House of Commons Hansard Debates for 29 Nov 1988

Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer my hon. Friends to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett) on 9 November at column 185.

NATO (Burden-Sharing)

45. Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made about the degree of burden-sharing between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies.

49. Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made about the degree of burden-sharing between the NATO allies.

88. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made about the degree of burden-sharing as between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies.

Mr. Younger : I regularly meet with colleagues in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and have frequently emphasised the importance of equitable sharing of roles, risks and responsibilities within the Alliance.

90. Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures the Government are taking to implement burden-sharing within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Mr. Younger : At their meeting in May, NATO Defence Ministers commissioned a report on the sharing of roles, risks and responsibilities within the Alliance. The United Kingdom has participated fully in the preparation of this report, which is to be considered by the Defence Planning Committee this week.

Royal Ordnance (Explosives and Propellants)

47. Mr. Buchan : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reassess the extent to which the ability to produce sufficient supplies of explosives and propellants in the United Kingdom in time of crisis has been adversely affected by the sale of Royal Ordnance plc.

72. Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reassess the extent to which the ability to

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produce sufficient supplies of explosives and propellants in the United Kingdom in time of crisis has been adversely affected by the sale of Royal Ordnance plc.

100. Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reassess the extent to which the ability to produce sufficient supplies of explosives and propellants in the United Kingdom in time of crisis has been affected by the sale of Royal Ordnance plc.

Mr. Sainsbury : The MOD reviews annually its future requirements for explosives, propellants and ammunition. Royal Ordnance has a five-year contract to supply a large portion of those requirements which runs until 1993. Any improvements in the efficiency of the factories involved will be of benefit in time of crisis as at other times.

Air Defence

52. Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what resources the Government have allocated to the air defence of the United Kingdom since 1979.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : Figures for the annual expenditure on the air defence of the United Kingdom are given in volume 2 of the annual statement on the Defence Estimates. These show that, since 1978-79, the Government have spent a total of some £5,488 million on air defence, with expenditure in each year as follows :


          |£ million          

------------------------------

1978-79   |128                

1979-80   |145                

1980-81   |199                

1981-82   |287                

1982-83   |453                

1983-84   |579                

1984-85   |702                

1985-86   |730                

1986-87   |817                

1987-88   |717                

1988-89   |<1>731             

<1> Estimate

Nuclear Weapons

53. Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there are any contingency plans for the disposal of obsolete British- owned nuclear warheads.

62. Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are any contingency plans for the disposal of obsolete British-owned nuclear warheads.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Government's policy is to dispose of obsolete nuclear warheads in a safe and secure manner.

Central Ordnance Depot, Donnington

55. Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any intention to visit central ordnance depot, Donnington, to discuss with the trade unions future plans for the depot.

Mr. Freeman : Any plans which might affect civilian staff are subject to the Ministry of Defence's established consultative procedures which make provision for the trade unions to comment on the Department's proposals : I have no plans to visit Donnington solely to discuss any such proposals.

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Nuclear Testing

57. Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has discussed with his North Atlantic Treaty Organisation colleagues any new proposals to limit nuclear testing.

70. Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has discussed with his North Atlantic Treaty Organisation colleagues any proposals to limit nuclear testing.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : The United States and the Soviet Union are currently engaged in talks and joint verification experiments with the aim of ratifying the threshold test ban treaty and the peaceful nuclear explosions treaty. United Kingdom and NATO Ministers have been kept informed of the current state of negotiations.

Trident

59. Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current position regarding SSBN 07, Trident 3 ; and when he expects to place the order.

Mr. Younger : The invitation to tender for SSBN 07 was issued to Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. on 15 March this year. The firm's formal response to this has been delayed by the strike which took place between 8 June and 30 August. It is still planned to place the order for this submarine next year.

82. Mr. Buckley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the impact of the purchase of Trident on conventional defence spending.

Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement on the impact of the purchase of Trident on conventional defence spending.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : Even at its peak we expect that Trident will absorb less than 6 per cent. of the defence budget. By far the greatest proportion of the defence budget will be available for investment in conventional forces.

123. Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about progress on the Trident programme.

Mr. Sainsbury : I have nothing to add to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Shepherd).

Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the implementation to date of the Trident programme.

Mr. Younger : The Trident programme continues to time and budget towards its planned in-service date of the mid-1990s. I hope to announce a revised estimate for the Trident programme early in the new year as well as providing a statement on its progress for the Defence Committee and Public Accounts Committee.

Dog Training

61. Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made with his review of dog training at the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Melton Mowbray.

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Mr. Freeman : The study conducted by Peat Marwick, management consultants, has been completed but the report has not yet been presented to the Ministry. I expect to receive it very soon.

