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Labour Statistics
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a breakdown of the unemployment statistics for Cunninghame, North constituency by local electoral division, or on another convenient basis.
Mr. Lang : On 8 December 1988 (the latest date for which information is available) the number of unemployed claimants in each electoral ward of the Cunninghame, North parliamentary constituency was as shown in the table below.
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Ward |Unemployed claimants
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardrossan North |315
Ardrossan South |416
Arran |240
Beith |215
Dalry |217
Fairlie, Skelmorlie and Cumbrae |197
Garnock East |192
Kilbirnie North |229
Kilbirnie South |256
Largs North |239
Largs South |124
Saltcoats East |281
Saltcoats North |306
South Beach |352
West Kilbride |198
|----
Constituency Total |3,777
This information is available in the Library.
Education Survey
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the terms of reference for the survey of parents' views on school education being carried out by the MVA consultancy ; when it is expected to report ; whether that report will be published in full ; and what is the total cost of the operation to the Scottish Office.
Mr. Rifkind : The terms of reference for the market research survey of parents' views on school education in Scotland are to carry out a survey of parents' attitudes towards, and perceptions of, school education ; and to ascertain parents' experience of, and opinions on, the education provided by the schools their children attend. The MVA consultancy is due to report in June 1989 and I envisage that the main findings would be made public.
The cost of the survey is £121,715.
Child Care Workers
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of his Department's appropriate grant aid budget has been allocated to the training of child care workers over the last five years to date.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Provision of social work services in Scotland is primarily a responsibility of local authorities. Information is not available on the level of expenditure incurred by local authorities in training child care workers.
Over the last five years the Scottish Office has paid to voluntary social work agencies in the child care sector, training grants under section 9 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 totalling approximately £0.5 million and representing some 30 per cent. of the grant scheme budget. Section 9 expenditure in 1988-89 also includes the initial instalment of a grant of £60,000 annually for three years in the first instance awarded to the university of Dundee for the setting up of a programme of training for social workers handling child abuse cases.
Caravan Sites
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of caravan sites not licensed by local authorities operated under the auspices of voluntary organisations in Scotland.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Thirty-eight sites are operated in Scotland by organisations holding certificates of exemption from the Secretary of State issued under paragraph 12 of the first schedule to the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of caravan sites licensed under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 by local authorities in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not available centrally.
Health Boards (Press Releases)
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether health boards must clear their press releases with his Department before release to the press.
Inverclyde Royal Hospital
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the average waiting times at the Inverclyde royal hospital over the past five years for (a) hip and knee operations, (b) hernia operations, (c) cataract operations, (d) ear, nose and throat operations, (e) gynaecological operations and (f) varicose veins operations.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The table sets out the information requested for patients discharged from the hospital during the calendar years listed.
¦ |c|Inverclyde Royal Hospital|c| |c|Mean Waiting Time in Days|c| Specialty or Operation |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (a) Hip and knee operations |315.2 |295.6 |296.5 |170.8 |174.0 (b) Hernia |193.7 |274.1 |221.1 |334.5 |328.3 (c) Cataract |177.5 |211.1 |228.2 |220.4 |180.3 (d) ENT |117.3 |115.5 |108.5 |92.0 |105.9 (e) Gynaecology |100.5 |71.3 |53.1 |49.4 |57.6 (f) varicose Veins |480.9 |572.0 |692.7 |918.1 |1,003.0
Consultants
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the total number of consultants employed by the National Health Service in Scotland who also undertake private work in the specialties of ear, nose and throat, orthopaedics and obstetrics and gynaecology.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is not available centrally.
Hospital Building
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the building costs estimated and actual for hospitals started since 1979.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Details of all hospital developments are not held centrally as minor capital projects are delegated to health boards and the Department only keeps records of all projects over £1 million.
