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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 June 1991, Official Report, column 496.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement regarding construction progress of the shiplift at Clyde submarine base Faslane.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Steady progress is being made on the Shiplift's construction ; its superstructure and cladding are largely completed.
Explosives Handling Jetty, Coulport
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement regarding construction progress of the explosives handling jetty for Royal Navy armaments depot, Coulport.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Following action to overcome earlier difficulties, it is expected that the explosives handling jetty will be completed in 1992-93, in time to meet the operational requirements of the Trident submarine programme.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the explosives handling jetty to sail from Hunterston to Royal Navy armaments depot, Coulport.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : On current plans, the explosives handling jetty will leave Hunterston in 1992.
WE177 Bomb
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he is considering replacing the nuclear depth bomb variant of the WE177 nuclear free-fall bomb at some time in the future.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As I said in my answer to the hon. Member on 15 March 1991, Official Report , column 719 , our future requirement for nuclear depth bombs is under consideration.
Construction Work Audits
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place an edited or complete copy of the Bovis audit of construction work at Clyde submarine base Faslane and Royal Navy armaments, depot, Coulport in the Library.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Due to the commercial sensitivity of extensive sections of the Bovis report, it cannot be made public. However, its main recommendations will be
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summarised in the Government's forthcoming response to the 1990-91 House of Commons Defence Committee report on the progress of the Trident programme--HC286--which will be presented to the Committee shortly.HMS Revenge
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there are plans to give HMS Revenge a third refit.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It is not the practice of this or previous Governments to publish details of nuclear submarine refits.
Drug-related Offences
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many service men and women serving in Northern Ireland have been court martialled for drug and drug-related offences in the last 10 years for which information is available ;
(2) how many service men and women serving in Northern Ireland have been convicted after court martial of drug or drug-related offences in the last 10 years for which information is available ; and of these how many have been dismissed from the service.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. and learned Member.
Queen Victoria School, Dunblane
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future of the Queen Victoria school, Dunblane.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Queen Victoria school Dunblane is one of several areas which my Department has under review for agency status, as my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement announced on 22 July, Official Report, column 449. If the outcome of this work is positive, we would aim to establish the school as an executive agency by the end of this financial year.
Air-to-Air Missile
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to make an early decision on the advanced short- range air-to-air missile ; and what factors will influence that decision.
Mr. Alan Clark : We are evaluating tenders with a view to reaching a decision in the spring of next year. All relevant factors are being taken into account.
Seawolf
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the considerations which prompted the cancellation of the lightweight four-barrel launcher Seawolf close-area defence system programme.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Cancellation of the lightweight Seawolf programme was a consequence of the examination of the forward equipment programme in the light of changes required to support the force levels envisaged in "Britain's Defence for the 90s".
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Electronic Warfare
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will commission a study into the effectiveness of electronic warfare equipment used on Royal Air Force aircraft during the Gulf war.
Mr. Alan Clark : This is being studied as part of our detailed assessment of the operation.
European Fighter Aircraft
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on the proposal that the European fighter aircraft should be built on a single assembly line.
Mr. Alan Clark : When it is appropriate to take decisions on the production phase of the European fighter aircraft programme, we shall consider how manufacture might be carried out most cost effectively.
Direct Fire Simulator
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce a decision on the direct fire weapon effects simulator for the British Army.
Mr. Alan Clark : I hope to do so in the near future.
RAF Tankers (Information System)
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects that the programme to install joint tactical information distribution system terminals in the RAF tanker fleet will be completed.
Mr. Alan Clark : We are currently conducting studies into the fitting of joint tactical information distribution systems terminals into RAF tanker aircraft. No final decision will be taken as to their installation until these have been completed.
South Korea
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what subjects were discussed at the meeting in September of the joint committee of defence officials of the United Kingdom and South Korea ; what decisions were taken ; and when the committee is next due to meet.
