To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from what budget funding for the cross-service use of helicopters is taken; and if he will make a statement. (130794)

Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) was formed in 1999 with the specific purpose of providing integrated Battlefield Helicopter and Air Assault capability from all three Services. Funding for JHC is provided from the Defence budget, through Land Command.

Other helicopters operated by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force may also be called upon for cross-service support. Use by a single service remains the resource responsibility of that service alone.

The net additional cost of military operations are met from the Treasury Reserve.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which helicopters are being used by each of the services in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan; on what operations they have been deployed; and if he will make a statement. (130795)

All helicopter assets are provided by the Joint Helicopter Command, which is a tri-service organisation. The following table shows the helicopter types deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

These are used for a range of operational tasks in support of UK operations but for reasons of operational security I will not go into detail on the operations that each helicopter undertakes.