The relevant information is detailed below :
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|c|Projects started since 1979|c|
£ million
|Total tender cost|Total cost<1>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde
Dunoon and District General Hospital |0.9 |1.0
Ayrshire and Arran
Biggart Hospital |1.2 |1.2
Borders
Hay Lodge, Peebles |2.3 |2.4
Borders General, Huntlyburn |23.7 |30.5
Dumfries and Galloway
Annan Hospital |1.1 |1.1
Fife
Whytemans Brae, Kirkcaldy |3.6 |5.6
West Fife District General Hospital |8.7 |10.5
Forth Valley
Bonnybridge |3.3 |3.3
Royal Scottish National Hospital |2.4 |2.5
Sauchie Hospital |1.0 |1.2
Falkirk Royal Infirmary |7.9 |8.5
Stirling Royal Infirmary |11.4 |18.1
Greater Glasgow
Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow |1.5 |1.6
Gartloch Hospital, Glasgow |2.0 |2.2
Leverndale Phase I |4.6 |4.5
Lennox Castle |2.4 |2.6
Highland
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness |17.2 |31.0
Caithness Phase II |7.3 |9.1
Lanarkshire
Kirklands Residential, Bothwell |1.1 |1.0
Kirklands Phase I |1.9 |2.4
Kirklands Phase I |1.8 |2.3
Lothian
Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh |1.6 |2.0
Hermanflat Hospital, Haddington |2.4 |2.7
Royal Victoria Hospital, Edinburgh |5.9 |7.0
Western General Phase II |7.4 |7.7
Shetland
Montfield Hospital |2.3 |2.6
Tayside
Murray Royal, Perth |0.9 |1.2
Perth Royal Infirmary,
geriatric assessment |0.9 |1.4
Royal Liff, Dundee |1.0 |1.0
<1> The total column represents the most up-to-date information available. Building
contracts lasting more than 2 years are subject to variation of price clauses; costs
therefore increase in line with inflation in the building industry.
Department of Registers
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether there has been any change in his policy with
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respect to the conversion of the department of the registers for Scotland into an agency ; and whether a date has been set for the establishment of such an agency.Mr. Rifkind : The possibility that the department of the registers of Scotland might become a next steps agency remains under consideration. No date for its establishment as an agency has therefore been fixed.
Labour Statistics
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give an estimate of the number of people in Scotland with more than one job for 1975, 1979, 1983, 1986 and 1988.
Mr. Lang : The information available from the labour force surveys is given below.
|c|Persons in employment with second jobs|c| Scotland |Thousands ------------------------------ 1979 |33 1983 |52 1986 |47 1987 |54
These estimates are based on samples of some 5-6,000 private households in Scotland and are subject to substantial sampling error.
The results of the 1988 survey are not yet available.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide figures for each parliamentary constituency giving the retrospective estimates for unemployment for the second quarter of 1979, 1983 and 1986 calculated on a comparable basis to the current unemployment claimant count.
Mr. Lang : This information is not available.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give figures on (a) the estimated or projected size of the civilian labour force in Scotland, males and females aged 16 years or above, on a quarterly basis between mid-1985 and mid-1989 and (b) the recorded size of the civilian work force in Scotland, employees in employment, self-employed, participants in Government work-related trading schemes without contracts of employment, unemployed, on a quarterly basis between mid-1985 to the most recent date for which the information is available.
Mr. Lang : Estimates and projections of the civilian labour force in Scotland are available only at mid-year. Subject to this qualification information on (a) is set out in table 1 and on (b) in table 2. Considerable uncertainty surrounds estimates of labour force and employment growth, particularly at regional level. Revised estimates of employment growth await the results of the 1987 census of employment and the 1988 labour force survey later this year.
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|c|Table 1: Estimates and projections of the Scottish civilian labour
force 1985-89<1><2>|c|
thousands
|Mid-1985|Mid-1986|Mid-1987|Mid-1988|Mid-1989
------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 years and over
Males |1,419 |1,403 |1,418 |1,436 |1,435
Females |1,015 |1,008 |1,021 |1,044 |1,049
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total |2,434 |2,411 |2,439 |2,481 |2,484
<1>The figures for 1985-1987 are estimates, and for 1988 and 1989 are
projections by Department of Employment.
