To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have lost (a) eyes, (b) their sight and (c) one or more limbs as a result of injuries sustained in operations in Afghanistan in each month since January 2008. (293813)

The information provided in the following table summarises live UK service personnel who have an injury coded as a traumatic or surgical amputation, partial or complete, for either upper or lower limbs. This could range from the loss of part of a finger or toe up to the loss of an entire limb or limbs, between 1 January 2008 and 30 September 2009 as a result of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Those classified as “significant multiple amputees” have suffered amputations above the wrist or ankle on more than one limb.

Numbers are released in accordance with Office for National Statistics guidance, so that when small numbers of patients are concerned, these are suppressed to protect patient confidentiality. In each case, owing to the small numbers involved, it is not possible to present meaningful data on a monthly basis.

The most complete data currently available for injuries to the eye cover the period 19 July 2004 to 14 July 2008. In this four-year period, 62 casualties from Op Herrick sustained eye injuries, of which 15 lost sight in one or both eyes to a level of visual acuity less than 6/60. More recent data have yet to be validated.

In addition to the above, between 1 April 2006 and 30 June 2009, the number of UK service casualties who have been registered as severely sight impaired (SSI), i.e. effectively blind, from Op Herrick is less than five. The actual number is not released in order to avoid compromising individual patient details in circumstances where small numbers of patients are involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what fixed-wing Royal Air Force aircraft are deployed in Afghanistan. (293832)

The fixed-wing manned aircraft currently based in Afghanistan are the GR4 Tornado and the C-130 Hercules. There are eight Tornados and four Hercules based in Afghanistan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian contractors working for his Department are based in Afghanistan to provide support and maintenance for vehicles purchased as urgent operational requirements. (295180)

As at 22 October 2009, there were 13 field support representatives (civilian contractor staff) based in Afghanistan providing support and maintenance for vehicles purchased as urgent operational requirements.