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Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many rounds of depleted uranium shells and bullets were fired by allied forces in the Gulf war ; and what steps have been taken to clean up the desert areas where such radioactive ammunition was used.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A small proportion of the ammunition used by British forces during the conflict in the Gulf contained depleted uranium. The use of such material by other allied forces is a matter for the countries concerned. The uranium 235 content of these rounds is less than that which occurs naturally, and any residual hazard to health from such rounds would be minimal.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Broadgreen (Mr. Fields), of 19 March, Official Report, column 153, he will set out the methodology used to calculate the disaggregated breakdown of the £1.75 billion additional costs incurred by the United Kingdom through participation in military activities in the Gulf.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The figure of about £1.75 billion comprises two elements : the value of major equipments lost and munitions consumed in the conflict and in associated training (on present estimates totalling about £450 million) ; and the additional costs of preparing for and participating in the conflict (assessed at about £1,300 million). The latter element includes some £700 million for new equipment and modifications ; £200 million for sea and air transport ; and £400 million for other operating costs both in and out of theatre. Costs yet to be incurred or assessed will include the recovery, maintenance and repair of equipment, the replacement of stores, the bringing of equipment back to common modification standards, and the consequential effects of the conflict on the defence programme.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if any of the United Kingdom service men killed in friendly fire action in the Gulf war were hit by depleted uranium radioactive bullets fired by United States forces.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The investigations into the incidents in which British service men were killed or injured by friendly fire are not yet complete.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 19 March, column 90, which British defence companies sent staff to the Gulf region in support of Operation Granby ; what type of staff were sent ; and how many staff each company sent.
Mr. Alan Clarke : These details are a matter for the companies concerned.
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Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect Operation Granby will have on planning the level of logistical support for BAOR units ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Work is continuing to determine the size and shape of the Army's logistic support under "Options for Change", and account will be taken of any Granby lessons learned in this area.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect Operation Granby had on the level of maintenance available to those armoured units that remained in Germany ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Operation Granby has had an effect on maintenance and spares support for vehicles belonging to units in Germany. I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers) on 28 November 1990 at column 446.
Training Courses
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now make it his practice to answer questions on the numbers of students from specific foreign countries on his departmental training courses.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Our normal practice is not to disclose details of military training provided for Foreign and Commonwealth countries as these are generally confidential between Her Majesty's Government and the Government concerned. There are no plans to change this.
Nuclear Facility (Israel)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the Iraqi Scud missile attacks on the Israeli nuclear facility at Dimona.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Iraq claimed on 17 February that during the previous evening it had fired three Scud missiles towards Dimona in Israel and one missile against Haifa. We have no information that the Scud attacks against Israel that night caused any casualties or damage.
Embassy, Baghdad
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to post a military attache to the British embassy in Baghdad.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to reply. He will answer shortly.
Nuclear Submarines
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report all representations his Department has received in each year, respectively, since 1987 from (a) Committees of Parliament, (b) non-governmental organisations, (c) associations of elected authorities and (d) individuals on the subject of the disposal of nuclear submarines.
Mr. Alan Clark : The Ministry of Defence has received a number of representations on the subject of the disposal of nuclear submarines and related issues since 1987. These have been from a range of individuals and organisations.
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Aeroplane Crash
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the national identity of the pilots killed in each aeroplane crash during training over the area of the present constituency of Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale since 1979.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : There has been one fatal military aircraft accident in the present constituency of Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale since 1979. The accident involved a United States air force F111 aircraft, and occurred near Lauder on 28 July 1987. The pilot was American.
Options for Change"
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if there will be any additional expenditure (a) as a total and (b) per head on retraining and resettling service personnel staff who are made redundant as a consequence of "Options for Change";
(2) whether there will be any changes in the length or scope of pre-release training offered to his Department's staff in the light of "Options for Change";
(3) whether there will be any additional expenditure (a) as a total and (b) per head on retraining and resettling civilian support staff who are made redundant as a consequence of "Options for Change";
(4) whether there will be any increase in the number of personnel attached to the Tri-Service Resettlement Organisation in the light of "Options for Change."