<2>Estimates of the civilian labour force at the end of June each year
are produced by combining activity rate estimates and projections with
mid-year estimates and projections of the resident population of
Scotland produced by the general register office. Activity rate
estimates and projections are based on sample estimates from the annual
labour force surveys. All estimates are subject to sampling and other
errors and although estimates are given to the nearest thousand, they
are not accurate to this degree. Estimates for individual years must be
treated with extreme caution.
|c|Table 2: Scottish civilian workforce and its constituent parts June 1985 to September 1988 (unadjusted for seasonal variation)|c|
thousands
|June |September|December |March |June |September|December |March |June |September|December |March |June |September
|1985 |1985 |1985 |1986 |1986 |1986 |1986 |1987 |1987 |1987 |1987 |1988 |1988 |1988
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employees in employment<1> |1,904 |1,912 |1,897 |1,875 |1,887 |1,886 |1,874 |1,862 |1,886 |1,879 |1,877 |1,868 |1,888 |1,884
Self employed<2> |200 |201 |203 |204 |205 |202 |200 |197 |194 |196 |198 |200 |202 |203
Work-related Government
training programmes |21 |24 |21 |22 |24 |28 |27 |30 |34 |40 |37 |40 |41 |45
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Civilian workforce in employment |2,125 |2,137 |2,121 |2,100 |2,117 |2,116 |2,101 |2,089 |2,113 |2,115 |2,113 |2,108 |2,131 |2,132
Unemployed<3> |346 |356 |353 |359 |351 |363 |365 |364 |340 |333 |324 |316 |289 |285
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Civilian workforce |2,471 |2,493 |2,474 |2,459 |2,468 |2,479 |2,466 |2,453 |2,453 |2,448 |2,437 |2,424 |2,420 |2,417
<1> Recent Department of Employment quarterly estimates of employees in employment are based upon the results of the 1984 Census of Employment and include an allowance based on the
annual Labour Force Surveys to compensate for persistent undercounting in the regular quarterly sample surveys of employers. Individuals with two jobs as employees of different
employers are counted twice. These estimates are subject to revision when subsequent information from the 1987 Census of Employment becomes available l
<2> Estimates of the self-employed up to mid-1987 are based on the 1981 Census of Population and the results of the 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1987 Labour Force Surveys. The
provisional estimates from September 1987 are based on the assumption that the average rate of increase between 1981 and 1987 has continued subsequently. The Scottish sample from the
Labour Force Survey is small and results are subject to relatively large sampling errors. Estimates for recent quarters are subject to revision when information from the 1988 Labour
Force Survey becomes available later this year.
<3> The unemployment figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation and do not allow for changes in the coverage of the unemployment statistics over the period.