Kuwaiti Defence Minister

63. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the Kuwaiti Defence Minister ; and what matters were discussed.

Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence last met the Kuwaiti Defence Minister in a visit to Kuwait on 12 July. A wide range of subjects of mutual defence interest were discussed.

Royal Ordnance plc

65. Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what valuation was placed on the sale of intellectual property rights associated with the sale of Royal Ordnance plc ; and what was the total number of such rights transferred.

69. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what valuation was placed on the sale of intellectual property rights associated with the sale of Royal Ordnance plc ; and what was the total number of such rights transferred.

113. Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what valuation was placed on the sale of intellectual property rights associated with the sale of Royal Ordnance plc ; and what was the total number of such rights transferred.

118. Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what valuation was placed on the sale of intellectual property rights associated with the sale of Royal Ordnance plc ; and what was the total number of such rights transferred.

Mr. Sainsbury : There was no specific valuation placed on the intellectual property rights associated with the sale of Royal Ordnance plc. The sale was made on the basis of the price offered by the highest bidder for the whole enterprise, including the IPR. Such rights are not individually distinct and include sub items and overlapping rights and for that reason it is not possible to assign a meaningful number to the rights transferred.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the extent to which the ability to produce sufficient supplies of explosives and propellants in the United Kingdom in time of crisis has been affected by the sale of Royal Ordnance plc.

Mr. Sainsbury : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Buchan).

Bullying

66. Miss Widdecombe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the steps taken by the armed services, and in particular the Army, to identify bullying tendencies at an early stage and to prevent those exhibiting such tendencies from receiving promotion.

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Mr. Freeman : I have made it clear in a number of statements to the House, and the message has been put across in the Army at all levels, that bullying in the armed forces will not be tolerated in any form and that appropriate action will be taken against those against whom charges have been substantiated.

In my reply of 7 June 1988 to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) I gave a progress report on the implementation of the measures designed to stamp out bullying and to ensure that potential bullies are not put in positions of responsibility over young recruits. Among these were improvements in instructor training and in man-management training for young officers and NCOs. An improved man management training package for instructors is being implemented. The guidance on man management for officer and NCO training courses has now been revised and the pamphlet will be printed before Christmas.

In addition, we have now established the extra 102 posts designed to relieve those involved in training and supervision of some administrative tasks and we are in the process of establishing and inviting applicants for the WRVS posts.

A129 Helicopter

67. Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the part to be played by Westland in the development with Agusta of a version of the A129 helicopter for the Argentine air force ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Sainsbury : Westland has informed the Ministry of Defence that it is not involved in the joint Italian/Argentine helicopter project.

Territorial Army (Recruitment)

68. Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the costs of the current Territorial Army publicity recruiting campaign.

Mr. Freeman : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 11 November 1988 at column 321.

NATO-Warsaw Pact (Forces)

71. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will detail the broad balance of (a) conventional and (b) nuclear forces between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw pact ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : Comparisons of the conventional and nuclear forces of NATO and the Warsaw pact are published annually in the statement on the Defence Estimates. In addition, NATO has recently published an assessment of the strengths of the conventional forces in Europe belonging to the countries of NATO and the Warsaw pact. A copy of the assessment, entitled "Conventional Forces in Europe : the Facts", will be placed in the Library of the House. Current assessments of force levels show that the Warsaw pact enjoys major superiorities in key conventional weapons in Europe. Although there is broad parity at the strategic level of nuclear forces, the Warsaw pact possesses significant advantages in the shorter range nuclear categories.

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Racial Discrimination

73. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations he has carried out into whether there is any racial discrimination in the armed forces.

Mr. Freeman : The armed forces are subject to the Race Relations Act 1976 and no form of racial discrimination is tolerated. Complaints of racial discrimination brought by members of the armed forces are fully investigated under the redress of grievance procedures of the service discipline Acts.

European Programme Group

74. Dr. Twinn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will next be attending an independent European programme group meeting.

Mr. Sainsbury : European Defence Ministers agreed at their IEPG meeting in Luxembourg earlier this month that they should meet again in the middle of 1989.

NATO (Flexible Response)

75. Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy towards proposals to replace the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's strategy of flexible response by one of non-provocative defence.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : NATO's strategy is non-provocative ; Alliance forces will never be used except in response to an attack. We believe that flexible response provides the best means of maintaining deterrence and preserving peace.

Injured Personnel (Compensation)

76. Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has to change the compensation system for injured or disabled ex-service men.

Mr. Freeman : Since May 1987, when the law was changed, service men have possessed the same rights as civilians in being able to sue the Crown for damages in the courts. Those service personnel injured or disabled before last May, and who cannot sue in the courts, have access to the comprehensive system of "no-fault" benefits available under the war pensions legislation. No changes are proposed to this system.