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We are reviewing the arrangements for the resettlement of service personnel in the light of changing circumstances. As far as civilian staff are concerned, I refer the hon. Member to the replies I and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement gave to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) on, respectively, 12 June 1990, at columns 142-43 and 25 July 1990, at column 297.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what redundancy payments service personnel and civilian support staff who are made redundant as a consequence of "Options for Change" will receive ;
(2) what measures he intends to take to cope with reductions in service personnel and civilian support staff in the light of "Options for Change".
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State informed the House on 19 March at column 149, final decisions on the size and shape of the armed forces have yet to be taken. These decisions will also affect the nature of reductions among civilian support staff.
The expected reductions in both service personnel and civilian staff will be achieved largely by natural wastage. The nature of any redundancy is still under consideration, as are the payments redundant personnel would receive.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information has been provided to the defence industry regarding the "Options for Change" study.
Mr. Alan Clark : Ministers and officials in the Department have regular contacts with representatives of the defence industry and have discussed a number of issues related to "Options for Change".
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RAF Leuchars
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any proposals to discontinue search and rescue operations at RAF Leuchars ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The provision of military search and rescue cover around the United Kingdom is one of many areas of defence activity currently being reviewed under "Options for Change". It is too early to say whether this will have any implications for search and rescue operations at RAF Leuchars.
RAF Bases, Lincolnshire
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of each of the RAF bases in Lincolnshire.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement announced on 28 February last year, at column 290, the withdrawal of Bloodhound from RAF North Coates, which will be closed, and RAF Barkston Heath, which will be retained as a relief landing ground for RAF Cranwell. At present we are examining the scope for rationalising a range of defence support activities, and this may well affect other RAF bases in Lincolnshire, but no decisions have yet been taken.
South Atlantic Fund
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money was donated to the South Atlantic fund ; how much has been given to members of the South Atlantic forces ; and what has happened to surplus money in the fund.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I am unable to provide the information requested. These are matters for the trustees of the fund.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that surpluses from the South Atlantic fund and the Gulf Trust are used specifically for members of the forces injured in other conflicts.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has no power to make directions for the disbursement of surpluses from the South Atlantic fund or the Gulf Trust.
Taylorplan Services Ltd.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 7 March, Official Report, columns 293-94, if he will list the 20 Ministry of Defence contracts awarded to Taylorplan Services Ltd., together with the total value of each contract ; and if he will explain the circumstances in which the two contracts which are no longer current were ended.
Mr. Alan Clark : It is not our normal practice to publish detailed lists of contracts awarded to individual companies. The two contracts which are no longer current both expired on the completion of the agreed contract periods.
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Walter Somers Ltd.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 12 March, Official Report, column 444, whether the Ministry of Defence metallurgical expert was aware of the involvement of Dr. Gerard Bull in the proposed export of steel tubes to Iraq at the time of his two conversations with Walter Somers Ltd.
United Nations
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what involvement service personnel or other Ministry of Defence personnel have had in discussions at the United Nations in New York in the last two years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The United Kingdom representative at the regular meetings of the United Nations military staff committee is a serving officer. A British Army major was attached to the United Nations field operations division in New York in the period between January 1989 and November 1990 to advise on logistic and other support aspects of peacekeeping and monitoring operations primarily, though not wholly, in connection with United Nations Transition Assistance Group Namibia. Military officers and officials from the Ministry of Defence have also visited the United Nations, particularly in connection with Namibia.
Iraq
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British companies have supplied him with information regarding the export of British non-lethal defence equipment to Iraq in the last eight months.
Mr. Alan Clark : The supply of any such information would be treated in the strictest confidence.
Export Controls
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the work of the co-ordinating committee for multilateral export controls has altered as a result of the Gulf crisis.
Mr. Alan Clark : The committee's work, which relates to strategic exports to the Soviet Union, eastern Europe and China, has been unaffected by events in the Gulf.
Naval Bases
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with (a) NATO, (b) the Allied Commander, Channel, (c) the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic and (d) the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe on the future of naval bases in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : None, although the NATO authorities are fully aware that we aim to achieve substantial savings in all areas of defence support.
Guardsman Steven Kincaid
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department expects to finalise the necessary arrangements for the release of Guardsman Steven Kincaid from the Irish Guards.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : Arrangements are currently being finalised.
