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Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by county areas how many tonnes of (a) sulphur dioxide, (b) nitrogen oxide and (c) particulate carbon were discharged into the atmosphere in Wales during the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : This information is not available on a county level basis. However, information on United Kingdom estimated emission levels, by emission source and type of fuel, can be found in the Department of the Environment's publication "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics" No. 13 1990. For emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate carbon, the latest available United Kingdom figures are for 1989--and are 3.67 million, 2.69 million and 0.15 million tonnes respectively.
Rural Housing
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress of Tai Cymru's scheme to encourage the development of affordable housing for young people in the rural areas of Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The village initiative, which was launched in 1989, has resulted in the provision of 160 additional homes--seven more than expected.
Housing for Wales is also finalising arrangements for joint working fora involving key organisations in north, mid and west Wales. These measures will help in targeting resources allocated to rural housing which in 1992- 93 will amount to over 27 per cent. of housing for Wales's programme.
Accommodation Above Shops
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what grants are currently made available by his Department for developing accommodation currently available above shops for renting purposes or for purchase as affordable housing.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : In 1991-92, £4.6 million is being made available to assist Welsh local authorities in
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providing schemes, specifically in the private rented sector, including flats above shops. A further £5 million is available for similar schemes in 1992-93.Market Testing Programme
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each private sector consultancy firm which has been retained by each agency within his Department, and for his Department as a whole, for the purposes of advising on the market testing programme ; and whether the appointment in each case was the result of competitive tendering.
Mr. David Hunt : Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte have been retained to offer advice on potential market testing candidates within my Department, its executive agency and non-departmental public bodies. Their appointment followed a competitive tendering exercise.
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Hospital Discharges and Deaths
26. Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hospital discharges and/or deaths have occurred in Wales, in the age groups up to four years and five to 14 years, in the international classification of diseases (ICD) categories, in each of the years 1986 to 1991, 580 acute glomerulonephritis, (a) 581 nephrotic syndrome, (b) 582 chronic glomerulonephritis, (c) 583 nephritis and nepropathy, (d) 584 acute renal failure, (e) 997.5 acute postoperative renal failure, (f) 585 chronic renal failure, (g) 779.80 chronic renal failure in newborn, (h) 586 renal failure (unspecified), (i) 788.9 uraemia, (j) 587 renal sclerosis, (k) 590 infections of kidney, (l) 591 hydronephrosis, (m) 753.2 congenital hydronephrosis, (n) 753.1 congenital cyst of kidney, (o) 593.6 postural proteinuria, (p) 593.7 vesicoureteric reflux, (q) 595 cystitis, (r) 599.0 urinary tract infection, site not specified and (s) 599.7 haematuria.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information for the years 1986 to 1990 is given in the table. Information for 1991 is not yet available.
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Deaths and discharges from NHS hospitals with specified diagnosis recorded by age group
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
CD9 Diagnosis |0-4 |5-14 |0-4 |5-14 |0-4 |5-14 |0-4 |5-14 |0-4 |5-14
|years |years |years |years |years |years |years |years |years |years
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Code
580 Acute glomerulonephritis |1 |0 |1 |4 |0 |2 |0 |1 |0 |0
581 Nephrotic syndrome |11 |25 |12 |29 |13 |16 |7 |20 |5 |21
582 Chronic glomerulonephritis |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |2 |0 |0
583 Nephritis and nephropathy |0 |5 |0 |16 |3 |8 |1 |17 |2 |4
584 Acute renal failure |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |4
585 Chronic renal failure |3 |9 |2 |5 |2 |18 |10 |12 |32 |17
586 Renal failure, unspecified |0 |4 |5 |0 |0 |2 |1 |2 |0 |0
587 Renal sclerosis, unspecified |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |1 |0 |1
590 Infections of kidney |5 |9 |1 |18 |1 |16 |1 |10 |3 |6
591 Hydronephrosis |2 |4 |8 |8 |4 |9 |9 |8 |7 |5
593.6 Postural protelnuria |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
593.7 Vesicouretono reflux |5 |6 |4 |2 |4 |4 |6 |6 |2 |5
595 Cystitis |1 |2 |1 |0 |2 |3 |0 |4 |0 |4
599.0 Urinary tract infection, site not specified |192 |213 |137 |198 |166 |224 |196 |181 |189 |155
599.7 Haematuna |16 |50 |13 |32 |3 |36 |9 |22 |14 |30
753.1 Cyetic kidney disease<1> |2 |0 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |2 |3 |0
753.2 Obstructive defects of renal pelvis and
ureter<2> |7 |1 |4 |0 |5 |3 |4 |3 |5 |5
779.8 Other and ill-defined conditions
originating in the perinatal period; other<3> |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
788.9 Symptoms involving urinary systom
system; other<4> |1 |1 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0
997.5 Urinary complications<5> |0 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |1
<1> Includes congenital cyst of kidney.