Western European Union

77. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there have been any changes in the Government's priorities as chairman of the Western European Union.

111. Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there have been any changes in the Government's priorities as chairman of the Western European Union.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : Her Majesty's Government established four main priorities at the outset of our Presidency of the Western European Union :

--to elaborate on the commitments in the WEU platform on European security interests in order to make further practical contributions to the common defence ;

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--to use the WEU as a forum for frank discussion of key European security issues ;

--to develop the WEU as a forum for co-ordinating European approaches to out of area issues ;

--to secure a satisfactory outcome to the enlargement negotiations with Spain and Portugal.

These objectives have not changed. The last of them was achieved with signature on 14 November of a protocol for the accession of Spain and Portugal to the modified Brussels treaty.

116. Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recent developments in the Western European Union.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friends the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary and the Secretary of State for Defence jointly hosted the ministerial council meeting of the WEU in London on 14 November. The major event of this occasion was signature of a protocol for the accession of Spain and Portugal to the modified Brussels treaty. This was one of the main priorities for our Presidency, and its early achievement is gratifying.

Other business included a report on the implementation of the platform on European security agreed at The Hague in October 1987, and a report on progress made in fulfilling the mandate on arms control and defence requirements, given by Ministers at their meeting in The Hague in April 1988. The meeting also noted with approval the success of the joint mine- sweeping operation in the Gulf as a concrete example of the work that the WEU is doing in the defence co-operation field.

Tanks

80. Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning future orders for supply of tanks to Her Majesty's forces.

103. Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his plans for the replacement of the Chieftain tank.

107. Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his plans for the replacement of the Chieftain tank.

109. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the first prototype of the Challenger II to be completed ; and if he will make a statement.

110. Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the plans for the replacement of the Chieftain tank.

Mr. Sainsbury : I would refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for New Forest (Mr. McNair-Wilson).

Army Trucks

81. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the tenders submitted by Leyland DAF and Bedford to supply a new generation of trucks for the Army.

Mr. Sainsbury : Evaluation trials of vehicles to meet the Department's future requirements for 4-tonne trucks were recently completed. Vehicles were provided by AWD Ltd.

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(formerly Bedford Trucks), Leyland DAF and Volvo (GB) Ltd. Commercial proposals were received from the three companies in October and these together with the trials data are now subject to detailed examination and assessment. We expect to be in a position to announce the winner of the competition by mid-1989.

Widows (Pensions)

83. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the arangements for awarding pensions to war widows and widows of service men.

Mr. Freeman : The arrangements for awarding pensions under the armed forces pension scheme are kept under periodic review. War widows' pensions are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.

Warsaw Pact (Forces)

85. Mr. Whitney : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on recent measures the Warsaw pact has taken to modernise its nuclear and conventional forces.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : The most recent and comprehensive account of the modernisation of the Warsaw pact's conventional and nuclear forces can be found in chapter six of this year's statement on the Defence Estimates (Cm. 344-I). As the statement makes clear, there has been no let-up in the Soviet Union's military modernisation programmes, despite improvements in East-West relations.

Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on measures the Warsaw pact is taking to modernise its nuclear and conventional forces.

Mr. Yeo : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has as to measures the Warsaw pact is taking to modernise its nuclear and conventional forces.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : The most recent and comprehensive account of the modernisation of the Warsaw pact's conventional and nuclear forces can be found in chapter 6 of this year's "Statement on the Defence Estimates" (Cm. 344-I). As the statement makes clear, there has been no let up in the Soviet Union's military modernisation programmes, despite improvements in East-West relations.

United States Defence Secretary

86. Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the United States Secretary for Defence ; and what matters were discussed.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend last met the United States Secretary for Defence at the nuclear planning group on 26 and 27 October. They discussed a range of matters of mutual interest.

Saudi Arabian Defence Minister

91. Mr. Ward : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the Saudi Arabian Defence Minister ; and what matters were discussed.

Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence last met the Saudi Arabian Defence

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Minister earlier this month. A wide range of defence issues of mutual interest were discussed including project Al Yamamah which covers the supply of United Kingdom defence equipment to Saudi Arabia.

Defence Materials (Supply)

92. Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the supply of defence materials of (a) the current and (b) planned regional distribution of production of defence materials by former Royal Ordnance plants ; and if he will make a statement.

93. Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the supply of defence materials of (a) the current and (b) planned regional distribution of production of defence materials by former Royal Ordnance plants ; and if he will make a statement.

125. Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the supply of defence materials of (a) the current and (b) planned regional distribution of production of defence materials by former Royal Ordnance plants ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Younger : I refer the hon. Members to the answer that I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Renfrew, West and Inverclyde (Mr. Graham).

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