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Car Parking, Larne
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicle parking spaces are available in Larne, County Antrim, for use under pay and display arrangements.
Training
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has any plans to meet representatives of community-based training organisations or community workshops to discuss problems arising from block funding arrangements ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Needham : I met representatives of the Northern Ireland Association of Community-based Training Organisations to discuss funding issues on 19 February 1992.Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applicants were transferred from the waiting list at Felden training centre during 1991-92 to waiting lists at other training centres.
Mr. Needham : During 1991-92 to date, 48 persons were transferred from the waiting list of Felden training centre to Boucher Road training centre and 29 persons from Felden training centre to Ballymena training centre. All such transfers are with the agreement of the individuals concerned.
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision is being made for ex GEC/Alsthom employees who are now more than six months unemployed to obtain re-training and
re-qualification.
Mr. Needham : Under the restart programme--for those unemployed for six months or more--interviews with ex-GEC Alsthom employees began on 15 January 1992.
To date, all 66 in this group have been interviewed. Twenty-five have made job applications, 17 have applied for training and 19 applied to a job club.
Of the remaining five, three have registered voluntarily for employment and two have been unable to accept any opportunities offered due to domestic circumstances.
Metal-framed Windows
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on which housing estates the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has replaced metal-framed windows in the past six years ; and if he will indicate how old the houses are in each instance and the number of houses improved.
Mr. Needham : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive but I have been advised by the chairman that the information is not readily available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Annalong Harbour
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to make improvements to the harbour at Annalong, County Down.
Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been charged with an offence under section 29 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991 or the equivalent offence in earlier Acts, giving the numbers charged in each calendar year since the creation of the offence.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 19 February 1992] : No persons have been charged with an offence under section 29 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991, nor with the equivalent offence introduced by section 11 of the 1987 Act.
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DEFENCE
ELF Communications Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department is continuing research into extremely low frequency communications.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : No. The MOD is currently not pursuing research into this field.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantities of (a) low level, (b) intermediate level and (c) high level radioactive wastes are currently stored at (i) Aldermaston, (ii) Burghfield and (iii) Llanishen ; and if he will distinguish between materials being temporarily stored and those being permanently stored.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Wastes from all three sites for which a current national disposal route is available are stored on the sites temporarily only pending transfer to a disposal site. No high level waste is produced at any of the sites of the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Low level waste only is produced at Burghfield and Llanishen, and both low and intermediate level wastes are produced at Aldermaston. Long-term storage of wastes, for which no disposal route is currently available, is carried out in purpose-built stores at Aldermaston. The stores are subject to regular monitoring and surveillance, and constitute no danger to the public, the work force or the environment. At December 1991, which is the latest date for which figures are available, the volumes of wastes stored at Aldermaston are 1,800 cu/m of low level waste and 2,100 cu/m of intermediate level waste ; at Burghfield no waste is stored ; and at Llanishen 19 cu/m of low level waste only is stored.
Uranium
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which subheads of which votes costs are attributed by his Department for enrichment in the United States of British uranium for defence purposes.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Such costs are attributed to class 1, vote 2- -defence procurement. It would not be in the national interest to reveal further details of vote attribution.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are continuing exchanges of British military plutonium for United States highly enriched uranium.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It would not be in the national interest to disclose such details of the nuclear procurement programme.
Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date (a) design work and (b) white commissioning started for (i) the A89 building, (ii) the A90 building and (iii) the A91 building at AWE Aldermaston.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The dates for (a) design work and (b) white commissioning are as follows :
(i) A89--design work commenced in 1983 ; much of the building is already in use, white commissioning of the remainder will begin shortly.
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(ii) A90--design work commenced in 1981 ; the early stages of white commissioning began in 1990.(iii) A91--design work commenced in 1982 ; white commissioning began in 1990.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the problems with new building work at AWE Aldermaston has any implications for the dismantling of British nuclear weapons.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date building A45 at AWE Aldermaston was first declared operational.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The building was first declared operational in 1957.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the role and function of the A89 building at AWE Aldermaston ; on what date construction work on this building commenced ; on what date building work was completed ; and on what date this building is scheduled to be operational.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : A89 provides office, laboratory and other facilities to support buildings concerned with the treatment of radioactive waste. Construction began in 1985 and was completed at the end of 1988. Part of the building is currently in full use, with the rest expected to come into operation later this year.