BFPO 3000
Mr. Stevens : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the BFPO 3000 appeal.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The BFPO appeal has proved enormously successful. The public responded with typical generosity, and well over 100 tonnes of mail and parcels have been sent out to troops serving in the Gulf. More than half our troops have already returned from the Gulf, and there is less of a requirement to maintain the type of support which BFPO 3000 provided. The appeal is therefore being closed. Any residual items will, where appropriate, continue to be sent to the Gulf, or will be redirected to service personnel serving in other locations, including Northern Ireland. I would like to record the Government's appreciation of the magnificent way the country showed its support for our armed forces throughout the Gulf conflict.
RAF Maintenance Group, Brampton
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence agency status for the Royal Air Force support command maintenance group at Brampton.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The maintenance group within RAF support command will become a defence support agency of the Ministry of Defence on 1 April 1991. The group comprises a headquarters at RAF Brampton and 12 RAF stations, together with a number of aerosystems, supply and signals units established at those stations and elsewhere within RAF support and strike commands. It is currently manned by some 7,780 RAF personnel and 5,830 civilians, and for financial year 1991-92 has a projected operating budget of £288 million and a full cost budget of £643 million.
The role of the maintenance group is to provide aerosystems and signals engineering, warehousing and transportation, and communication services to the Royal Air Force. The high professional standards which have characterised the group's support for the RAF will be maintained, and agency status will provide the chief executive with new opportunities to improve the efficiency and value for money of his organisation. The Air Officer Commanding Maintenance Units, Air Vice Marshal D. G. Campbell, has been appointed the agency's chief executive.
The chief executive has been set the following key targets for the first year of operation of the agency :
To achieve at least 95 per cent. of specified tasks for 1991-92, representing approximately 75 per cent. of group activity, to standard and on time, and to develop similar measures of programme delivery to cover additional MG tasks by 1 April 1992 ;
To reduce the proportion, in value terms, of the total annual throughput of avionic and mechanical components tied up in work by 10 per cent. in 1991- 92, and to develop a general costing system for equipment in work by 1 April 1992 ;
To perform all operational support tasks to RAF or NATO standards, as appropriate ;
To keep within agreed budget ;
To improve overall efficiency by saving the equivalent of 1.5 per cent. of cash costs in FY 1991-92 ;
To determine for future years appropriate measures and targets for efficiency improvement, including units cost targets, by 1 April 1992 ;
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In light of Options and PROSPECT studies, to complete planning for group estate and asset rationalisation, including investment appraisal, by 1 October 1992 ;To develop a consistent approach to defining units of output by 1 April 1992 ;
To introduce a commercial costing system for all major tasks by 1 October 1992.
To complete and validate all capital asset registers, and to develop performance indicators for asset utilisation, by 1 April 1992 ;
To develop a total quality management (TQM) approach designed to bring out continuous improvement in quality, including increased attention to the balance of quality and cost and to customer satisfaction.
Territorial Army
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence up to what per cent. of its approved establishment the Territorial Army is by (a) TAVRA region and (b) Arm/Corp.
Mr. Archie Hamilton [holding answer 26 March 1991] : The information requested, as at 31 December 1990, is as follows :
(a) By TAVRA region (independent units only)<1>
TAVRA Region |Per cent.
|recruited
-----------------------------------------------------
Northern Ireland |89.0
Highland |87.7
Lowland |72.2
North of England |75.6
Yorkshire and Humberside |76.4
East Midlands |98.8
East Anglia |126.1
Greater London |68.7
South East |81.0
Eastern Wessex |103.1
Western Wessex |72.4
Wales |73.0
West Midlands |81.9
North West and Isle of Man |91.5
<1> TAVRAS are only responsible for Independent
Units. Specialist Units are recruited nationwide.
(b) by Arm Corps
Arm Corps |Per cent.
|recruited
------------------------------
RAC |80.1
RA |84.1
RE |78.4
RE PCS |76.8
R Signals |78.5
INF |82.4
AAC |79.5
RACHD |89.2
RCT |73.6
RAMC |70.0
RAOC |73.3
REME |79.6
RMP |80.5
RAPC |74.5
RAVC |72.5
RPC |80.4
UOTC |122.7
HSF |65.8
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ENERGY
Renewable Energy
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on his policy for the development of renewable energy.
Mr. Moynihan : Renewable energy sources offer both increased diversity of supply and environmental benefits in terms of reduced gaseous emissions. In particular, renewable energy sources can play a part in reducing Britain's emissions of greenhouse gases--carbon dioxide and methane.
The Government's policy set out in Department of Energy paper 55, "Renewable Energy in the United Kingdom--The Way Forward", is to encourage the development of renewable energy sources wherever they have prospects of being both economically competitive and acceptable in terms of the impact on the environment. This policy is in line with the approach of the European Community. The government's White Paper "This Common Inheritance" published in September 1990, said that the Government would work towards 1,000 MW of electricity generating capacity from renewable sources by the year 2005. This will contribute towards achieving the United Kingdom's target of returning carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2005. The Government introduced the non-fossil fuel obligation in the Electricity Act 1989, which empowers the Secretary of State for Energy to require the regional electricity companies to contract for specified minimum electricity generating capacity from renewable energy sources so as to encourage the exploitation of the country's renewable energy resources. Planning applications for projects which relate to orders under the 1989 Act are in pursuit of this policy. The first order, laid in 1990, resulted in 170 MW being contracted, and a further order is proposed in 1991 giving projects the opportunity to proceed as soon as possible.
My hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning set out some planning guidance on renewable energy for local authorities in answer to a parliamentary question today. Officials in the Departments of Energy and of the Environment and the Welsh Office are preparing a planning policy guidance note on this subject.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list by institution and amount the United Kingdom projects that have to date secured funds from the EC THERMIE programme on renewable energy technologies.
Mr. Moynihan : Three United Kingdom projects relating to renewable energy technologies were successful in the first call under the THERMIE programme and contracts are now being negotiated.
Project |Estimated total|Maximum grant
|cost |from the
|Commission
|(£) |(£)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vacu-Lug Traction Tyres Ltd. |2,000,000 |700,000
Polytechnic of North London |600,000 |240,000
National Engineering
Laboratory |420,000 |170,000
The projects relate, respectively, to environmentally acceptable energy and materials from scrap tyres ;
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demonstrating energy savings in traditional buildings using unconventional planning and daylighting design ; and wind- powered desalination by reverse osmosis on a commercial scale.Magnox Spent Fuel
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will set out the arrangements agreed (a) bilaterally and (b) in regard to multilateral treaties to which the United Kingdom is a party, between the United Kingdom and (i) Italy and (ii) Japan, respectively, to apply safeguards to Magnox nuclear fuel sent for reprocessing at Sellafield ; and in each case what was the date of the first receipt of spent fuel in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The following agreements are in force : (
(i) INFCIRC 125--between the United Kingdom, Japan and the IAEA ; (
(ii) INFCIRC 175--between the United Kingdom and the IAEA ; (
(iii) INFCIRC 263--between the United Kingdom, the IAEA and the European Atomic Energy Community.
In addition, all civil nuclear material, including that received for reprocessing from Italy and Japan, is subject to Euratom safeguards under the treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community of 1957.
The first receipt of spent fuel from (i) Italy, took place in January 1966 ; and (ii) Japan took place in September 1969.
CIVIL SERVICE
Recruitment Executive Agency
Mr. Alexander : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what progress has been made towards the creation of an executive agency within his Department to carry out recruitment and related functions.
Mr. Renton : I am pleased to announce that the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency (RAS) will be launched on 1 April 1991 to coincide with the wider changes in civil service recruitment that I referred to in my
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reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Mr. Hayes) on 26 March at columns 364-65. It will be the third executive agency to be established in my Department.The RAS is being created primarily to take over the executive recruitment functions currently performed by the Civil Service Commission. It will charge for all its services ; and its customers--mainly Government Departments, other executive agencies and the civil service commissioners-- will be free to recruit for themselves or to go elsewhere if they believe that they will obtain better value for money.
Agency status, together with a range of additional managerial freedoms and flexibilities, will enable the RAS to compete effectively for business with other providers in the public and private sectors. I have set demanding targets in the areas of financial performance, operational efficiency and quality of service. These include recovery of full costs ; a productivity increase of 6.8 per cent. in the first year ; and achievement of an overall customer satisfaction level of at least 85 per cent.
A copy of the framework document will be placed in the Library.
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