Water Supplies
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what action he intends to take to bring up to the standard required by the European Community the drinking water of Strathclyde regional council ; and if he will will make a statement ;
(2) what action he intends to take to bring up to the European Community standard the public water supplies which are at present above the European Community recommended limits for aluminium, manganese, iron and lead ;
(3) what action he intends to take to reduce the aluminium content in the water supplied to consumers in Gourock/Linwool, and surrounding areas of Renfrew.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Responsibility for the quality of public drinking water supplies lies with the water supply authorities, the regional and islands councils. Improvement works covering public water supplies which do not yet comply fully with the relevant EC directive (80/778/EEC) are in progress in Strathclyde region and elsewhere and programmes are reviewed regularly by the Scottish Development Department. Supply areas where the aluminium or lead standards may be exceeded are included in such programmes. The directive allows derogation for naturally occurring iron or manganese but in such cases water authorities make improvements whenever possible. Reduction of the aluminium content of supplies in the areas mentioned will be achieved by the introduction of new treatment works and refurbishment of others over the next few years. Water authorities were recently asked to provide updated programmes, with costs, of works required to bring all supplies up to EC standards.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will name the water reservoirs which supply drinking water in Scotland which at present cannot meet European Community standards ;
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(2) if he will name the water reservoirs in Scotland which supply drinking water and have received additional time to bring their water up to European Community required standards.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : All public water supply reservoirs in Scotland meet the requirements of the European Community directive (75/440/EEC) on the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water. For details of water supplies which are the subject of derogation from, or delay in, compliance with the directive (80/778/EEC) relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption, I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Gateshead, East (Ms. Quinn) on 7 February 1989, columns 555-59.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he intends to take in response to the report submitted to Strathclyde regional council water and sewerage committee on 24 January on the capital expenditure required to overcome the deficiencies regarding the aluminium parameters in accordance with the requirements of the European Community directive and the possibility of completing the necessary works within the requisite time scale of the present level of capital spending.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Development Department wrote on 31 January to all regional councils asking them to submit up-to- date programmes, with costs for individual schemes, of works to bring all supplies up to the standard required. Aluminium features prominently in these plans.
The need for improvements is taken into account in setting the capital expenditure allocations for authorities each year. On 12 December 1988 I announced a 14 per cent. increase in the planned provision for capital expenditure on water and sewerage services in 1989-90. The allocations shortly to be announced will enable faster progress to be made.
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Pupil Numbers
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total number of pupils in independent/non-maintained schools in each of the years 1979-80 to 1987-88, identifying separately those granted aid school pupils before 1984-85.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The numbers of pupils at September each year in independent and in grant aided schools are set out in the table below.
|Independent|Grant aided
------------------------------------------------
1979 |16,364 |18,931
1980 |16,044 |18,652
1981 |15,831 |18,186
1982 |15,160 |17,901
1983 |14,977 |17,850
1984 |15,396 |17,882
1985 |31,899 |1,506
1986 |32,218 |1,484
1987 |32,510 |1,470
Block grant under the Grant-Aided Secondary Schools Regulations ceased in 1985 when the schools concerned became independent.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of pupils in independent/non-maintained schools who obtained (a) six or more higher, (b) three or more higher and (c) one or more highers, and as a percentage of S4, S5, S6 in that section for each of the years 1982-83 to 1987-88 inclusive.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Information relating to the number of pupils in each stage in independent schools is not available. Readily available information relating to the number and percentage of all school leavers from independent and grant-aided schools who obtained highers is shown in the table below.
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1-2 Highers 3-4 Highers 5+ Highers
|Number |per cent.|Number |per cent.|Number |per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |600 |17 |900 |24 |1,400 |38
1983-84 |600 |18 |800 |24 |1,300 |38
1984-85 |600 |17 |800 |23 |1,400 |38
1985-86 |600 |16 |800 |22 |1,300 |37
1986-87 |600 |16 |800 |20 |1,500 |38
Departmental Offices (Public Meetings)
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what guidelines exist concerning the use of public offices owned or occupied by his Department for the purposes of political meetings ; (2) whether he authorised the meeting of Scottish Conservatives which took place at Dover house on Wednesday 8 February ; (3) whether an account for the let of the building will be submitted to the Scottish Conservative party in respect of the meeting of Scottish Conservatives held at Dover house on Wednesday 8 February ; and how much the let will cost.
Mr. Rifkind : I invited a number of Members of Parliament and Members of the European Parliament together with several others to meet my ministerial colleagues and myself on 8 February in Dover house. No departmental accommodation was made available to anyone and the question of a let does not arise.
Lurcher's Gully
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his latest inquiry into Lurcher's Gully.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The last public local inquiry into proposals to expand skiing facilities at Cairngorm, including development at Lurcher's Gully, was held in 1982. Planning permission was subsequently refused. Highland regional council has published a consultative draft of a proposed new structure plan, which contains a proposed policy on development at Lurcher's Gully, but there is no proposal for such development before my right hon. and learned Friend at present.
