House of Commons Hansard Debates for 7 Feb 1989

Mr. Sainsbury : My Department is still considering the next step following Plymouth city council's objection to the notice of proposed development for this project.

Submarines (Irish Sea)

109. Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received regarding incidents involving fishing boats and submarines in the Irish sea ; what action he has taken as a result ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell) on 14 November 1988 at column 413.

Horseshoe Barracks, Shoeburyness

114. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has yet made a decision on the future of the Horseshoe barracks in Shoeburyness, Essex ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Neubert : Horseshoe barracks is surplus to Ministry of Defence requirements and we expect to dispose of it on

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the open market once existing facilities have been reprovided elsewhere. We are currently reviewing the boundary of the area to be released following the recent visit to Shoeburyness by the historic military buildings committee and will be consulting closely with Southend borough council when drawing up our plans for the disposal of the site.

Weapons

122. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the respective levels of (a) conventional, (b) nuclear and (c) chemical weapons between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw pact countries ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : In respect of information on conventional and nuclear force levels, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave him on 29 November 1988 at columns 226-27. The broad assessment that I gave then has not changed. No equivalent information is available on chemical weapons, but it is clear that the Soviet Union is the world's largest holder of stock of such weapons, even from the levels of stocks which the Soviet Union has acknowledged possessing, which are, however, significantly below western estimates of the total Soviet stockpile.

INF Treaty (Inspections)

125. Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the on-site inspections provided by the intermediate range nuclear forces treaty are working satisfactorily ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : To date, the system of on-site inspections provided for under the terms of the treaty on the elimination of United States and Soviet intermediate range missiles has operated satisfactorily in so far as it affects the United Kingdom. Both the United States and Soviet Governments have also expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the on-site inspections. Soviet inspectors have visited the United Kingdom three times since the treaty took effect on 1 June 1988 : on 19-22 July 1988 baseline inspections were conducted at RAF Greenham common and RAF Molesworth ; on 31 October to 2 November 1988 a short-notice inspection from their annual quota was conducted at RAF Molesworth ; and on 18-20 January 1989 a close-out inspection was conducted at RAF Molesworth, together with a short-notice inspection from their annual quota at RAF Greenham common.

Disaster Relief

137. Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will outline the role of the services in disaster relief over the past year.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : There have been a number of instances in the past year, both at home and abroad, where the armed forces provided emergency assistance to the civil authorities in disaster relief. In the United Kingdom, very extensive assistance was provided in the aftermath of the tragic air crash at Lockerbie in December 1988, and help was also provided following the air crash at Kegworth in January 1989.

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In addition, RAF fixed and rotary-wing aircraft and Royal Navy ships and rotary-wing aircraft assisted in many rescue and recovery operations, including the Piper Alpha and Ocean Odyssey oil rig disasters.

Abroad, the Royal Navy were first on the scene to provide effective relief in the wake of hurricane Gilbert in Jamaica in September. The RAF flew in much needed supplies, and the Army spent three weeks on the island carrying out repairs to buildings and services. After the severe earthquake in Nepal in August, the British military hospital at Dharan treated over 700 Nepalese casualties, carrying out over 300 operations ; additional medical personnel and medical supplies were also flown in.

Following the damage which Cyclone Uma caused to roads and bridges in Vanuatu in 1987, a team of Royal Engineers has been carrying out a reconstruction programme.

Most recently, after the earthquake in Armenia in December, the Ministry of Defence supplied over 70,000 ration packs as part of Her Majesty's Government's £5 million relief package. Medical supplies were provided to the Red Cross, and the Army provided specialised microphones to detect people under the wreckage.

Sports

139. Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the allocation of resources for sports activities as between officers and men.

Mr. Neubert : Resources for sports activities are allocated for the use of all service personnel regardless of rank.

Defence Products (Sales)

140. Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what special steps he plans to take to promote sales of British defence products.

Mr. Sainsbury : The British defence industry has an excellent record of export achievement. We shall do everything possible within the necessary constraints of our national policies to ensure that this success continues.

YTS

145. Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel currently serving in the Royal Air Force joined through the YTS.

Mr. Neubert : As at 1 January 1989, 1,564 serving personnel (960 airmen and 604 airwomen) had been accepted for regular service with the Royal Air Force following training under the armed services youth training scheme.

Anti-ballistic Missiles

146. Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the outcome of his Department's study of anti- ballistic missile defence systems.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 26 January 1989 at column 754.

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Glengarry Forest (Transmitter)

147. Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when it is expected that the trial extremely low frequency transmitter station at Glengarry forest will be commissioned.

Mr. Sainsbury : It is anticipated that, subject to local planning permission, the construction of the Glengarry experimental extremely low frequency transmitter should take place in 1991 and 1992, but test transmissions are unlikely to start until the following year.

Atomic Weapons Testing (Compensation)

148. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the compensation claims of the nuclear test veterans ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Sainsbury : The judgment by the House of Lords last year in the case of Mr. Melvyn Pearce made it possible for those who, like him, participated in the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons test programme in the Pacific, to pursue claims in the courts for damages. The Government cannot accept that the Crown is legally liable for the ill-health suffered by Mr. Pearce and others like him allegedly arising from their participation in the test programme, and proposes to contest the claims. Solicitors acting for both sides in the case of Mr. Pearce are currently discussing the disclosure of relevant documents for the purposes of litigation.

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105. Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had about compensating those affected by British atomic weapons testing in Australia.

Mr. Sainsbury : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Springburn (Mr. Martin).

Helicopters

149. Mr. Duffy : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on long-term helicopter procurement policy.

Mr. Sainsbury : Procurement policy for helicopters, as for other equipment, is aimed at meeting defence requirements in the most cost- effective way. The strategy adopted in individual cases will be determined against the criteria set out in Open Government, document 83/01, "Value for Money in Defence Procurement", a copy of which is in the Library.

RAF Molesworth

Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future use of Royal Air Force Molesworth.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Haynes) on 3 February 1989 at column 444.

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