<2> Includes congenital hydronephrosis.
<3> Includes slow to respond.
<4> Includes extrarenal uraemia.
<5> Includes acute renal failure due to a procedure.
Note: The information is based on data provided by NHS hospitals for hospital activity analysis. It may understate the true position in that
not all hospitals provide complete clinical details relating to patient discharges and deaths.
Libraries
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet (a) Clwyd county councillors and librarians and (b) the county council librarians of Wales, to discuss library provision ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The statutory duty to provide a comprehensive public library service rests with the library authorities. I would be prepared to consider a request to meet with those concerned with library provision, should one be made.
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Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many public libraries there are in Wales ; and what is his estimate of the numbers of people employed in them.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The published estimates for 1991-92 indicate that the 13 public library authorities in Wales have 1,171 service points and a staff establishment of 1,260.
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Manufacturing Investment
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the level of manufacturing investment in 1979 and the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. David Hunt : The value of net capital expenditure by manufacturing establishments--Divisions 2-4, SIC (revised) 1980--in Wales in 1979 was £472.1 million at current prices. The value in 1989, the latest year for which the figure is available, was £1,114.5 million.
Source : annual census of production, Central Statistical Office.
Rural Conversion Grants
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to set time limits for the payment of grants under the clawback arrangements for rural conversion grants awarded by the Welsh Development Agency ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. David Hunt : The procedural details governing this grant scheme are a matter for the Welsh Development Agency.
Cancer
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people develop cancer annually and are treated by (a) radiotherapy and (b) chemotherapy.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The latest available information about the number of usual residents of Wales who have developed cancer is given in the table :
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|1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Malignant neoplasms |12,889 |14,033 |14,202 |14,959 |14,261
Benign and other neoplasms |812 |1,066 |1,316 |1,572 |1,691
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |13,701 |15,099 |15,518 |16,531 |15,952
Source: Welsh Cancer Registry
Information about the treatment of those patients is not held centrally.
Coal Imports
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the amount of coal imported into Welsh ports annually for the last five years.
Mr. David Hunt : The information requested is as follows :
Anthracite, coking coal and steam coal imported through ports in Wales Year |Thousand tonnes ------------------------------------------------ 1987 |2,184 1988 |2,499 1989 |3,111 1990 |3,587 <1>1991 |3,680 Source: Her Majesty's Customs and Excise <1> Provisional
GP Expenses
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about family health services authority allocations in respect of general medical services expenses.
