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Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by how much the salaries of (a) the president and (b) the members of lands tribunals increased in the 10 years from 1 April 1982 to 1 April 1992 in cash and percentage terms ; and what has been the percentage increase in the average industrial wage and in inflation during the same period.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information is as follows :
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Date of increase |President |Percentage |Member |Percentage |£ |increase |£ |increase -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 April 1982<1> |29,000 |- |27,750 |- 1 August 1983<1> |31,250 |7.2 |29,750 |7.2 1 January 1984<1> |32,750 |4.8 |31,000 |4.2 1 April 1984<1> |33,733 |3.0 |31,930 |3.0 1 November 1984<1> |35,000 |3.76 |33,000 |3.35 16 April 1986<2> |20,000 |- |33,000 |- 1 July 1986<2> |23,000 |15.0 |41,500 |25.76 1 April 1987<2> |23,878 |3.82 |43,264 |4.25 1 May 1987<1> |47,955 |- |43,264 |- 1 October 1987<1> |48,250 |0.61 |43,500 |0.55 1 April 1988<1> |50,180 |4.0 |45,240 |4.0 1 October 1988<1> |50,900 |1.44 |45,800 |1.24 1 April 1989<1> |53,400 |4.9 |48,100 |5.02 1 April 1990<1> |56,600 |4.12 |51,000 |6.24 1 January 1991<1> |58,900 |4.06 |53,050 |4.02 1 April 1991<1> |63,300 |7.47 |57,050 |7.54 1 August 1991<1> |65,250 |3.08 |58,800 |3.07 1 December 1991<1> |66,500 |1.92 |59,900 |1.87 1 April 1992<1> |68,400 |2.86 |61,600 |2.84 <1> The salary quoted for the President is per annum. The President in his role of County Court Judge is paid by the Northern Ireland Court Service whereas time spent on Lands Tribunal work is paid out of the Consolidated Fund on a pro-rata basis in relation to days worked. <2> The post was filled in 1986-87 on a part-time basis (hence the reduced salary) but the postholder worked exclusively on Lands Tribunal work.
Average wage increases Northern Ireland |Male |Female |Average |Retail price |index Great |Britain ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1982 |11.5 |7.7 |9.6 |9.4 1983 |6.4 |11.0 |8.7 |4.0 1984 |10.6 |5.6 |8.1 |5.2 1985 |5.0 |8.8 |6.9 |6.8 1986 |5.7 |4.8 |5.25 |3.0 1987 |9.4 |7.2 |8.3 |4.4 1988 |7.9 |7.6 |7.75 |3.9 1989 |7.3 |13.3 |10.3 |8.0 1990 |9.7 |7.8 |8.75 |9.4 1991 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a 1992 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a n/a=Not available.
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Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the Secretary of the Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland is leaving his post ; and on what date his successor will take up the post.
Mr. Needham : This is a matter for the Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland. I am advised by its chairman that the secretary will be leaving his post on 11 June 1991, but no decisions have yet been taken regarding the appointment of his successor.
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Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date a chief executive will be appointed to the Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland.Mr. Needham : This is a matter for the Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland. I am advised by its chairman that interviews for the appointment of a chief executive will take place on 28 May 1991. At this stage, therefore, it is not possible to say on what date a new chief executive will take up appointment.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the objectives that were laid down by the Northern Ireland Office as conditions for funding the Ultach trust ; and whether these objectives define the relationship between the Ultach trust and Glor na nGael's.
Dr. Mawhinney : The objectives of Government funding for the Ultach trust are to widen the appreciation of the contribution that the Irish language has made to the cultural heritage of Northern Ireland, to increase knowledge of the language throughout the community and to assist in the provision of written and oral material to promote the wider use of the language.
All agreements between the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Ultach trust are subject to conditions designed to ensure that the funding provided is used in a manner and for the purposes agreed by the parties. This includes a standard provision which gives effect to the policy reflected in the parliamentary reply of 27 June 1985 by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Official Report, Vol. 81, column 451.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what consideration he has given to the independent audit of Belfast Glor na nGael's accounts ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) what are the procedures by which charitable street collections are authorised in Northern Ireland ; and whether these procedures were fully complied with for the first Irish language collection undertaken by Glor na nGael in Belfast on 10 October 1990 ; (3) when the decision was made to withdraw funds from Glor na nGael.