Mr. Alan Clark : A number of matters of mutual interest were discussed relating to industrial co-operation in the area of defence procurement. It is expected that the committee will meet again next year.
RAF Stand-off Weapons
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on the procurement of a new stand-off weapon for the Royal Air Force for use against hardened targets.
Mr. Alan Clark : We are currently considering the purchase of stand- off weapons for the RAF, taking into account experience gained in the Gulf. We recently raised a request for information with industry in order to identify any off-the-shelf weapons systems that might be suitable.
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Animal Experiments
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the numbers of animals used in experiments carried out by his Department or undertaken on a contract basis for each year since 1975.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The number of Ministry of Defence animal experiments recorded by the Home Office under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 and the subsequent Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act which became effective on 1 January 1987 are as follows. 1990 represents the last full year for which figures are available.
Year |Number returned
|to Home Office
------------------------------------------------
1982 |13,400
1983 |9,400
1984 |10,900
1985 |6,900
1986 |6,600
1987 |9,200
1988 |8,100
1989 |9,000
1990 |8,100
I regret that figures for the period prior to 1982 are not available.
Contractors have the same reporting responsibilities as MOD under the Act and their procedures are reported to the Home Office, not to MOD.
Meteorological Satellites
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support has been given by Her Majesty's Government to the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites ; and what benefits have accrued to the United Kingdom from participation in EUMETSAT.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : This is a matter for the Meteorological Office under its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive of the Meteorological Office, Sir John Houghton, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Arms Control
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the scientists employed by his Department's Atomic Weapons Establishment are working on verification of arms control agreements and initiatives.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It is not our practice to reveal the numbers of personnel employed on specific tasks.
Anglo-Italian Defence Plan
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the strategic and financial implications of the Anglo-Italian defence plan for the United Kingdom armed forces.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The recent Anglo-Italian declaration on European security and defence was offered as a contribution to the debate on future European security arrangements currently underway in the political union inter-governmental conference, in NATO, and in the Western European Union, rather than as a defence plan for the United Kingdom armed forces.
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Iraq
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what equipment or technology of United Kingdom origin was found at the Jabal Hamrayn site north of Baghdad by the United Nations special inspection team in Iraq.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The United Nations inspectors found a 350 mm calibre gun at the site. It is believed that the barrel tubes and seals were made in the United Kingdom.
B52 Bombers
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information was available to him on the accident on 15 September 1980 in North Dakota involving a B52 bomber prior to agreeing to the stationing of these aeroplanes in the United Kingdom ; what safeguards have been taken by the USAF to ensure no repetition of this accident in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I understand that this accident involved a B52 aircraft on strategic alert, carrying nuclear missiles. There is no agreement permanently to station United States Air Force B52 aircraft in the United Kingdom, and when such aircraft have deployed temporarily to the United Kingdom they have exercised or operated only in their conventional role. The circumstances of the North Dakota accident are therefore not relevant to the deployment of B52 aircraft to the United Kingdom.
Procurement Projects
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all procurement projects abandoned over the last five years for which at least £1 million had been incurred ; and if he will give the amount actually incurred for each such project.
Mr. Alan Clark : The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only with disproportionate cost and effort.
Nuclear Arms Reductions
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report the interviews he gave to the media following the announcement by President Bush on 27 September of nuclear arms reductions ; and if he will summarise the main points in regard to the United Kingdom nuclear weapons capability and future plans.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend gave interviews to Sky TV, TV-am, BBC TV and radio, IRN and ITN concerning President Bush's announcement on 27 September. He pointed out that, while the Government are committed to the maintenance of a minimum nuclear deterrent, we are reducing our strike aircraft squadrons from 11 to eight, giving up entirely the Lance and nuclear artillery capability, and withdrawing maritime tactical nuclear weapons from our ships in normal circumstances.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities exist in the United Kingdom for the dismantling of the delivery vehicles and warheads from United Kingdom short-range battlefield nuclear weapons
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and United Kingdom nuclear depth charge bombs ; and what plans his Department has for the storage and disposal of plutonium recovered from nuclear weapons withdrawn from deployment.Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The United Kingdom has the appropriate facilities for any necessary dismantlement of United Kingdom nuclear weapons. It is not in the national interest to give details of the processes involved.