Mr. David Hunt : The cash limited general medical services provision for 1992-93 will be £36.117 million. This covers direct reimbursement to GPs as part of their expenses on practice staff and premises improvements, and the development of computerisation. I am today announcing the allocations to family health services authorities. These are :
|£ million
------------------------------------
Clwyd |4.698
Dyfed |5.056
Gwent |5.928
Gwynedd |3,823
Mid Glamorgan |5.984
Powys |2.194
South Glamorgan |4.652
West Glamorgan |3.782
|---
Total |36.117
These allocations will enable an average of 3 per cent. real terms improvement on committed investment for this year in respect of premises and staff ; and improve and underpin the targets for GP computing levels.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give for each of the local authorities in Wales (a) the amounts of poll tax to be collected in 1991-92, (b) the poll tax actually collected in 1991-92, (c) the poll tax outstanding for 1991-92, (d) the surcharge on the 1992-93 poll tax for non collection in pounds, (e) the numbers of summonses for poll tax outstanding, (f) the numbers of people already served summonses and (g) the number of people who have served gaol sentences for non-payment of poll tax.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett [holding answer 2 March 1992] : The information available by local authority is given in the following table. The total number of summonses issued by Welsh courts for the period 1 April 1990 to 30 September 1991 was 442,988 ; no breakdown is available by local authority area. Information relating to collection fund adjustments for 1992-93 is not yet available. Information relating to numbers of summonses outstanding and people committed for non-payment of community charge is not held centrally.
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Illegitimate Births
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will list the number of illegitimate births to teenage girls in each year since 1980 in each registry area giving the age in years of the teenage mothers.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
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Information for registry areas could be supplied only at disproportionate cost. Information for the mother's usual local authority of residence has been placed in the Library. Annual tables are available for 1980 and for 1982 to 1990, inclusive. Industrial action by registrars means that such a detailed analysis is impractical for 1981.Column 135
Community charges in 1991-92 including 1990-91 arrears
|Estimated amount |Amount collected by|Estimated amount
|to be collected<1> |31 December 1991 |remaining to be
|collected
|£ million |£ million |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alyn and Deeside |7.9 |5.0 |2.9
Colwyn |5.7 |3.9 |1.8
Delyn |6.8 |4.5 |2.3
Glyndwr |4.1 |2.3 |1.9
Rhuddlan |6.9 |4.0 |2.9
Wrexham Maelor |11.0 |6.4 |4.6
Carmarthen |2.8 |2.2 |0.7
Ceredigion |4.0 |2.9 |1.1
Dinefwr |2.1 |1.9 |0.2
Llanelli |5.3 |3.5 |1.8
Preseli Pembrokeshire |3.7 |3.0 |0.6
South Pembrokeshire |2.5 |1.7 |0.8
Blaenau Gwent |5.1 |2.7 |2.4
Islwyn |4.8 |2.7 |2.1
Monmouth |7.1 |4.7 |2.4
Newport |12.8 |7.6 |5.2
Torfaen |7.3 |5.1 |2.1
Aberconwy |4.5 |3.5 |1.1
Arfon |3.7 |2.2 |1.5
Dwyfor |2.2 |1.8 |0.4
Meirionnydd |3.0 |2.4 |0.5
Ynys Mon |5.9 |4.0 |1.9
Cynon Valley |3.0 |2.0 |1.0
Merthyr Tydfil |3.4 |2.0 |1.3
Ogwr |6.6 |5.0 |1.6
Rhondda |2.2 |1.6 |0.6
Rhymney Valley |8.1 |4.7 |3.4
Taff Ely |7.8 |4.8 |3.0
Brecknock |3.1 |2.6 |0.5
Montgomeryshire |3.5 |2.7 |0.8
Radnorshire |1.6 |1.2 |0.3
Cardiff |26.1 |15.5 |10.7
Vale of Glamorgan |9.2 |7.0 |2.2
Port Talbot |3.3 |2.0 |1.3
Lliw Valley |3.4 |2.6 |0.8
Neath |4.3 |2.6 |1.7
Swansea |16.5 |10.6 |5.9
|------- |------- |-------
Wales |221.4 |145.0 |76.4
<1> Estimated as the product of the average community charge for 1991-92 and register population at
November 1990, less Community Charge
Reduction Scheme Grant and estimated Community Charge Benefit, plus arrears of 1990-91 charges.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Theft
Mr. Andrew Hargreaves : To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 1991, Official Report, column 258, how many arrests have been made by the police in connection with reported thefts from the Palace of Westminster since 1989.