Dr. Mawhinney : These matters are within the purview of current proceedings before the High Court in Northern Ireland and further comment by me at this stage would not be appropriate.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to ensure that the development of Irish language resources in the community will not suffer as a result of the withdrawal of funds from Glor Na nGael.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Government recognise the interest and importance which many people attach to the Irish language and culture, and have a policy of active support for Irish language projects through their cultural traditions programme and other programmes, such as the action for community employment scheme and the Belfast
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action teams initiative. Overall Government spending on the Irish language has increased from approximately £88,000 in 1985-86 to an expected level considerably in excess of £700,000 in 1991-92. This does not take into account the very substantial annual amount spent in schools and colleges of further education. The Government will continue to support efforts to increase awareness and appreciation of the language as part of the cultural heritage of Northern Ireland.Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details as to which section of the Northern Ireland civil service is responsible for implementing the vetting policy for grants, announced on 27 June 1985.
Dr. Mawhinney : Decisions under the policy announced on 27 June 1985 are taken by my right hon. Friend and are given effect through all Departments under his control.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the content and purpose of the instructions issued to Departments and public bodies with regard to organisations from whom funds have been withdrawn as a result of the vetting policy on grants announced on 27 June 1985.
Dr. Mawhinney : Instructions on this matter are internal to Government, but the purpose is to ensure that decisions taken under the policy announced on 27 June 1985 are given effect.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of all instances where public funds have been withdrawn from Northern Ireland organisations under the vetting policy for grants announced on 27 June 1985 ; how many of the decisions were appealed ; and what was the result of each appeal.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to his earlier question on 19 December 1990, Official Report, Vol. 183, c. 160.
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the new management structure of the Western health and social services board, how many who are deemed to be Protestants have been appointed.
Mr. Hanley : Under the Fair Employment (N.I.) Acts 1976 and 1989, the Western health and social services board, as a specified public authority, carries direct responsibility for providing equality of opportunity for all job applicants and for its employees. The board has an equal opportunity policy and submits monitoring returns to the Fair Employment Commission as required by the legislation. In view of the board's statutory responsibilities, I do not consider it appropriate to provide the information requested. However, the board is prepared to meet with the hon. Member on this matter.
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action the Western health and social services board is taking under its fair employment policy to ensure a fair representation between Roman Catholics and Protestants on its psychiatric unit of management.
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Mr. Hanley : The Western health and social services board has an equal opportunity policy and has developed procedures for the implementation and monitoring of equality of opportunity which are in line with the recommendations in the code of practice on fair employment. The board seeks to ensure that vacancies are advertised in newspapers accessible by both communities, that shortlisting criteria are not unlawfully discriminatory and that appointments are made in accordance with the health and personal social services selection and appointment procedures which are the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Services. It is the board's policy that all appointments should be made on the basis of merit and this policy is applied consistently in all areas including the board's area mental health unit.Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total monthly budget allocated under the social fund to each district office of the Department of Health and Social Services in each month since April 1988.
Mr. Hanley : Social fund budgets are allocated to offices for a full year and not on a monthly basis. Information on the annual amounts allocated to each district office from 1 April 1991 and individual offices in previous years is available in the Library.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total expenditure from the social fund by each district office of the Department of Health and Social Services in each month since April 1988.
Mr. Hanley : Details of each month's expenditure for the district offices from 1 April 1991 and individual social security offices for previous years is available in the Library.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions the monthly social fund budgets of each district office of the Department of Health and Social Services were underspent at the end of each month since April 1988.
Mr. Hanley : Social fund budgets are allocated for a full year, April to March, therefore the question of an underspend does not arise until the end of the financial year. Details of amounts remaining in each office's budget at the year end are available in the Library.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many community care grant applications were processed by each district office of the Department of Health and Social Services in each month since April 1988 ; and how many applications were (a) successful, (b) successful on appeal and (c) rejected.
