The statistics for April 2001 to March 2002 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued was 13,991. The number of occasions on which firearms were discharged by police was 11.Armed response vehicles were deployed on 11,572 occasions and there were 5,776 authorised firearms officers in England and Wales.Full details are set out in the tables below:

In a written statement on 5 February 2003, Official Report, columns 11–12WS. I informed the House that the Government had agreed to a US request to upgrade the early warning radar at RAF Fylingdales as part of the US missile defence programme. Since then, we have been engaged in negotiating agreements with the US intended further to develop bilateral cooperation on aspects of the US missile defence programme. The United States Secretary of Defense and I have today signed a Framework Memorandum of Understanding on missile defence that facilitates bilateral information exchanges on missile defence matters, establishes a top-level management structure to oversee cooperative work, and prepares the way for fair opportunities to be given to UK industry to participate in the US programme. It also contains general provisions for security, personnel and other administrative matters. Further MOUs are being negotiated covering the detailed arrangements for the upgrade of the Fylingdales radar, and setting up specific UK/US technical cooperative programmes. The details of these bilateral arrangements are confidential between the respective Governments at this stage.None of these agreements commits the UK Government to the acquisition or deployment of a missile defence system. But the Framework MOU is an important step forward that will enable us to improve our understanding of the capabilities of the US system, in order to inform any future decisions on missile defence for the UK or for Europe as a whole.

The Chief Executive of the British Forces Post Office Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 2003–04:KEY TARGET 1:

The Chief Executive of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 2003–04:KEY TARGET 1:

The Chief Executive of the Defence Transport and Movements Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 2003–04:KEY TARGET 1:

The Deputy UK Permanent Representative to the European Union, Anne Lambert, attended the Council on 5 June on my behalf.The Council approved a General Agreement on the structure and tasks of a Regulation establishing a new European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). The Government supports this initiative but abstained from supporting the General Agreement on the grounds that the legal base proposed—Article 95—is inappropriate for this body.

I am pleased to announce today the publication of the report, Delivering on Gender Equality: Supporting the PSA Objective on Gender Equality 2003–06, which sets out cross-government action to tackle gender inequality and includes a set of targets which will be the basis of measuring my Department's PSA objective on gender equality.I have arranged for copies of the response document to be placed in the Library of the House.

The Industrial Research and Technology Unit's 2001–02 Annual Report and Accounts were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses today.

The Local Enterprise Development Unit's 2001–02 Annual Report and Accounts were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses today.

The Industrial Development Board's 2001–02 Annual Report and Accounts were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses today.