To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the mission in Helmand province was originally expected to end; and what the most recent estimate is of what that date will be. (144778)

The current deployment of UK troops in the South of Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is planned until 2009, although we have always made it clear that our commitment to Afghanistan is a long-term one. The size and duration of the UK presence in Helmand will depend on a number of factors including the ability of Afghan security forces to take greater responsibility for the security of their own country.