Home Defence
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the military planning figure for the length of warning time for military home defence battalions in 1984 ; what it is now ; and what it is expected to be in 1997 ;
(2) what were the estimated response times for military home defence battalions from (a) the regular Army and (b) the Territorial Army in 1984 ; what they are now ; and what are the comparable estimates for 1997.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is classified.
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many regular Army battalions are committed to military home defence ; and how many will be committed in 1997.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There are currently 21 regular infantry battalions committed to military home defence ; in 1997, the number will be 16.
World Summit for Children
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has completed the review of its policies for inclusion in the progress report on action in the areas targeted by the World Summit for Children's declaration and plan of action ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is co- ordinating an exercise among interested Whitehall departments in order to prepare the United Kingdom's progress report on action in the areas targeted by the World Summit for Children's declaration and plan of action. The Ministry of Defence has no direct interest in this process.
River Clyde (Radiation)
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the radiation leaks from submarines in the River Clyde.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There has never been a significant accidental discharge of radioactive material to the environment from a Royal Navy nuclear submarine in the Clyde. If any such accidental discharge were to occur, it would be reported to the relevant statutory authority. For the Clyde, this would be the Scottish Office Environment Department.
Low Flying
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the likely decrease in overall low flying throughout the Scottish Highlands during the next three
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year period ; if he will clarify to what extent the different types of aircraft to which he referred will undertake low flying sorties there over the same period ; if he will give further information as to the impact of his policy announcement upon the level and nature of low flying sorties associated with the Tain bombing range, Ross- shire ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It is not possible to say how the proposed changes in low flying will affect individual areas, but our aim will continue to be to spread the burden of low-flying training as fairly and as widely as possible.
Infantry Costs
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated saving in costs of disbanding an infantry battalion.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We do not plan to disband any infantry battalions and have therefore not costed such measures.
Hardened Aircraft Shelters, Stornoway
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the decision on whether to proceed with the RAF Stornoway hardened aircraft shelters project will be made ; by what body the decision will be made ; and what information about the decision will be communicated to non- governmental bodies.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The question of the future survival measures for RAF Stornoway is still under consideration. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will inform the hon. Member of any significant changes to our current plans.
Foinavon Mountain
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the height of the summit of Foinavon mountain, Sutherland officially shown on Ordnance Survey maps ; what height has been recorded by the satellite mapping system ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : I have been asked to reply.
I have asked the chief executive of the Ordnance Survey to write to the hon. Member with the details requested.
TRANSPORT
Railway Stations (Security)
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers and staff were assaulted on British Rail stations in Scotland in each of the past five years ; and how many of those assaults took place on unstaffed stations.
Mr. Freeman : The numbers of assaults on British Rail stations in Scotland were as follows :
|1989 |1990 |<1>1991
-------------------------------------------
Passengers |84 |118 |96
Staff |45 |73 |32
<1>1991 to date.
Figures for earlier years were kept on a different basis and are not comparable.
A breakdown of the figures by staffed/unstaffed stations is not readily available. British Rail and British Transport police are considering ways in which such an analysis could be provided in the future.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those British Rail stations in Scotland which are unstaffed for all or part of the day and which have security cameras and emergency telephones for use by passengers.
Mr. Freeman : There are no unstaffed British Rail stations in Scotland equipped with security cameras and emergency telephones. Some unstaffed stations do have special telephones for obtaining train information.
Lower Thames Crossing
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what interest has been expressed by the private sector in the development and operation of a lower Thames crossing ; and when he hopes to announce a starting date for this project.