Trident
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the expenditure on the Trident programme in each year since the beginning of the programme expressed in (a) then year prices and (b) current prices.
Mr. Alan Clark : Expenditure each year since the beginning of the Trident programme is as follows :
£ million
Financial |Historical |Constant
year |(Outturn) |1991-92
|prices |prices
|and
|£ 1 = $1.59
----------------------------------------------------
1980-81 |3 |7
1981-82 |30 |55
1982-83 |69 |110
1983-84 |92 |128
1984-85 |162 |212
1985-86 |264 |352
1986-87 |369 |495
1987-88 |579 |738
1988-89 |713 |859
1989-90 |923 |1,073
1990-91 |993 |1,080
<1>1991-92 |1,155 |1,155
<1> The figure for 1991-92 is an estimate.
Nuclear-powered Submarines
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if any nuclear -powered submarines that have been decommissioned or are awaiting decommissioning have been moved since 22 July 1991.
Mr. Alan Clark : No, other than small distances within naval bases.
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Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long his Department has been carrying out feasibility studies into the options for the disposal of nuclear-powered submarines.
Mr. Alan Clark : Following a decision in 1989 not to pursue the immediate sea disposal of HMS Dreadnought, studies were initiated into alternative methods of disposal for decommissioned nuclear submarines. These studies continue.
Terrorists (Dependants' Claims)
Mr. A. Cecil Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been made against the Ministry of Defence by dependants of terrorists killed by the security forces in line of duty in the last five years ; and what sums were paid in compensation in each of these claims.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Claims data are not maintained in the format requested. The recorded data does not distinguish between dependants of terrorists and others.
Arms Control Implementation Group
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost to date for the maintenance and operation of the joint arms control implementation group ; and what commitments have been made to support the group in its role.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The joint arms control implementation group (JACIG) was established at RAF Scampton in 1990 and became fully operational on 1 January 1991. Since then, JACIG has been involved in a full programme of training, exercises and evaluation visits, thus ensuring that inspections in the United Kingdom and overseas are conducted effectively and in accordance with the terms and spirit of the Vienna document and INF treaty ; and of the CFE treaty once it enters into force. The initial setting-up cost for JACIG was £1.4 million at current prices ; running costs have totalled £3.2 million at current prices to date.
Seismic Monitoring
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution United Kingdom scientists have made to the group of scientific experts on technical test 2 seismic monitoring system established in April 1991 by the group of scientific experts of the United Nations Committee on Disarmament.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The group of scientific experts (GSE), a group established under the auspices of the United Nations conference on disarmament, set up a six week experiment called the GSE technical test. The United Kingdom participated fully in this experiment which involved the transmission of data of each seismic disturbance detected by the United Kingdom national seismic station located at Eskdalemuir, Scotland. The data were used by experimental international data centres to produce a daily bulletin of seismic disturbances.
Type 22 Frigates
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 February, Official Report, column 632, how many of the type 22 batch 1
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frigates have been modified to provide extra accommodation for young officers ; at what cost ; how many officers will undertake initial sea training in each ship ; for what periods of time ; and how many type 22 batch 1 frigates will at any one time be unavailable for normal operations as a result.Mr. Archie Hamilton : Three type 22 batch 1 frigates have been converted : HMS Broadsword, HMS Brazen and HMS Brilliant, HMS Battleaxe is to follow later in the year. The cost of these modifications to date has been in the order of £514,000.
The modification provides extra accommodation on each ship for up to 65 young officers who will undertake
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initial sea training (IST) for eight weeks, seven of which are spent at sea. IST will not affect the operational availability of these ships.Tugs
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 12 February, Official Report, columns 511-12, whether the costs of the new tugs Impetus and Impulse will be attributed to the Trident programme.
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