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Contacts
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all his Department's contracts with (a) Zeus and (b) Securipol Ltd. since 1979 ; and if he will give the purpose of each contract.
Mr. Sainsbury : We have no record of any headquarters contracts having been placed with Zeus Security Consultants or Securipol Ltd. since 1979.
Pension Scheme
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he anticipates the Defence Council instruction enabling additional voluntary contributions to the Armed Forces pension scheme will be issued.
Mr. Neubert : A DCI was published on 3 February 1989 explaining the opportunities open to members of the armed forces to make additional voluntary contributions to enhance the benefits payable under the armed forces pension scheme.
Royal Air Force
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report the total number of airmen/aircrew who have applied in each of the past 10 years to leave the Royal Air Force before completion of their period of contract, indicating for each year the number of such applications which were based on exceptional circumstances ; and how many of these have been successful.
Mr. Neubert : Information about premature exits of Royal Air Force airmen and aircrew over the past 10 financial years is summarised in the following table :
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|c|Royal Air Force applications to leave and exits before completion of contract|c|
|1978-79 |1979-80 |1980-81 |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 to date
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.GD (Air) Officers:
PVR/OEP applications |314 |220 |161 |149 |148 |145 |188 |245 |281 |299 |222
PVR/OEP exits |200 |205 |172 |163 |160 |120 |160 |173 |177 |203 |227
2.Airmen:
(a) Airmen Aircrew
PVR applications See note 2(a) 10 22 44 30 48 24
PVR exits }Included with{ 13 2 10 11 19 17 32 31 17
Other exits }ground airmen{ 9 9 8 6 9 6 13 8 5
(b) Ground Airmen
PVR applications |3,132 |1,782 |1,038 |842 |1,115 |1,669 |1,752 |2,097 |2,005 |2,483 |2,404
PVR exits |1,103 |1,468 |1,114 |854 |1,069 |845 |1,405 |1,692 |1,610 |1,682 |1,835
Other exits Not available 897 313 242 636 527 562 574 581 404
Notes:
1. Officers:
(a) PVR-Premature voluntary release on giving certain preiods of notice.
(b) OEP-Optional exit points related to decisions at specified career points.
(c) Applications do not necessarily lead to exits in the same financial year (FY).
(d) Applications and exits related to exceptional circumstances are not available.
2. Airmen:
(a) Records of airmen aircrew PVR applications are not available prior to April 1983.
(b) PVR-Premature voluntary release by purchase, or to pension or by notice general right after nine years.
(c) Applications do not necessarilly lead to exits in the same financial year and more than one application may be submitted.
(d) Other exits include exits on compassionate grounds, on nine year notice engagements after three years at 18 months notice and other administrative categories
under which airmen may apply to leave the service. Numbers of other applications are not available.
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Royal Air Force airmen served in each of the following categories : (a) armament engineering, (b) mechanical engineering, (c) electrical engineering and (d) electronic engineering, in each year since 1979 ;
(2) how many Royal Air Force airmen became qualified to serve in the following branches (a) armament engineering, (b) mechanical engineering, (c) electrical engineering and (d) electronic engineering, in each year since 1979 ;
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(3) how many Royal Air Force airmen left the Royal Air Force in each of the following categories : (a) armament engineering, (b) mechanical engineering, (c) electrical engineering and (d) electronic engineering ; and how many of these failed to complete their engagement, in each year since 1979.Mr. Neubert : The numbers of ground airmen (including airwomen) in each category in each of the specified groupings of trades, in each year since 1980, are given in tables 1 to 3. The numbers for 1979 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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|c|Table 1|c|
|c|Number of trained airmen (including airwomen) at 1 January points|c|
|1 January 1980|1 January 1981|1 January 1982|1 January 1983|1 January 1984|1 January 1985|1 January 1986|1 January 1987|1 January 1988|1 January 1989
