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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 16 January 1990
DEFENCE
HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department intends to make a decision on the replacement of HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid.
Mr. Neubert : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) on 21 December 1989, at column 383.
European Fighter Aircraft
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Royal Air Force squadrons which are to be equipped with the European fighter aircraft will consist of the same numbers of aircraft as current fighter squadrons.
Mr. Alan Clark : The precise number of EFA to be allocated to each squadron is still under consideration.
Misfires
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there has been an increase in the incidence of misfires with ammunition purchased from Greek suppliers.
Mr. Alan Clark : No reports of misfires with ammunition purchased from Greek suppliers have been received.
Brokerage Fees
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Al-Hamanah Saudi arms deal provides for brokerage fees to his Department or the Defence Sales Organisation for sales placed in the United Kingdom ; and in which years any such fees have been paid.
Cash Limit
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will announce any changes to the defence cash limit for 1989-90.
Mr. Tom King : My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced on 29 July 1989 an entitlement of £435,690,000 to increase the cash limit for 1989-90, resulting from carry forward of capital expenditure under the end-year flexibility scheme. I can now announce that we shall receive a further entitlement of £248,770,000. Of this new increase, £239,588,000 comes under the terms of the additional flexibility arrangements announced to the House on 19 December 1986, Official Report column 778. These arrangements provide for carry
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forward of underspend resulting from procurement decisions taken to improve contractors' performance and the value for money obtained from our defence procurement contracts during the 1988-89 financial year, including the Department's tauter approach to interim payments. The remaining £9,182,000 is to compensate the defence budget for the costs arising from the change in status of the Property Services Agency.Procurement
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's major procurement purchases which have followed competitive tendering in each year since 1984.
Mr. Alan Clark : The following contracts valued £25 million or more were placed following competitive tendering during the period 1984 to 1989 :
1984
Type 996 Radar
Forward Repair Ship
Mine Counter Measures Vessels
Aviation Training Ship
Missile Tubes for SSBNs
A90 Process Equipment
Sir Galahad Replacement
Tristar Aircraft
Academic Instruction and Support at RMCS Shrivenham
Nine Contracts for Oil
1985
Type 22 Frigates
Submarine ESM
Tucano Aircraft
Phoenix RPV
MCT 80 (Warrior) Vehicles
Seven Contracts for Oil
1986
Upholder Class Submarines
Close In Weapon Systems
Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment Vessel
Type 23 Frigates
Type 23 Frigate
Challenger MBTs
HVM Weapon System
Four Contracts for Oil
1987
Submarine ESM Systems
Single Role Minehunters
ALARM Missile
E3A (AWACS) Aircraft
SA80 Weapons Systems
Target Towing Services
Image Intensifier Tubes
Development of Bridging Equipment
Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sighting Systems
Three Contracts for Aviation Fuel
1988
Type 23 Frigates
Development of Air Defence Command and Information System Development and Supply of ACEWS EW System
Insurance Services
Three Contracts for Oil, Diesel, Fuel and Aviation Fuel
1989
Magnetic Treatment Facility
Command System for Type 23
Frigates and AOR
Type 23 Frigates
Skynet Ground Equipment
4 4 4 Tonne Vehicles
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Ammunition
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates of competitions held since 1984 to supply small calibre ammunition of 30 mm and
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below for the United Kingdom armed services, in each case listing (a) the type, calibre and quantity of ammunition involved, (b) the names and nationalities of the competing companies and (c) the winning company.Mr. Alan Clark : The data requested are as follows :
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Calibre |Date |Type |Quantity |Tenderers |Winner
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.62mm |September 1985 |Ball |10M |Norma (FFV), Sweden |Indep
|SFM, France
|Hirtenberger, Austria
|MEN, West Germany
|Dynamit Nobel, West Germany
|FN, Belgium
|Indep, Portugal
|GPC, Greece
