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DEFENCE
Armed Forces (Housing)
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement of his Department's plans to ensure there is sufficient housing provision for members of the armed forces prior to their discharge into civilian life.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Serving members of the armed forces are provided with accommodation, if they require it, as part of their conditions of service.
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many residential properties his Department currently owns in the Woolwich area ; how many of these are empty ; how many have been disposed of during the past five years to (a) public housing bodies or (b) private purchasers ; and how many are currently being leased to public housing bodies.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 30 September 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, the Ministry of Defence owned 628 such properties in the Woolwich area, of which 87 were empty.
Over the past five years 100 properties have been disposed of, 90 to public housing bodies and 10 to private purchasers. Currently there are no properties on lease.
MV Polar Circle
Mr. Sayeed : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the MV Polar Circle will (a) embark Royal Navy helicopters, (b) be armed and (c) embark Royal Marines during its forthcoming voyage to the South Atlantic.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : For HMS Polar Circle's forthcoming deployment in the Antarctic, she will embark two Royal Navy Lynx helicopters and a small detachment of Royal Marines. The ship will not be armed.
Nuclear Tests
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now make it his practice to answer questions on plans for future nuclear tests.
Libya (Minefield Records)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make available to Libya relevant second world war minefield records ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Libyan authorities were provided with maps and information about British minefields in Libya in 1981.
Northern Ireland (Duty Tours)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average interval between short tours of duty in Northern Ireland for (a) infantry battalions and (b) armoured regiments over the last decade.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It has been our aim that intervals between all emergency tours--deployments to Belize, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands as well as Northern
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Ireland--are 24 months long, but this has not always been achieved. Only one armoured regiment has served in the short tour role in Northern Ireland in the past 10 years ; the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment in 1990. The reduction in tension in Europe means that units based in BAOR can now be used on a more frequent basis ; this should ensure that the 24-month tour interval target is usually achieved.Rapid Reaction Corps
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans have been made to deploy British units of the rapid reaction corps to Northern Ireland.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Units assigned to the ACE rapid reaction corps, ARRC, will be available to undertake short, unaccompanied operational tours in Northern Ireland and elsewhere--as is at present the case with units assigned to NATO. So far as United Kingdom-based units are concerned, this represents no change from the present situation. But, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made clear during the defence debate, in future, while still maintaining appropriate levels of readiness for NATO tasks, it will be possible for units based in Germany to take a greater share of these tours than when we faced the threat of surprise Soviet attack.
Anti-Ballistic Missiles
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received from his Soviet and American counterparts regarding their bilateral discussions on anti-ballistic missile systems.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The United States has kept us and other allies informed of progress on this issue. The details of discussions between Governments are confidential.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what declassified assessments have been made available by his Department on the changes that have occurred in the development plans of Soviet anti- ballistic missile defences in the last decade.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Western Isles (Mr. Macdonald) on 13 November, Official Report, columns 613-14.
Friendly Fire
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what actions have been taken to prevent friendly fire incidents as a result of investigations into the incident on 26 February 1991.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As I outlined in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Mr. Oppenheim) on 24 July, Official Report, column 706, the board of inquiry into the incident in the Gulf on 26 February recommended that a study should be initiated to identify a suitable air recognition system for future use. The board also recommended that target co-ordinates should be specifically included in mission briefs and acknowledged by pilots. Studies in pursuit of these recommendations are under way.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what further action has been taken to investigate the death
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of nine British soldiers on 26 February 1991 in the Gulf as a result of friendly fire, since the publication of the board of inquiry's report.Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Mr. Amos) on 15 November, Official Report, column 704.
Northern Ireland (Duty Tours)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what length of time is required for (a) infantry battalions and (b) armoured regiments to train for short tours of duty in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The same length of time is allocated for pre- tour training for both infantry battalions and non-infantry units, but during that time the latter receive additional tuition on those infantry skills with which they are not familiar.
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Regiments
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to his answer of 11 November, Official Report, column 338, to the hon. Member for Bexleyheath (Mr. Townsend), if he will set out the timetable for the merging of the Ulster Defence Regiment with the Royal Irish Rangers.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The planning date for the merger of the UDR and the Royal Irish Rangers continues to be July 1992. The formation of a single general service battalion from the 1st and 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rangers will follow as soon as practicalities permit, but should be complete in 1993.
Zimbabwe
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deaths have occurred in the British military advisory team to Zimbabwe over the last five years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There has been one. A sergeant was killed in September 1990 as a result of a road traffic accident.
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