Mr. Chope : Private sector firms have indicated to the Department their potential interest in the proposal for a lower Thames crossing to be provided on a privately financed basis.
This is a long-term project. Consultants will be appointed to examine the need, location and type of river crossing and to investigate possible road links to serve it. The study will also address the feasibility of a crossing as a privately financed toll road.
Light Dues
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what action he intends taking to ensure a more reliable system of forecasting light dues revenue in the future, in view of the unexpected interim increase in September ;
(2) to what level it is his objective to reduce the liquid reserves of the general lighthouse fund by March 1992 and by 1993 ; and what effect the recent increase in light dues will have on the level of the general lighthouse fund's reserves ;
(3) what was the state of the liquid reserves of the general lighthouse fund at the financial year end over each of the last five years ;
(4) what forecasts of trade through British ports during 1991-92 were used when determining the levels of light dues in April 1991 and September 1991, respectively ;
(5) what have been the increases in light dues in both money and real terms, together with the annual percentage increases over the last five years ;
(6) what representations he has received from ports and shipping interests regarding the commercial disadvantages imposed on them by the levy of light dues ; and what plans he has for the transfer of light dues to central Government funding ;
(7) whether the recent change in light dues regulations, whereby only one chargeable voyage is incurred within a 30-day rolling period, has affected the spread of the receipt of revenue through the year ; and whether this factor was taken fully into account before the interim increase in light dues was decided upon ;
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(8) what were the reasons for the interim increase in light dues imposed on shipping using British ports in September 1990 ; (9) why his Department's methods of forecasting revenue from light dues did not indicate that the 6.7 per cent. annual increase in April would prove insufficient.Mr. McLoughlin : My right hon. Friend regrets the need for the additional increase in light dues from 1 September, which was necessary to secure the original revenue objective for 1991-92 and to protect the viability of the general lighthouse fund. The increase took account of the changes in the basis of payment made in April of this year.
Reforms made to the dues system between April 1989 and April 1991 have added to the difficulties of forecasting annual revenue. The changes introduced this spring posed the greatest uncertainty, but they have assisted payers generally by spreading the dues liability more evenly over the year and, in many cases, relieving the shipowner of some voyage payments altogether. Now that the main reforms have been implemented, I expect revenues to settle to a more predictable pattern. Trade patterns have only a limited bearing on the forecasts, given the basis of dues collection.
On the liquid reserves of the general lighthouse fund, the Department proposed in 1988 an interim objective of reducing these to £10 million (1988 prices) by the end of 1993. The level planned for March 1992 is about £20 million, allowing for the recent increase, but may fall below this. The reserves stood at £21.9 million on 15 October. The lights finance committee will shortly be reviewing what considerations should determine the level of the reserves for 1993 and beyond. At the end of the following financial years the liquid funds stood at :
|£ million
------------------------------
1986-87 |27.8
1987-88 |30.3
1988-89 |32.9
1989-90 |33.3
1990-91 |31.5
The information on light dues increases over the last five years is as follows :
Basic tariff (cargo) Total annual revenue
(per NRT ton) (all vessels)
|Cash |1991-92 |Cash |1991-92
|prices |prices
|Pence |Per cent.|Pence |£ million|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |34.6 |45.6 |56.1 |73.9
1988-89 |31.2 |-10 |38.3 |51.3 |62.9
1989-90 |30.6 |-2 |35.3 |47.1 |54.3
1990-91 |30.0 |-2 |32.1 |44.8 |47.9
1991-92
April |32.0 |+6.7 |32.0 |<1>45.0 |<1>45.0
September 35.0 +9.4 35.0
<1>Estimate.
Note: The tariff comparisons do not fully reflect reforms to the
regulations implemented over the last three years.
Port and shipping interests have frequently made representations that the cost of navigational aids should be borne by the Exchequer, but the Government have no plans to make these a charge on the taxpayer.
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