|Raufoss, Norway
|Royal Ordnance, United Kingdom
|September 1985 |4 Ball/1 Tracer |15M |FN, Belgium |Indep
|Indep, Portugal
|Raufoss, Norway
|FFV, Sweden
|MEN, West Germany
|Dynamit Nobel, West Germany
|September 1985 |Blank belted |2.2M |FN, Belgium |FN
|Indep, Portugal
|Raufoss, Norway
|FFV, Sweden
|MEN, West Germany
|GPC, Greece
|Hirtenberger, Austria
9mm |September 1985 |Ball |14M |FFV, Sweden |FFV
|SFM, France
|Hirtenberger, Austria
|MEN, West Germany
|Dynamit Nobel, West Germany
|FN, Sweden
|Indep, Portugal
|Royal Ordnance, United Kingdom
|January 1986 |Ball |15M |FFV, Sweden |FFV
|SFM, France
|Hirtenberger, Austria
|MEN, West Germany
|Dynamit Nobel, West Germany
|FN, Belgium
|Indep, Portugal
|Royal Ordnance, United Kingdom
0.5 inch |September 1985 |4 Ball/1 Tracer |440K |Eley, United Kingdom |GPC
|FN, Belgium,
|Eurometaal, Holland
|1 Ball/1Tracer |250K |GPC, Greece
|Accles & Shelvoke, Canada
|August 1986 |1 Ball/1 Tracer |1.15M |Eley, United Kingdom |Eley
|Accles & Shelvoke, Canada
|Eurometaal, Holland
|FN, Belgium
0.5 inch |March 1988 |1 Ball/1 Tracer |1.2M |Eley, United Kingdom |GPC
|FN, Belgium,
|Eurometaal, Holland
|Accles & Shelvoke, Canada
|GPC, Greece |GPC
20mm |October 1986 |HE I |25.5K |Matra Manurhin, France |GPC
|HE I Tr |25.5K |GPC, Greece,
|Practice |105K |BMARC, United Kingdom
|Practice Tr |19K
|December 1984 |Practice |250K |Olin Winchester, United States of America|Raufoss
|Raufoss, Norway
|Dekruithorn, Holland
|FN, Belgium
|December 1985 |Practice |304K |Olin Winchester, United States of America|Raufoss
|Raufoss, Norway
|Dekruithorn, Holland
|FN, Belgium
|December 1986 |Practice |304K |Olin Winchester, United States of America|Olin Winchester
|Raufoss, Norway
|Dekruithorn, Holland
|FN, Belgium
|December 1987 |Practice |228K |Olin Winchester, United States of America|Olin Winchester
|Raufoss, Norway
|Dekruithorn, Holland
|FN, Belgium
25mm |July 1988 |Practice |294K |Raufoss, Norway |Raufoss
|BMARC, United Kingdom
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are taken by his Department to ensure the quality of ammunition purchased from overseas.
Mr. Alan Clark : The quality requirements called up in MOD tenders and contracts for ammunition are identical for United Kingdom and overseas suppliers. Our quality assurance branches ensure that the requirements are met irrespective of the place of manufacture.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total value of contracts awarded to overseas suppliers to provide the United Kingdom armed forces with small calibre ammunition, 30 mm and below, for each year since 1984.
Mr. Alan Clark : The data for 1984-85 are not readily available. The approximate values for the subsequent years are :
Year |£ million ------------------------------ 1985-86 |31.4 1986-87 | 6.9 1987-88 |28.5 1988-89 |14.1
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total value of contracts awarded to United Kingdom suppliers to provide the United Kingdom armed forces with small calibre ammunition, of 30 mm and below, for each year since 1984.
Mr. Alan Clark : The data for 1984-85 are not readily available. The approximate values for the subsequent years are :
Year |£ million ------------------------------ 1985-86 |76.6 1986-87 |68.6 1987-88 |52.5 1988-89 |50.1
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which United Kingdom companies are still able to supply the United Kingdom armed forces with 0.5 in ammunition.
Mr. Alan Clark : After the unsuccessful bid by Eley Ltd. for our last tender in 1988, there have been reports that it has closed its facility. There are no other established manufacturers for 0.5 in ammunition in the United Kingdom, but several could adapt their capabilities should our next requirement be attractive to them.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which United Kingdom companies have in the past 20 years supplied his Department with 0.5 in ammunition.
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Mr. Alan Clark : The only United Kingdom company to have supplied 0.5 in ammunition to MOD in the past 20 years is Eley Ltd.
Ministry of Defence Houses
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many surplus Ministry of Defence houses have been sold to service men to date.
Mr. Neubert : As at 8 December 1989, a total of 2,241 surplus married quarters had been sold to service personnel through the Ministry of Defence's own discounted sales scheme since its inception on 1 December 1983.
In addition, approximately 224 surplus quarters were sold to service personnel through the Ministry of Defence's non-discounted sales scheme, which operated from 1 April 1981 to 30 November 1983. We do not maintain records of surplus quarters that may have been sold to service personnel outside these two schemes.