Mr. MacGregor : The number of arrests made by the police in connection with reported thefts from the Palace of Westminster was as follows :
in 1989--one ;
in 1990--one ;
in 1991--six ;
in 1992--nil to date.
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Welsh Grand Committee
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Lord President of the Council what progress he has made in arranging a meeting of the Welsh Grand Committee in Cardiff to debate the future government of Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : Discussions are continuing through the usual channels and it is my hope that a Cardiff meeting of the Welsh Grand Committee can yet be arranged.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
India
Mr. Nelson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the Rihand and Hindustan Zinc Corporation projects in India.
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Mrs. Chalker : Rihand power station and the Hindustan zinc mine and smelter in India are two of Britain's largest aid projects involving £200 million of grant aid. I attended ceremonies in India last month to mark the successful completion of both. The projects have already achieved record levels of production and include the latest emission control technology of its time.DEFENCE
RAF St. Athan
12. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of expenditure by his Department on the development and modernisation of the RAF facility at St. Athan over the next 10 years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : About £40 million.
RN Workshops, Almondbank
13. Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future of the Royal Naval workshops, Almondbank.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I am glad to be able to announce that the Royal Naval aircraft workshops at Almondbank are to become part of the new Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation defence support agency on 1 April 1992. I will be announcing later today full details of the new defence support agency, including the targets being set to enable the chief executive to achieve maximum efficiency and value for money.
Entertainment
14. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate for the amount to be spent by his Department on entertainment in 1991-92.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is estimated that around £3.6 million will be spent in the financial year to the end of March 1992. This figure includes expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Defence itself, by formations and establishments of the armed forces at home and abroad, and by individual officers occupying command and international appointments for which entertainment allowances are payable.
Commonwealth of Independent States
16. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next intends to meet representatives of the Commonwealth of Independent States to discuss defence issues of mutual concern.
Mr. Tom King : I met Marshal Shaposhnikov for discussions when he accompanied President Yeltsin on his visit to London on 30 January. I hope to meet CIS representatives during the meeting between NATO Defence Ministers and their counterparts from the CIS and central and eastern Europe which is planned for 1 April.
Job Losses
17. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether following recent events at Brawdy and Trecwn he will review the way in which the Ministry of Defence communicates with employees when a decision involving closure or job losses is taken.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : All such decisions are handled strictly in accordance with the Department's consultation agreement with the trade unions. Since the way employees are informed of such decisions forms a part of that agreement, it would be wrong to review these procedures now.
Defence Cuts
18. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with other NATO Defence Ministers regarding cuts in defence ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Tom King : I last met my NATO colleagues collectively at the Defence Planning Committee meeting in Brussels on 12 and 13 December 1991. A copy of the communique issued after that meeting has been placed in the Library of the House.
Trident
19. Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stage of procurement has been reached in respect of the fourth Trident submarine.
27. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the programme for ordering and commissioning a fourth Trident submarine.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Contract negotiations with Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. for the fourth Trident submarine are under way. We intend to place the order as soon as these negotiations have been satisfactorily concluded. Meanwhile, construction of steelwork and major engineering items is making good progress under long lead funding arrangements.
23. Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the maximum number of nuclear warheads that will be carried when the Trident programme is completed ; and how many the United Kingdom had 10 years ago.
Mr. Alan Clark : It has been the practice of successive Governments not to specify publicly the size of our nuclear weapon holdings. However, no United Kingdom Trident submarine will carry more than 128 warheads.
24. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement on progress towards completion and commissioning of the first three Trident submarines.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Construction of the first three Vanguard class Trident missile submarines at Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. is making good progress, with all on schedule to meet their planned in -service dates.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the Trident programme.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The Trident programe remains on time and within budget. The first submarine, Vanguard, is set to roll out of the Devonshire dock hall in Barrow tomorrow, and following a series of sea trials, will enter service with the Royal Navy in the mid-1990s.