Mr. Hanley : Information about the number of community care grants processed each month by each of the district offices from 1 April 1991 and the individual social security offices is available in the Library. The number of applications refused can be obtained from those figures.
Community care grants are discretionary awards and there is no right of appeal against these. Dissatisfied applicants can, however, apply for a review to the social
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fund officer who made the original decision and if they are dissatisfied with the outcome of this review they can request a review by the social fund inspector. The SFI acts independently of the Department. Details of the number of decisions revised on review by each social security office for 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 is shown in the table. Information about the number of cases substituted on review by the SFI is compiled each month by the Social Fund Commissioner's Office for Northern Ireland as a whole, and is available in the Library. It should be recognised that not all cases revised by the SSO or substituted by the SFI on review will be to the applicant's benefit.Community care grants-Decisions revised Social Security office |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andersonstown |22 |97 |185 Antrim |8 |65 |48 Armagh |10 |14 |29 Ballymena |7 |40 |38 Ballymoney |4 |17 |15 Ballynahinch |6 |28 |11 Banbridge |5 |14 |22 Bangor |6 |6 |16 Carrickfergus |3 |20 |26 Coleraine |6 |22 |56 Cookstown |24 |33 |31 Corporation Street |39 |139 |182 Downpatrick |14 |33 |42 Dungannon |14 |75 |55 Enniskillen |8 |42 |56 Falls |19 |126 |84 Holywood Road |22 |101 |67 Kilkeel |4 |3 |3 Knockbreda |24 |47 |44 Larne |7 |21 |34 Limavady |6 |21 |10 Lisburn |19 |57 |103 Londonderry |38 |352 |361 Lurgan |22 |100 |109 Magherafelt |12 |14 |12 Newcastle |3 |11 |15 Newry |19 |103 |144 Newtownabbey |9 |45 |39 Newtownards |0 |4 |7 Omagh |5 |34 |30 Portadown |3 |21 |15 Shaftesbury Square |33 |123 |100 Shankill |34 |115 |249 Strabane |8 |46 |102 |--- |--- |--- Total |463 |1,989 |2,340
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the progress that has been made since the establishment of the inter-departmental committee on rural development.
Mr. Hanley : Since taking on ministerial responsibility for rural development in Northern Ireland, I have set up within the Department of Agriculture a new rural development division to take forward the work of establishing the new structures announced at the time. I was pleased to be able to announce recently the appointment of Mr. Jimmy Armstrong as the executive chairman-designate for the proposed formation of the Rural Development Council and have asked him to prepare a draft constitution. I have also decided that a council of about 15 members could represent a wide range of rural and other relevant interests. I shall shortly be
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seeking the assistance of appropriate organisations to help to identify potential members who might be able to make a personal contribution to the work of the council.Arrangements are also under way to select from the wider public service a small team of area co-ordinators who will establish local networks of statutory agencies to co-ordinate and integrate responses to locally developed community regeneration plans.
I am aiming to have the next structures fully operational by the autumn.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the progress that has been made to date in the attraction of funds from the European Community's LEADER programme, and details of any future developments planned for LEADER-funded projects in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hanley : Northern Ireland, as the United Kingdom's only objective 1 region, has been accorded an indicative LEADER allocation of 2.8 million ecu. This is disappointingly low, given that the closest contact has been maintained with the Commission throughout the developmental stages of this initiative to ensure the greatest possible compatibility between LEADER and the new rural development structures being established in Northern Ireland.
However, the Commission has confirmed that the indicative allocations may be revised to take account of the quality of the programmes presented. Accordingly I am considering with officials how best to maximise the Northern Ireland allocation under the initiative. I will be making a statement shortly about the arrangements for implementing the LEADER programme in Northern Ireland.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the chairman of the Northern Ireland electricity service concerning the salary increase proposed by the chief executive of the service.
Mr. Needham : None. This is a matter in the first instance for the chairman of NIE who is then required to seek the approval of the Department of Economic Development.