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armament engineering |2,493 |2,753 |3,004 |2,919 |3,067 |3,188 |3,249 |3,255 |3,285 |3,390
Mechanical engineering |14,346 |15,416 |16,333 |15,905 |15,370 |16,279 |16,496 |16,098 |15,880 |15,447
Electrical engineering |3,727 |3,977 |4,166 |4,147 |4,259 |4,381 |4,386 |4,420 |4,436 |4,372
Electronic engineering |9,633 |10,187 |9,498 |10,694 |10,680 |10,946 |11,212 |11,386 |11,554 |11,127
|c|Table 2|c|
|c|Number of ground airmen (including airwomen) who became qualified in engineering trades
by CY|c|
|CY 80 |CY 81 |CY 82 |CY 83 |CY 84 |CY 85 |CY 86 |CY 87 |CY 88
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armament engineering |360 |371 |72 |276 |260 |222 |153 |152 |275
Mechanical engineering |1,680 |1,552 |301 |153 |1,569 |1,075 |523 |632 |572
Electrical engineering |405 |397 |198 |324335|252 |292 |224 |246
Electronic engineering |987 |833 |802 |571 |817 |942 |876 |739 |381
|c|Table 3|c|
|c|Number of trained airmen (including airwomen) who left the RAF in CY and the
number who failed to complete their engagement|c|
|CY 80|CY 81|CY 82|CY 83|CY 84|CY 85|CY 86|CY 87|CY 88
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armament engineering
Total outflow |100 |120 |157 |128 |139 |161 |147 |122 |170
Not completing engagement |41 |52 |76 |54 |64 |92 |85 |63 |107
Mechanical engineering
Total outflow |610 |635 |729 |688 |660 |858 |921 |850 |1,005
Not completing engagement |312 |285 |333 |244 |280 |394 |436 |380 |517
Electrical engineering
Total outflow |155 |208 |217 |212 |213 |247 |258 |208 |310
Not completing engagement |69 |76 |85 |83 |98 |98 |110 |103 |164
Electronic engineering
Total outflow |433 |522 |606 |585 |551 |676 |702 |571 |808
Not completing engagement |174 |203 |199 |181 |222 |303 |333 |246 |436
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many trained fast-jet pilots took premature voluntary release in each financial year between 1969-70 and 1978-79.
Mr. Neubert : Information about exits by trained pilots on premature voluntary release was not maintained prior to 1 April 1975 ; since that date overall numbers of pilot exits on PVR were recorded and role-related statistics were introduced on 1 April 1979. For the period 1 April 1975 to 1 April 1979 the overall numbers of PVR exits by trained pilots were as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1975-76 |77
1976-77 |86
1977-78 |92
1978-79 |84
Pay Scales
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of savings likely to accrue as a result of the downbanding recommendations made by the joint services job evaluation team in relation to pay-scales for airmen/aircrew and air electronics operators.
Mr. Neubert : There will be no immediate savings arising from the downbanding of air electronic operators. This is because the individuals concerned will retain their existing rate of basic pay on a mark-time basis until such a time as pay review awards lift the lower pay band scale above this rate. In the longer term the reduction in the annual paybill resulting from the change is estimated to be £438,000.
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Ethnic Minority Personnel
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) blacks, (b) Asians, (c) men and (d) women are currently serving in (i) the Army, (ii) the Royal Navy and (iii) the Royal Air Force.
Mr. Neubert : The number of men and women serving in the United Kingdom regular forces as at 31 December 1988 was as follows :
|Males |Females
--------------------------------------------------------
Royal Navy and Royal Marines |61,286 |<1>3,365
Army |149,651 |6,383
Royal Air Force |85,785 |6,274
<1> Royal Navy only.
It is our policy not to keep records of the ethnic origins of serving members of the armed forces.
Air Combat Training
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial provision he has made for the years 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95, respectively for the use of the planned British Aerospace air combat manoeuvring installation in the North sea ;
(2) what understandings he has entered into with British Aerospace as regards future use of their air combat manoeuvring installation in the North sea.
Mr. Neubert : British Aerospace's proposal to construct an instrumental air combat facility in the North sea remains under consideration by the Government. MOD has no current plans to utilise such a facility, if constructed, and has therefore made no financial provision for its use.
Air Publications and Forms Store
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what proposals he has to replace the roof of the building now occupied by the air publications and forms store at Woolwich arsenal ; and at what estimated cost ;
(2) when the building now occupied by the air publications and forms store at Woolwich arsenal is expected to be vacated ; and what new use will be found for it ;
(3) what specialist refitting has been undertaken to the building now occupied by the air publications and forms store to provide for its present use ; and at what cost ;
(4) how many existing employees of the air publications and forms store at Woolwich arsenal will be offered the opportunity to transfer to the proposed new location in North Wales ; and how many new staff will be recruited locally ;
(5) what arrangements will be made to train new employees recruited for the air publications new location in north Wales ;
(6) what is the estimated cost of transferring the air publications and forms store from Woolwich arsenal to north Wales.
Mr. Neubert : Consultations have recently taken place with trades unions on a proposal to transfer all service forms and publications stores from their existing locations to create a centralised organisation at the former Royal
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naval store depot at Llangennech, Dyfed. Under that proposal, vacation of the building now occupied by the air publications and forms stores at Woolwich arsenal would be expected in 1991. Any further use of the building would be dependent on a future decision on the location of the directorate general of defence quality assurance.As the hon. Member is aware, the original intention was to replace the roof of the air publications and forms store, which was to be a major undertaking estimated to cost in excess of £1.5 million. In the light of the Llangennech proposals, however, the work and expenditure involved could not be justified, although any essential repairs required in the intervening period would be carried out.
To provide for its present use, in 1968 the building now occupied by the air publications and forms store was installed with a Dexion three-tier racking system, including associated conveyor belts, an internal classified store, fitted with mobile racking, a conveyor system in the distribution area, and a fire detector and sprinkler system. In 1969 fans were incorporated into the existing heating system to ensure that adequate storage conditions could be maintained. Due to the length of time since the various works were undertaken, cost figures are not available.
Under the Llangennech proposal, careful consideration would be given to any individual request for transfer there from civil servants currently employed in the four existing stores. Nevertheless, it is expected that most of the 250 staff that would be required for the Llangennech operation would be recruited locally. A comprehensive training programme would be designed to meet the needs of all employees of the new organisation. The cost of centralisation at Llangennech is estimated to be about £5.7 million. It is not possible to say how much of this is attributable to the air publications and forms store alone.
Territorial Army (Ammunition Theft)
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Territorial Army proposes to take following the conviction of Warrant Officer Nigel John Hicks for stealing ammunition.
Mr. Neubert : It must first be said that Mr. Hicks was not, in fact, convicted of theft of ammunition. Within the Territorial Army, strict regulations apply to the issue, use and storage of weapons and ammunition. The circumstances relating to Mr. Hicks' case are now being reviewed to see if any further action is required.
Race Relations
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, South, Official Report, 6 February, column 513, how many of the complaints cases submitted to the service boards, records of which are kept centrally, involved allegations of racial discrimination or abuse.
War Stocks
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the current level of Royal Air Force war stocks meets all of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation requirements ;
(2) whether the current level of Royal Navy war stocks meets all of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation requirements ;
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(3) whether the current level of Army war stocks meets all of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation requirements.Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 22 December 1988, at column 371.
Nuclear-Powered Vessels
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a study of possible radioactive contamination at Holy Loch, Faslane and Rosyth caused by nuclear-powered defence vessels.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a study of possible radioactive contamination at Holy Loch, Faslane and Rosyth caused by nuclear-powered defence vessels.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a study of possible radioactive contamination at Holy Loch, Faslane and Rosyth caused by nuclear-powered defence vessels.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a study of possible radioactive contamination at Holy Loch, Faslane and Rosyth caused by nuclear-powered defence vessels.
Mr. Younger [pursuant to his reply, 7 February 1989,c. 655] : I wish to point out that I should have referred to a level of radiation exposure of "consistently less than 1 per cent." rather than of "consistently less than 0.1 per cent".
EMPLOYMENT
Tourism
13. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the British tourist board to discuss the promotion of British tourism abroad ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : My right hon. Friend and I regularly meet the chairman of the British Tourist Authority to discuss all aspects of the authority's work in promoting tourism to Britain. My right hon. Friend last met the chairman on 8 February. We have no plans as yet for a future meeting.
19. Mr. Robert Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he hopes to announce his proposals following the current review of tourism ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : The tourism review report is currently under consideration and an announcement will be made in due course.
35. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has for participation in the European Tourism Year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : I recently chaired a meeting of the national tourist board chairmen and representatives from the territorial departments to begin to plan the United Kingdom's participation in European Tourism Year in
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1990. At that meeting it was agreed that the British Tourist Authority would take the lead in co-ordinating the United Kingdom's campaign. To promote the interest and active involvement of the United Kingdom tourism industry, I propose to chair a United Kingdom standing conference of senior figures in the industry. This conference will take place on 25 May.42. Mr. Bevan : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the effect of the single market in 1992 upon tourism.
Mr. Lee : Although tourism within the European Community is a relatively open sector, I believe that the completion of the single market presents a major opportunity for the industry's further development. This should be apparent in increased flexibility of travel, particularly air and coach travel. The Channel tunnel, due for completion in 1993, should complement and augment this development.
69. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the number of people employed in the United Kingdom in tourism and tourism-related industries.
Mr. Lee : It is estimated that in September 1988 there were 1.4 million employees in employment in tourism-related industries in Great Britain. There are no directly comparable estimates for the number of self- employed, but it is estimated from the labour force survey that there were 0.2 million self-employed workers in the hotel and catering industry in the spring of 1987.
77. Mr. Charles Wardle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the effect of the Channel tunnel upon tourism in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Lee : The completion of the Channel tunnel in 1993 will provide a major opportunity for the tourism industry in Great Britain. Estimates suggest that some 15 million people will use the tunnel in its first year of operation.
It is important that the United Kingdom tourism industry begins to plan now to ensure that the full potential offered by the tunnel is realised.
92. Mr. Curry : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the tourism review.
Mr. Lee : I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Burt) on 31 January 1989, at column 75.
108. Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many tourist visits were made to the United Kingdom by citizens of the European Economic Community in 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : It is estimated that 3,530,000 visits were made to the United Kingdom by residents of the European Economic Community in the first six months of 1988 (the latest period for which figures are available). Of these, 2,430,000 were leisure visits (the remainder were business), representing 69 per cent. of all visits from EEC countries and 50 per cent. of all leisure visits in this period.
118. Mr. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the English tourist board to discuss the promotion of tourism ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Lee : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State frequently meets the chairman of the English tourist board to discuss a range of subjects, including the promotion of tourism in England.
Labour Statistics
14. Mr. Crowther : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the unadjusted and adjusted number and percentage of male, female and total employees in employment in part-time work in September 1988 in Yorkshire and Humberside.
Mr. Nicholls : The only available information on part-time employees is for females. In September 1988 there were 401,000 female part-time employees in employment in Yorkshire and Humberside. This represents 48 per cent. of female employees and 22 per cent. of all employees in the region. Employment estimates for regions are not seasonally adjusted.
18. Mr. Day : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently employed in the United Kingdom ; what are the comparable figures for other European Economic Community countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : The current level of the work force in employment in the United Kingdom is, at nearly 26 million, at its highest ever level. Since 1983 it has grown by well over 2 million. Between 1983 and 1987 the increase in employment in the United Kingdom at nearly 1.7 million was greater than that for any other European Community member and was approximately equal to that in the rest of the Community combined.
21. Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently employed in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : Between March 1983 and September 1988 the work force in employment in the United Kingdom increased by 2,297,000 to 25,858,000, the highest level on record. This rising trend has now continued for more than five years.
25. Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide the figures for the work force in employment to date ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : In September 1988 the work force in employment in Great Britain was 25,291,000, the highest level on record. This represents an increase of 2,294,000 since March 1983. This rising trend has now continued for more than five years.
27. Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the levels of employment in the United Kingdom and other countries in the European Economic Community ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Lee : The current level of the work force in employment in the United Kingdom is, at nearly 26 million, at its highest level. Since 1983 it has grown by well over 2 million. Between 1983 and 1987 the increase in employment in the United Kingdom at nearly 1.7 million was greater than that for any other European Community member and was approximately equal to that in the rest of the Community combined.
31. Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people aged 18 to 25 years were unemployed in (a) December 1985 and (b) December 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : Unemployment figures by age are compiled on a quarterly basis. In October 1988, the latest available quarter, there were 606, 348 unemployed claimants aged 18 to 25 years in the United Kingdom, compared with 1,034,023 in October 1985. A fall of 427,675 or 41.4 per cent. The comparison is slightly affected by the change in the compilation of the count in March 1986 to reduce over-recording.
52. Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the unadjusted and adjusted number and percentages of male, female and total employees in employment in part-time work in September 1988 in Scotland. 56. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the unadjusted and adjusted number and percentage of male, female and total employees in part-time work in September 1988 in the north.
84. Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the unadjusted and adjusted number and percentage of male, female and total employees in employment in part-time work in September 1988 in the east midlands.
103. Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the unadjusted and adjusted number and percentage of male, female and total employees in employment in part-time work in September 1988 in Greater London.
107. Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the unadjusted and adjusted number and percentage of male, female and total employees in employment in part-time work in September 1988 in the west midlands.
Mr. Lee : My Department does not seasonally adjust employment estimates for regions. Regional estimates of part-time male employees are not available for September 1988. The available information is as follows :
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September 1988 |Part-time female employees in employment |Part-time female employees in employment as a percentage of all female employees in employment|Part-time female employees in employment as a percentage of all employees in employment [NL] |Per cent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scotland |389,000 |44 |21 North |241,000 |48 |22 East Midlands |314,000 |45 |20 Greater London |505,000 |32 |14 West Midlands |412,000 |44 |20
76. Sir Marcus Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of change in unemployment levels in the last 12 months in Yorkshire and Humberside ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : In December 1988 the level of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, in Yorkshire and Humberside was 203,000 compared with 248, 100 in December 1987, a fall of 45,100 or 18.2 per cent.
81. Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of employment in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Lee : Between March 1983 and September 1988 the work force in employment in the United Kingdom increased by 2,297,000 to 25,858,000, the highest level on record. This rising trend has now continued for more than five years. The figures have been adjusted for the effects of seasonal variations. The work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed, Her Majesty's forces and participants in work-related Government training programmes.
83. Mr. Yeo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of employed and self-employed people at the latest available date.
Mr. Lee : In September 1988 there were 25,291,000 people in the work force in employment in Great Britain, of which 2,956,000 were self- employed. The work force in employment comprises employees in employment, the self-employed, Her Majesty's forces and participants in work-related Government training programmes.
86. Mr. Haynes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the fall in unemployment and the number of jobs created in east midlands region in the 12 months to September 1988.
Mr. Lee : In the 12 months to September 1988 the level of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, in the east midlands fell by 32, 400 to 137,100 from 169,500 in September 1987. Over the same period the size of the civilian work force in employment in east midlands, unadjusted, rose from 1,761,000 to 1,791,000, a net increase of 30, 000. The civilian work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self- employed and participants in work-related Government training programmes.
99. Mr. Irvine : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of change in unemployment levels in the last 12 months in East Anglia.
110. Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of change in unemployment levels in the last 12 months in East Anglia.
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Mr. Lee : In December 1988 the level of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, in East Anglia was 41,200 compared with 60,000 in December 1987, a fall of 18,800 or 31.3 per cent.
101. Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many full-time and part-time jobs were created in the 12 months to September 1988 in Yorkshire and Humberside region.
Mr. Lee : There are no figures for job gains and job losses. In the year to September 1988 the civilian work force in employment increased by 31,000 in the Yorkshire and Humberside region. This includes net increases of 12,000 in female full-time employees in employment, 7,000 in female part -time employees in employment and 3, 000 in participants in work-related Government training programmes (who are counted as being in part-time employment). Comparable estimates are not available for male employees in employment or the self-employed.
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