Warsaw Pact
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions when Royal Navy vessels have made visits to ports in Warsaw pact countries since 1985.
Mr. Neubert : Visits made by Royal Navy vessels to ports in Warsaw pact countries since 1985 are as follows :
Port |Vessel |Date ---------------------------------------------------------- Constanta, Romania |HMS Naiad |July 1985 Leningrad, USSR |HMS Bristol |May 1989 Gdynia, Poland |HMS Bristol |June 1989 Rostock, GDR |HMS Achilles|June 1989
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions when Warsaw pact naval vessels have visited British ports and naval bases since 1985.
Mr. Neubert : The Polish destroyer Warszawa, which visited London during May 1989, is the only Warsaw pact warship to have visited a British port or naval base since 1985. A number of Warsaw pact naval sail training ships have also visited the United Kingdom during this period to take part in the annual tall ships race.
AWACS Aircraft
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the current value of contracts awarded to United Kingdom companies as a result of the offset arrangement agreed for the purchase by his Department of seven AWACS aircraft.
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Mr. Alan Clark : Boeing has to date submitted five progress reports listing contracts placed with United Kingdom companies to the value of $1,176 million. Our evaluation is not yet complete, but we have so far agreed some $672 million to count for offset credit purposes.Bounty Payments
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current minimum training commitment per year of Royal Navy Reserve officers and ratings enabling them to claim bounty payments.
Mr. Neubert : The current minimum training commitment of Royal Navy Reserve officers and ratings for bounty purposes is a standard two continuous weeks and 50 drill nights per year, which may be reduced for certain specialist categories.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current minimum training commitment per year of Territorial Army officers and men enabling them to claim bounty payments.
Mr. Neubert : In order to earn bounty, assuming other qualifying criteria are met, members of independent and specialist units of the Territorial Army must complete a minimum of 27 days and 19 days respectively in each training year. In both cases the overall requirement would normally include a continuous period of 15 days, either annual camp or a course in lieu. Where personal circumstances preclude an undertaking at the above level, facilities exist for individuals to carry out a lower training liability with a commensurately lower level of bounty being payable.
Royal Ordnance
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Government retained any share of the patent rights of Royal Ordnance when Royal Ordnance was sold off ; and whether they have to pay for the use of any of the patents transferred to British Aerospace.
Mr. Alan Clark : The transfer of patents to Royal Ordnance was subject to the right of the Secretary of State and any Government Department without payment to use and authorise others to use any of the patents for any Government purpose, except for patents for inventions arising out of work funded out of the ROF Trading Fund. These terms are unaffected by the purchase of Royal Ordnance by British Aerospace.
Ambulance duties
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the number of Army man hours employed in ambulance duties per police authority to date.
Mr. Neubert [holding answer 8 January 1990] : Up to 5 January 1990, estimates of the number of Service man hours deployed are as shown. It is not possible to separate out the Army element without disproportionate cost.
Police Authority |Service Man
| Hours
| Deployed
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
London (Metropolitan & City) |215,220
Hertfordshire |32,028
Lincolnshire |6,460
Bedfordshire |15,640
Derbyshire |1,428
South Yorkshire |30,464
West Midlands |35,292
Hereford and Worcester (West Mercia) |14,280
Dorset |9,792
ENVIRONMENT
Waste Oil
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he has any plans for specific legislation on waste oil discharges from incineration facilities ;
(2) if he has any plans to facilitate the collection of waste oil from small producers ;
(3) if he has any plans to introduce legislation to bring Britain into compliance with EEC directive 75/442 on waste by requiring establishments producing, collecting and disposing of at least 500 litres of waste oil each year to keep records and submit a report to the competent authorities ;
(4) if he has any plans to introduce legislation to bring Britain into compliance with EEC directive 75/442 on waste by requiring that information be provided on the quantity, quality, origin and location of waste oils as well as on their receipt and dispatch ;
(5) if he has any plans to introduce legislation to require mineral and synthetic oil retailers to take back waste oils free of charge ; (6) if he has any plans to introduce legislation to require that in-house disposal of waste oils must be authorised or approved ; (7) if he has any plans to introduce legislation to require the recycling of waste oils ;
(8) if he intends to introduce specific provisions to prohibit the discharge of waste oils into water bodies and drainage systems ; (9) if he intends to introduce specific provisions to prohibit uncontrolled discharge of waste oils and to require that they be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner.
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