To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans exist to expand the MOD police.

We expect there to he a small increase in the short term. In the long term the numbers will reflect the size of the defence estate and the ability of the MOD guard service to perform some tasks which do not require police powers or the use of firearms. No final figure for the size of the force can be given at this stage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans exist to provide the proposed MOD guard service with similar training to the MOD police.

The two-week MOD guard service basic course is designed to provide the necessary skills and knowledge for their security-oriented duties; it is dissimilar from the MOD police recruit course which lasts 13 weeks based on the standard police training given to recruits to Home Department police forces.