya to be modest in comparison to other operations such as Afghanistan. It is still too early to give a robust estimate of the final costs of the operation. I can, however, provide initial indications of average accommodation, allowances and fuel costs for the main deployed locations, for all three services and civilians.AccommodationThe approximate average monthly cost, assessed up to 1 June 2011, for accommodation of all UK personnel at the main locations is provided in the following table. The costs for Akrotiri accommodation are the additional costs to support Ellamy personnel over and above the normal costs of accommodation at the base.

	Approximate monthly accommodation costs (£)	Approximate daily accommodation costs (£)
Gioia Dell Colle, Italy	1,000,000	30,000
Trapani, Italy	300,000	10,000
Poggio Renatico, Italy	150,000	5,000
Naples, Italy	60,000	2,000
Akrotiri, Cyprus	42,000	1,400

AllowancesThere are two types of personal allowance paid to service personnel in Italy. Longer separation allowance (LSA) is paid on an accrual basis for military personnel separated from their families and will continue to be paid for the duration of the operation. The recorded costs of LSA for deployed personnel in Italy is around £600,000 per month or £20,000 per day.Local overseas allowance (LOA) is paid for personnel on operations before a complete welfare package has been set up as is currently the case in Poggio Renatico and Naples. The recorded costs of LOA for deployed personnel in Italy and Cyprus is around £50,000 per month or £1,700 per day.FuelAviation fuel costs average around £1.2 million per month or £43,000 per day, although the costs vary week by week.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

57703; 529 c684-5W

Session

2010-12

Subjects

Armed conflict Libya

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk