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Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North of 22 December 1988, Official Report, column 368, if he will state the reasons for not listing medical establishments over which military low flying is prohibited.
Mr. Neubert : I have nothing further to add to my reply to the hon. Member on 22 December, at column 368.
ELF Transmitter
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the notice of proposed development relating to the proposed trial ELF transmitter at Glengarry forest to be submitted to the Highland regional council.
Mr. Neubert : Preparation of the notice of proposed development continues, but completion will take some time and it is not possible to say precisely when it will be submitted.
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Commissions (Sale)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any proposals for reviving the sale of commissions as part of the Government's programme of privatisation.
Historic Aircraft Collection (RAF St. Athan)
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates of movement and final destinations of any aircraft from the collection of historic aircraft at RAF St. Athan which have been (a) sold, (b) scrapped and (c) moved to other locations since 1987 ; and what were the reasons for any such moves.
Mr. Neubert : A review of the RAF's policy on historic and non- flying display aircraft resulted in a decision in early 1988 to disband the RAF St. Athan regional collection of historic aircraft. Transfers effected to date are as follows.
The remaining aircraft will be disposed of progressively over the next few months. It is not intended to scrap any, but those not required elsewhere within the service will be sold.
Disbandment of the RAF St Athan regional collection of historic
aircraft
Transfers effected up to 21 June 1989
Year and aircraft
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988
Messerschmitt Me 163B |Gifted to the German Air Force
Auster T7 |Transferred to the regional collection
| at RAF Cosford, for display
Messerschmitt Me 262A |Transferred to the regional collection
| at RAF Cosford, for display
Mitsubishi |Transferred to the regional collection
| at RAF Cosford, for display
Fiesler Storch |Transferred to the regional collection
| at RAF Cosford, for display
Percival Proctor |Transferred to the RAF museum at
| Hendon for display
Meteor F8 |Transferred to RAF Finningley as a
| gate guardian
Spitfire Mk9E |Transferred to RAF Abingdon as a
| reserve for the battle of Britain
| memorial flight
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is intended to maintain a collection of historic aircraft at RAF St. Athan.
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Tornado Aircraft
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessments were made of (a) current and (b) projected peacetime loss rates of the Tornado F2 and F3 in RAF service prior to the decision to order an additional attrition replacement batch in 1988.
Mr. Sainsbury : No Tornado F2s or F3s have been lost to date. The predicted peacetime attrition rate is classified.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given to the placing of further attrition replacement orders for (a) air defence Tornados and (b) strike/attack/reconnaissance Tornados.
Mr. Sainsbury : The need for additional attrition aircraft is kept under review.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what projected peacetime attrition rate was assumed for the Tornado air defence variant in calculating the size of the original order for 165 aircraft for the Royal Air Force ;
(2) what proportion of the original order of 165 Tornado air defence variants for the Royal Air Force was made up of attrition replacement aircraft.
Mr. Sainsbury : The information requested is classified.
Service Cars (Argyll)
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the presence of (a) Army and (b) Royal Navy Ford Escort estate staff cars in Argyll on 5 May 1988.
Mr. Neubert : The information requested is not readily available and could not be provided without disproportionate effort and cost.
Aircraft Losses
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total number of Buccaneer aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force have been lost in accidents so far.
Mr. Neubert : Of the total number of Buccaneer aircraft taken into RAF service, 19.17 per cent. have been lost in accidents.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total number of Hunter aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force have been lost in accidents over the aircraft's service life so far.
Mr. Neubert : Of the total number of Hunter aircraft taken into RAF service, 32.36 per cent. have been lost in accidents.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total number of Jaguar aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force have been lost in accidents so far.
Mr. Neubert : Of the total number of Jaguar aircraft taken into RAF service, 23.76 per cent. have been lost in accidents.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total number of Lightning aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force were lost in accidents over the aircraft's service life.
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Mr. Neubert : Of the total number of Lightning aircraft taken into RAF service, 45.58 per cent. have been lost in accidents.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total number of Phantom aircraft procured for the Royal Air Force have been lost in accidents so far.
Mr. Neubert : Of the total number of Phantom aircraft taken into RAF service, 22.54 per cent. have been lost in accidents.
Community Charge
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the written guidance issued to armed service units in respect of poll tax payment.
Mr. Neubert : I have placed copies in the Library of the House.
Howitzers
Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is now able to make a statement on the procurement of 155 mm self-propelled howitzers for the Army.
Mr. Sainsbury : In my reply on 8 June 1988, at column 586, to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Berkshire, East (Mr. MacKay), I announced the award of a contract to Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited (VSEL), worth some £4 million, for further work on its AS90 self-propelled howitzer. This was to enable it to demonstrate more fully the performance of its design against the British Army's specification and to secure option prices for any subsequent production orders. In the interim period we have also closely followed the development in the United States of the M109 howitzer improvement programme.
Following a very careful and detailed evaluation of the two systems, and subject to the agreement of satisfactory terms, I have decided to place a contract with VSEL for the completion of development and a production order for 179 AS90 self-propelled howitzers. This contract, with initial spares and support, is worth some £300 million. I have also arranged an option for a further quantity of howitzers which may be exercised during the next two years.
The new weapon will replace our 105 mm Abbot guns and will significantly enhance artillery firepower. Its introduction will mark a further step in our planned programme to ensure that the armed services are equipped with up-to-date and highly capable equipment.
Rosyth Dockyard
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is in a position to use a golden share over any takeover of Rosyth dockyard and under what condition.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 12 June 1989] : No takeover of Rosyth dockyard is proposed. The special share held by Secretary of State is in the Rosyth Royal Dockyard plc and not the Dockyard Management Company, in which Thorn EMI currently holds a 35 per cent. shareholding. Any change in the share ownership of the management company must receive the prior written approval of the Secretary of State.
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PRIME MINISTER
Tropical Rain Forests
105. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Prime Minister what action she is taking to provide United Kingdom research into the alternatives to products of tropical rain forests.
The Prime Minister : The Forestry Commission has an active programme of research into the cultivation of native trees which are capable of producing wood that can be used in place of tropical timber.
World Environment
Q22. Mr. Leigh : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding the world environment.
The Prime Minister : I regularly receive representations about the many major environmental initiatives which this Government have taken at both the national and international level. Most recently, many nations have supported our call in the United Nations for an international framework convention on global climate change.
China
Q89. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding recent events in China.
Q101. Mr. Cash : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding recent events in China.
Q198. Mr. Page : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding recent events in China.
The Prime Minister : Yes, I have received many representations expressing shock and outrage at recent events in China. These are of course sentiments that I and the Government share.
EC (Voting Procedures)
Q113. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the issue of the procedures adopted in determining which directives are subject to majority vote or unanimity ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the replies to him of 6 and 15 June.
Developing Countries (Debt)
Q119. Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy for solving the crisis of debt repayment for developing countries.
The Prime Minister : The Government support the internationally agreed strategy which was reaffirmed and extended at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on 3 and 4 April.
Bradford
Q169. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to Bradford.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
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Shipyards (EC Funding)
Q216. Dr. Godman : To ask the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government have any proposals to seek a revision to the list of United Kingdom shipyards with access to the European Community shipbuilding intervention fund ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : As the hon. Member will be aware, the intervention fund is not an EC fund but a subsidy arrangement operated by Her Majesty's Government within the term of the EC sixth directive on aids to shipbuilding. We have no plans to revise current arrangements governing access to intervention fund by individual yards.
Electoral Registration Advertising
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East on 12 June, Official Report, column 265, if she will give the amounts spent on electoral registration advertising for each of the past seven years at current prices.
The Prime Minister : Expenditure on electoral registration advertising over the last seven years, revalued at 1989 prices, has been as follows :
|£
------------------------
1982-83 |123,762
1983-84 |153,631
1984-85 |163,240
1985-86 |184,243
1986-87 |356,494
1987-88 |294,190
1988-89 |322,833
Engagements
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 June.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 June.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 June.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 June.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 June.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.
Government Information Service
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what response her press secretary made to the Institute of Professional Civil Servants when it asked him to support a proposed code of ethics for the Government information service.
The Prime Minister : It is not my usual practice to publish exchanges of this kind.
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Endangered Species
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list those gifts received in her official capacity over the last year while on foreign visits and during visits of foreign dignitaries to Britain which have required an import licence under the CITES.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 13 June 1989] : In the last year I have received three items of silver and ivory jewellery from my visit to Zimbabwe. These items have all been deposited with Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. In view of the ban on ivory imports announced by the Government on Friday 9 June, I have decided that these items should be retained by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. Information on gifts given by foreign dignitaries during visits to Britain is a matter for them, but I am not aware of any such gifts which I have received in an official capacity which have required an import licence under the CITES.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Water Power Rights
Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list in the Official Report those water power rights which have been acquired by the Government as a consequence of the activities of the drainage division of the Department of Agriculture, indicating how many have been wholly and how many partially acquired.
Mr. Viggers : In the course of drainage division activities the Government wholly acquired water rights on two occasions, once in the upper main drainage scheme and once in Broughshane flood protection scheme. In both cases the right was expunged by removal of a weir and infill of a millrace.
Turbines (Rivers)
Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requirement he has to determine the mean, low water and maximum flow of a river at the sites of water mills, and the capacity of any water turbine, pelton wheel, or waterwheel being installed.
Mr. Viggers : There is no statutory requirement to determine the mean, low water and maximum flow of any watercourse.
It may be necessary when consenting to a new installation to establish the capacity of any water turbine, pelton wheel or waterwheel being installed to ensure that it does not adversely affect the flow of water in a watercourse. It is usually the case that an existing weir or dam is used as a source of power, leaving the regime of the watercourse unchanged.
Employment
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department is taking to increase employment opportunities in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Viggers : The Department of Economic Development, and its two industrial development agencies, the Industrial Development Board and Local
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Enterprise Development Unit undertake a wide range of programmes to assist the private sector to create new employment in Northern Ireland. In the year to 31 March 1989 the two agencies made financial offers to companies which could lead to the creation of 10,234 jobs. A wide range of advisory, training and other services is also available to assist firms to develop and to become more competitive. In addition it is planned to provide in the present financial year 12,400 work experience and training places to assist the long-term unemployed to re- enter the labour market and to provide 13,800 places for youth training.Tourism
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of new jobs created in the tourist industry in Northern Ireland in the last five years.
Mr. Viggers : Information on tourism-related employment as a whole is estimated only at national level. The available information for regions relates specifically to employees in employment in the hotels and catering industry. Employment in this sector in Northern Ireland increased by 1,810 (or 12 per cent.) over the last five years, to March 1989.
Housing Executive
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing (a) how many void dwellings there are in the area covered by each district office of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive as at the latest available date, (b) how many dwellings in each such area have been void for more than three months and (c) the reasons for such voids or as much of such information as is available to him.
Mr. Needham : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. I am advised by the chairman of the Housing Executive that at 1 May 1989 the number of void dwellings, that is dwellings on which the executive is not seeking to collect rent, in each district office and the number void for more than 13 weeks in each such area is as follows :
District |Total number voids |Total number voids vacant
|more than 13 weeks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast 1 |110 |101
Belfast 2 |396 |333
Belfast 3 |299 |245
Belfast 4 |525 |468
Belfast 5 |726 |639
Belfast 6 |264 |218
Belfast 7 |250 |224
Belfast Total |2,2570 |2,228
Bangor |52 |30
Newtownards 1 |76 |54
Newtownards 2 |24 |10
Castlereagh 1 |58 |25
Castlereagh 2 |12 |5
Lisburn 1 |94 |47
Lisburn 2 |30 |21
Lisburn 3 |8 |4
Downpatrick |178 |116
South East Total |532 |312
Banbridge |69 |50
Newry 1 |136 |83
Newry 2 |49 |24
Kilkeel |14 |11
Armagh |87 |65
Brownlow |346 |285
Lurgan |75 |32
Portadown |89 |70
South Total |865 |620
Ballymena |148 |93
Antrim |553 |473
Newtownabbey 1 |262 |172
Newtownabbey 2 |89 |66
Carrick |82 |34
Larne |156 |111
Ballycastle |5 |1
Ballymoney |31 |22
North East Total |1,326 |972
Derry 1 |232 |205
Derry 2 |167 |146
Derry 3 |22 |12
Limavady |33 |14
Coleraine |244 |201
Magherafelt |14 |5
Strabane |38 |31
North West Total |750 |614
Omagh |39 |21
Cookstown |28 |13
Dungannon |106 |62
Fermanagh |89 |41
West Total |262 |137
Northern Ireland Total 6,305
Of the total of 6,305 void properties (3.6 per cent. of total stock) :
837 are temporarily vacant awaiting allocation or have no tenant available ;
1,207 are bricked up due to/or to avoid vandalism ;
452 are awaiting improvements which will be completed within 12 months ;
520 are bricked up and are awaiting improvements which will not be carried out within 12 months ;
487 are bricked up for sale/or homesteading ;
1,776 are awaiting demolition in redevelopment areas ; and 1,026 are void for a variety of reasons such as decanting or security reasons.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Namibia
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent representations he has received from the leader of the Kwanyamas tribe on behalf of eight other Namibian tribes about the role of the Namibian Council of Churches as the sole and authentic agent of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the administration of the returning South West Africa People's Organisation refugees to Namibia ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what recent representations he has received from the leader of the Kwanyamas tribe on behalf of eight other Namibian tribes about the intimidatory actions of the NANSO student organisation ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(3) what recent representations he has received from the leader of the Kwanyamas tribe on behalf of eight other Namibian tribes about the protection of citizens in the northern and eastern territories of Namibia from the People's Liberation Army of Namibia following the demobilisation of the South West Africa Territory Force ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Chalker : Mr. Gabriel Kautuima, senior headman of the Kwanyama tribe, met an official of the FCO on 16 June and handed over a copy of a petition submitted to the United Nations special representative for Namibia and the Administrator General of Namibia on the matters referred to in my hon. Friend's questions. Mr. Kautuima was assured of our continued commitment to the United Nations plan for Namibian independence and our support for the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General and his staff to ensure that the best possible conditions prevail for the holding of free and fair elections in Namibia.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Russian Language
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals his Department has (a) to promote school exchanges with the Soviet Union and (b) to promote the learning of the Russian language in schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend visited the Soviet Union last October and concluded an agreement with the Soviet chairman of the State Committee for Public Education which envisaged a programme of up to 50 school exchanges on each side by the end of the 1991-92 academic year. In this, the first year of the programme, 10 school exchanges on each side have been arranged and are under way. In the next academic year, 1989-90, it is proposed that 20 school exchanges can be arranged, rising to 35 exchanges in academic year 1990-91 and 50 exchanges in academic year 1991- 92. At that stage up to 2,000 pupils from each country will be involved.
The aim of the programme is to use the medium of school-to-school twinning to promote a greater degree of mutual understanding among young people of both countries through a wide programme of exchange of schoolchildren and teachers, letters, photographs, tapes and project work, for example in mathematics, science and computing. Language-based exchanges will be a significant component, but the intention is to include also the study of subjects in which the practical elements can be shared.
The national curriculum will include a modern foreign language as a foundation subject at secondary level to be studied by all pupils between the ages of 11 and 16. Russian is among those modern foreign languages specified in the Education (National Curriculum) (Modern Foreign Languages) Order 1989 as eligible to be taught as a national curriculum foundation subject. Within this framework, my right hon. Friend is encouraging schools to offer a greater diversity of languages, including Russian, and we are providing education support grants for pilot projects in some local education authorities in England to promote the preparation and implementation of plans for language diversification.
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