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Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the total cost of the Trident programme, including a breakdown of running costs and capital costs for each of the financial years 1992-93 to 1995-96.Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The currently estimated cost of the Trident programme is £10.518 million. Estimated capital expenditure on the Trident programme for the financial years 1992-93 and 1993-94 is £1, 019 million and £827 million respectively. It remains our practice not to provide detailed forecasts of project expenditure more than two years in advance. We do not expect the level of running costs of the Trident force to be significantly different from those of Polaris.
Equipment Expenditure
20. Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on proposed defence spending on equipment for the years covered by the current public expenditure White Paper.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Our plans for equipment expenditure are outlined in the departmental report by the Ministry of Defence on Government expenditure plans from 1992-93 to 1994-95.
Advanced Short-range Air-to-air Missile System
21. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will announce a decision for the advanced short-range air-to-air missile system.
Nuclear Deterrence
22. Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, when he next meets his European counterparts, he will discuss with them levels of nuclear deterrence.
Mr. Tom King : My next meeting with my European counterparts will be at the meeting in Oslo on 5 and 6 March of the Independent European Programme Group, which deals with equipment procurement issues.
26. Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the necessity for a continuing nuclear deterrent.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Government believe, in common with our NATO allies, that nuclear weapons remain essential as the ultimate guarantee of our security.
Air-to-surface Missiles
25. Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about discussions he has had with his German counterpart about basing of tactical air-to-surface missiles on German soil.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 17 December 1991, Official Report, column 140.
Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation
Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence support agency status for the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation will be established as a defence support agency of the Ministry of Defence on 1 April 1992. The NARO comprises a Royal Navy aircraft yard at Fleetlands, Gosport, and the Royal Navy aircraft workshops at Almondbank, Perth. Together, they employ some 12 RN personnel and 1, 652 civilians, who will transfer to the agency. Also included within the agency is a subsidiary storage site at Wroughton near Swindon, manned by contractors' personnel with a small MOD presence. The full cost budget for the NARO for 1992-93 is assessed at £141 million. The role of the NARO is to provide repair, modification, overhaul and storage services for the tri-service helicopter fleet, their engines and selected components and for marine gas turbine engines and their components. The high professional standards of the NARO 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. Captain David Symonds, Royal Navy has been appointed as the agency's chief executive. The corporate strategy of the NARO will be centred on the following two principal targets : To deliver the core programme of work to the required standards of quality and timeliness and to the customers' satisfaction. to increase the efficiency of the utilisation of its capacity, assets and facilities by maintaining the optimum level of throughput, and by reducing the unit production cost of core work by 7.5 per cent. over the next three years and by 21 per cent. over the following seven years.
The chief executive has been set the following strategic targets : Quantity --to complete 100 per cent. of the task as detailed in the DGA(N) schedule of identified repair work.
Quality--to reduce by 2 per cent. the weighted number of allied quality assurance publication non-conformances in 1992-93. Timeliness--to complete more than 90 per cent. of contracts on time in 1992-93 and to increase this figure to over 95 per cent. by the end of 1994-95.
Cost--Based on the values at the time of launch :
--reduce cost of the direct output units--standard hour by 2.5 per cent. by the end of 1992-93.
--reduce cost of the direct output units--standard hour by 7.5 per cent. by the end of 1994-95.
Efficiency--Improve the efficiency index--measured work content divided by measured time taken--from 59.5 per cent. in 1990-91 to 62 per cent. by the end of 1992-93 and to 65 per cent. by the end of 1994-95.
Productivity--Improve productivity from the 1990-91 figure of 706.7 to an average of 720 direct output units per employee by the end of 1992-93 and 750 direct output units per employee by the end of 1994-95.
Market Testing--To commence a five-year market testing programme in 1992-93 to the value of £2 million.
Private Robert Sean Thomas
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne may expect to receive a substantive response to his letter of 23 October 1991, in the matter of number 24885335, Private Robert Sean Thomas.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces provided a substantive response to my hon. Friend on 27 February.
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