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nationalist people in the Six Counties have been arrested under the emergency powers Act and prevention of terrorism Act since 1973 ; how many were charged and how many of those charged were convicted.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 20 May 1991] : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what allowances and expenses will be paid to the representatives of the political parties participating in talks with the Government of the Republic of Ireland ; and where these talks will be held.
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Mr. Brooke [holding answer 14 May 1991] : On the days when meetings of the political parties participating in talks with the Government of the Republic of Ireland take place in the United Kingdom, allowances will continue to be payable on the basis detailed in the reply which I gave to the right hon. Gentleman's question on 14 May 1991, Official Report, Vol. 191, column 126. Other arrangements may be needed for the days on which the talks take place outside the United Kingdom.
I expect that the opening meeting of this strand of talks will be held in London, that the bulk of substantive exchanges will take place in Northern Ireland with plenary meetings being held in Parliament buildings, and that there will be a meeting in Dublin towards the end of June.
Mr. Richmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will withdraw (a) SCRAM-A air-launched missiles and (b) W79 nuclear artillery shells from bases in the United Kingdom and British bases in Europe.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not our practice to comment on the deployment of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Richmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when his Department received the United States military's final draft report of its inquiry into the friendly fire incident on 26 February in the Gulf ; if a copy will be placed in the Library ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) when he expects to publish the report into the friendly fire incident of 26 February ; and if a copy will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) on 16 May at columns 272-74.
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the percentage of service personnel who smoke.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No service-wide assessment has been made, although a sample survey in 1989 among 4,000 adult male personnel found that 35 per cent. were cigarette smokers and a further 3.6 per cent. were cigar or pipe smokers.
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to discourage smoking in the services.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence gives wide publicity to the harmful effects of smoking, by way of publishing and displaying anti -smoking literature and posters in defence establishments. Furthermore, it is official policy to discourage smoking on Ministry of Defence premises. In addition, as my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman) announced in the House on 5 December 1988, the price of "Blue Liners", the specially produced low-priced cigarettes and tobacco
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available to Royal Navy personnel serving in United Kingdom shore establishments, has been increased progressively and the concession will cease altogether in December 1991.Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's forecast of United Kingdom defence expenditure for the next three years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Defence expenditure in 1991-92 is expected to be around £24.4 billion. This exceeds the supply estimates by some £1.5 billion. Supplementary estimates to provide for this additional Gulf-related expenditure will be presented in due course. Cash plans thereafter are for £23.35 billion in 1992-93 and £23.39 billion in 1993-94, as set out in Cm. 1501.
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the impact of reduced military expenditure on the economy of south-west England.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is too early to say what effect the revised defence programme emerging from "Options for Change" will have on military expenditure in particular regions.
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will obtain a copy of the conclusions of the Bristol polytechnic study on the impact of reduced military expenditure on the economy of south-west England for his departmental library.
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements have been made or are under discussion with the United States of America to enable Tornado aircraft to exercise in Alaska.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Tornado GR1 aircraft deployed to Alaska for a training exercise in June 1990, and the possibility of a further such exercise, is under discussion with the United States authorities.
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many married quarters and single men's quarters at present are occupied at RAF Honington ; and how many airmen stationed there have their own houses in the community.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : At RAF Honington and its associated sites, 595 married quarters are occupied and 780 single personnel are living on base. In addition, 393 married personnel own houses in the local area and some 113 single personnel live in private housing either as tenants or owner- occupiers.
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those bodies currently with agency status within his Department under the "next steps" initiative ; and whether he has identified any further candidates for agency status under the initiative within his Department.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Defence organisations currently operating as "next steps" agencies are as follows :
|When |launched --------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive agencies Meteorological Office |April 1990 Defence Research Agency |April 1991 Defence support agencies Hydrographic Office |April 1990 Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment |April 1991 Directorate General Defence Accounts |April 1991 Military Survey |April 1991 RAF Maintenance Group |April 1991 Service Children's Schools (North West Europe) |April 1991
We plan to move ahead as quickly as possible with the identification and establishment of further agencies in the defence support area. This work will take into account developments in the structure and organisation of the services and the Ministry of Defence as a result of the continuing work on the broad proposals on "Options for Change" which were announced last July.
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the Royal Navy searched and investigated the reported siting of a Soviet Victor III class submarine off the east Antrim coast on 14 May ;
(2) if he will make a statement regarding the presence of a foreign submarine approximately two miles off the east Antrim coast on Tuesday 14 May at approximately1.20 pm.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There were no submarines, United Kingdom or foreign, on the surface off the east Antrim coast at the time in question.
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action has been taken to protect shipping and fishermen from risk of activity of foreign submarines between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Royal Navy is investigating whether the successful firth of Clyde dived submarine movement notification scheme can be extended to other United Kingdom territorial waters. Additionally, work continues to assist with the development of net pinger devices to make fishing nets more easily detectable to dived submarines.
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any British submarine surfaced off the east Antrim coast on 14 May.
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to awarding contracts to private firms for the provision of Royal Air Force maintenance training.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Some 300 Royal Air Force maintenance training courses have been put out to contract. We will continue to seek opportunities to extend this practice where it is cost-effective to do so.
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Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to awarding contracts to private firms for the provision of basic Royal Air Force flying training.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The RAF has already embarked on major contractorisation at its flying training stations, at this stage concentrating on engineering, supply and domestic tasks which directly support flying training. A similar approach has been adopted with university air squadrons and air experience flights which provide a major source of trainee pilots for the RAF. We are currently examining the potential for contracting out the elementary flying task.
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to awarding contracts to private firms for the provision of Royal Air Force apprentice training.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Following a fundamental review of training in 1989, it has been decided to discontinue Royal Air Force apprentice training and the last tranche of service apprentices will graduate in July 1993. This will not affect the training of civilian apprentices by the Royal Air Force civilian technical training schools (CTTS). Some 50 per cent. of their training will, as at present, continue to be provided through local technical colleges and colleges of further education.
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) the number of defence domestic properties there are throughout the United Kingdom and (b) the number unoccupied at the present time ; indicating how many have been unoccupied for six months, one year, two years and for longer than two years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Records are not maintained in the precise form requested. As at 31 March 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, the total stock of service married quarters in the United Kingdom was 73,462 of which 10,111 were vacant ; 7,707 had been vacant for less than one year, 1,104 for one to two years and 1, 300 for over two years. In addition, the Ministry of Defence owned 1, 573 civilian houses, of which 170 were vacant ; 57 had been vacant for under six months and 113 for six months or more.
Many of these vacant properties were either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation, some were already attached to service families who were due to move in shortly and others were being considered for disposal. In addition 1,864 dwellings were in the process of being sold.
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the cost of repairing welding defects in the A91 building at the atomic weapons establishment at Aldermaston ; and what effect this has had on training programmes.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The problem discovered during the early stages of commissioning in the A91 building is one of corrosion on pipework and vessels. A detailed technical investigation into the cause and extent of the
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problem has not yet been completed so we are not in a position to make decisions about what work is needed to rectify the problem. We do not expect this problem to have any adverse effect on the Trident warhead programme. The training schedules of a small number of the future A91 operators have been revised while the problem is being investigated.Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to rectify the defect in the installation of supports to the Phoenix system for ductwork on systems other than zone 1 and in the roof spaces above the first floor laboratories in the A90 building at Aldermaston ; what system was charged for by the contractors ; what steps he is taking to recover moneys from the contractor ; and whether he is instigating any criminal or civil proceedings for overcharging, for product substitution or for fraud.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The use of Phoenix supports in A90, in areas beyond zone 1, was approved by the design authority for the building wherever they were fit for the purpose specified. Subsequently none has been found to be defective or inappropriate and none has had to be removed. The supplier charged and was paid for the materials used in the construction. The question of recovery of moneys or the instigation of any criminal or civil proceedings for overcharging has not arisen.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of Royal Air Force Finningley.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Royal Air Force Finningley is principally a flying training station. No decisions have been taken to change that role.
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