Employment Training
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total number of community
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programme support projects which have (a) closed down as being unsuitable for transfer to employment training, (b) been transferred to employment training, (c) will close down at the end of the project life on 31 March because of their unsuitability for employment training and the total number of places involved in each category for the most recent date for which figures are available.Mr. Lang [holding answer 7 February 1989] : The Government do not accept that former community programme projects were unsuitable for transfer to employment training. A number of community programme sponsors chose not to participate in employment training : no count was made of the number of projects and places affected. Nor was a count made of the number of former community programme projects that joined employment training or the places they offered. A count now could be made only at disproportionate cost. However, by the end of March 1989, 21 community programme projects which did not transfer to employment training and which have contracts which are not yet completed will close down. These projects currently provide 260 places.
DEFENCE
Nuclear Weapons (Transport)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list details of all accidents on roads in Scotland involving a transporter vehicle carrying (a) nuclear warheads, (b) defence nuclear materials or (c) rocket or missile delivery vehicles.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There have been no incidents during the movement of nuclear warheads or defence nuclear materials in the United Kingdom which have given rise to a radiological risk to members of the public. For security reasons, however, I cannot comment on whether
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nuclear weapons or defence nuclear materials are present in particular vehicles at particular times, and therefore I cannot comment on whether there have been any road accidents involving such vehicles. The Ministry of Defence has no record of any road accidents in Scotland involving transporter vehicles carring unarmed nuclear delivery vehicles.Low Flying
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to monitor the effects of noise from low-flying jets on expectant mothers.
Mr. Neubert : No. I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave the hon. Member for East Kilbride (Mr. Ingram) on 23 January 1989 at column 450.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to reduce the number of low-flying jets over north Yorkshire.
Aircraft Noise
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will extend the area around RAF Leeming within which residents are able to claim compensation for aircraft noise.
Mr. Neubert : Later this year when two squadrons of Tornado aircraft are operational and the level of flying is representative of the eventual total station activity, a further full noise survey will be undertaken. If the results of this show that the occupants of additional homes in the vicinity of RAF Leeming are subject to the qualifying level of noise, arrangements will be made to extend the area of entitlement to noise insulation grants.
Lockerbie Air Disaster
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the involvement of service personnel stationed at Catterick garrison in the clear-up operation in the wake of the Lockerbie air disaster.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Assistance from the Catterick garrison was provided by 29 Royal Army Medical Corps personnel from the Duchess of Kent military hospital, who deployed on 21 December 1988 and returned on 22 December, and by 70 personnel from the 1st Battalion, the Prince of Wales' Own Regiment, who deployed on 11 January to help with aircraft salvage and returned on 17 January.
NHS Endurance
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the collision on 7 February between HMS Endurance and an iceberg, and the subsequent holing of that ship.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : At 16.10 GMT on 6 February 1989 HMS Endurance struck an iceberg while manoeuvring at low speed in very confined waters near Cape Scrymgeour in Antarctica. The ship suffered damage below the waterline which was quickly contained by temporary repairs carried out by the crew. There were no
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casualties and no pollution resulted from the accident. Subsequent examination has revealed that the damage may be more serious than initially thought. The ship is currently carrying out limited operations from Hope bay and will shortly be returned to the Falkland Islands for further examination and repair.Deployment (Europe)
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average number of (a) British land forces, (b) British main battle tanks, (c) British armoured personnel carriers, (d) British anti-tank guided missile systems and (e) British tracked surface-to-air missile systems stationed on the mainland of Europe in each year since 1980.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : For numbers of land force personnel stationed on the mainland of Europe, I refer the hon. Member to page 24 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1988, Part 2" (Cm. 344-II) which details the totals of European theatre ground forces in BAOR and Berlin since 1982. The balance of strengths to 1980 can be found on page 24 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1986 Part 2" (Cmnd. 9763-I). For numbers of equipments in use on 1 January 1988, I refer the hon. Member to pages 6, 10, 14 and 16 of the NATO publication "Conventional Forces in Europe : The Facts", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. This document was first published on 25 November 1988 and comparable figures for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the effective strength of British land forces on the continent of Europe in 1987.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 January 1989 at column 130.
BAOR (Training)
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average amount of time spent by each British Army of the Rhine infantry battalion on (a) battalion level training and (b) company level training in each year since 1980.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 17 January 1989, at columns 131-32. It is not possible to provide the detailed information requested for years prior to 1987 except at disproportionate cost. Such figures are, however, unlikely to differ significantly from those for 1987.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average amount of time spent by each British Army of the Rhine armoured regiment on (a) regimental training and (b) squadron/troop training in each year since 1980.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to him on 17 January 1989, at column 132. It is not possible to provide the detailed information requested for years prior to 1987 except at disproportionate cost. Such figures however, are unlikely to differ significantly from those for 1987.
Column 53
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average number of miles travelled annually by each British Army of the Rhine vehicle during training in each year since 1979.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not possible to derive the information requested from existing records.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average amount of fuel consumed annually by each British Army of the Rhine vehicle during training in each year since 1979.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not possible to identify fuel consumed specifically during training. The figures detailing the total British Army of the Rhine fuel consumption for all types of vehicles by financial year are as follows :
Financial year |Cubic metres --------------------------------------------- 1979-80 |70,213 1980-81 |64,422 1981-82 |64,674 1982-83 |68,839 1983-84 |69,169 1984-85 |<1>75,735 1985-86 |68,400 1986-87 |66,768 1987-88 |67,720 <1> The major reinforcement exercise, Exercise Lionheart, was held during this financial year.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average amount of training ammunition used annually by (a) British Army of the Rhine infantry battalions and (b) British Army of the Rhine armoured regiments in each year since 1979.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Armoured Personnel Carriers
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 17 January to the hon. Member for Knowsley, South, Official Report, column 130, what percentage of British armoured personnel carriers stationed on the mainland of Europe in 1987 were non-troop carrying vehicles.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Around one quarter of British armoured personnel carriers stationed on the mainland of Europe in 1987 were defined as non-troop carrying.
Courts Martial
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British Army personnel were convicted by courts martial for offences of (a) absent without leave, (b) desertion, (c) assaults on superior officers, (d) possession of drugs and (e) disorderly behaviour within the last year for which figures are available.
Mr Neubert : During 1988 the following convictions from courts martial were recorded ;
|Soldiers|Officers
------------------------------------------------
Absent without leave |137 |1
Desertion |31 |0
Assaults |13 |0
Possession of Drugs |65 |0
Disorderly |3 |0
Notes: A soldier convicted at a court-martial
of more than one of the same category of
offence would only count as one conviction. In
the case of a soldier who faced court martial
on more than one occasion for the same offence
then each conviction would count. For a soldier
convicted at a court-martial of more than one
of the offences listed above, each offence
would count. "Superior Officers" are taken to
be those of superior rank to their assailant.
Warstocks
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Army meets the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation requirements for the maintenance of warstocks.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 22 December 1988 at column 371.
Firing Ranges
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual expenditure on clearing (a) the Okehampton range and (b) all Army firing ranges of ammunition after firing practice in each year since 1980.
Mr. Neubert : The clearance of ammunition from ranges is the responsibility of the units using the facilities together with the range commandant, who has overall responsibility for range safety. When necessary an explosive ordnance disposal unit will be called in to deal with specific items of live ammunition. Costs specific to range clearance are not separately recorded.
Helicopters
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) anti-tank helicopters and (b) troop-carrying helicopters are permanently assigned to 24 Infantry brigade.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not our practice to give details of the number of operational aircraft in specific units or formations.
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