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Farriers
Mr. Bell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many complaints have been received by his Department dealing with restriction of entry into statutory training systems under the Farrier (Registration) Acts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I have been asked to reply.
The Department has received two letters of complaint during the past year about the scheme for training apprentice farriers under the Farriers (Registration ) Acts 1975 and 1977.
Mr. Bell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what consideration his Department is giving to the licensing of and registration requirements in relation to the Farriers (Registration) Acts ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) when he proposes to introduce legislation to repeal the Farriers (Registration) Acts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I have been asked to reply. There are no present plans to repeal the Farriers (Registration) Acts 1975 and 1977. The Acts are kept under regular review by this Department, to ensure that their requirements remain necessary and appropriate.
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Additionally, the Government are committed to reviewing all regulations which impact upon business, and the Acts will be considered as part of that exercise.Mr. Bell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what mechanisms exist for monitoring the work of registered farriers in accordance with the Farriers (Registration) Acts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I have been asked to reply.
The Farriers (Registration) Acts 1975 and 1977 established a body called the Farriers Registration Council. The council is responsible for registering farriers and ensuring recognised standards of farriery.
DEFENCE
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in his Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.
Mr. Aitken : The numbers of women, disabled and ethnic minority staff in grade levels 1 to 7 and overall are given in the table. These figures exclude our executive agencies, the Meteorological Office and the Defence Research agency. I have asked the chief executives to write to the hon. Member.
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|Registered |Percentage of staff|Non-registered |Percentage of staff|Ethnic minority<2> |Percentage of staff|Women |Percentage of staff
|disabled<1> |in grade |disabled<1> |in grade |in grade |in grade
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
2 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
3 |- |- |2 |4.2 |- |- |2 |4.3
4 |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |4.0
5 |- |- |9 |2.9 |11 |3.5 |14 |4.5
6 |- |- |10 |1.9 |<10 |<1.0 |15 |2.9
7 |3 |0.1 |77 |3.8 |31 |1.5 |130 |6.4
Total non-industrial and industrial staff |1,439 |1.1 |3,312 |4.0 |1,849 |1.5 |40,634 |32.0
<1> Figures based on responses to voluntary disability surveys.
<2> Figures based on responses to voluntary ethnic origin survey.
Aldermaston
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when it is now expected that the A90 building will reach its full production capacity.
Mr. Aitken : Following completion of red commissioning A90 production capacity will be developed to meet the needs of the Trident programme.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the expected delay between the completion of red commissioning and declaration of full operational capability for (a) A89, (b) A90 and (c) A91 at AWE Aldermaston.
Mr. Aitken : A89 is now operational. It is not expected that there will be any delay between the end of red commissioning in either A90 or A91 and planned operational use.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of decommissioning, according
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to International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines, those facilities due to be replaced by the new capital works programme at AWE Aldermaston.Mr. Aitken : The decommissioning programme for such facilities is in its initial stages and will take many years to complete. It is not yet therefore possible to determine the likely cost.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date red commissioning is scheduled to be (a) started and (b) completed in (i) A89, (ii) A90 and(iii) A91 at AWE Aldermaston.
Mr. Aitken : Red commissioning is scheduled to be started and completed as follows :
(i) A89--This facility became operational in August 1992 following completion of red commissioning.
(ii) A90--Red commissioning is scheduled to start later this year and will take several months.
(iii) A91--There is currently no scheduled date for the start of red comm
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Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date white commissioning was (a) started and (b) completed in (i) A89, (ii) A90 and (iii) A91 at AWE Aldermaston.Mr. Aitken : The information is as follows :
(i) White commissioning was started in A89 in March 1992 and completed in August 1992.
(ii) White commissioning was started in A90 in 1990 and is still in progress.
(iii) White commissioning was started in A91 in 1991 and is in abeyance.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current total estimated cost of the new capital works projects at AWE Aldermaston.
Mr. Aitken : The current total estimated cost of the major programme of capital works at AWE Aldermaston referred to in the Commons Defence Select Committee Fifth Report 1988-89 is £1.2 billion at 1992-93 prices.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the current work force at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston in regard to the appointments of Brown and Root as management contractors.
Mr. Aitken : It is Hunting-BRAE Limited and not Brown and Root (one of their parent organisations) who have been selected to operate the atomic weapons establishment. I have received no representations from the current workforce at Aldermaston concerning Brown and Root's involvement in the Hunting-BRAE consortium.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment was made of the health and safety record of Brown and Root Inc. before awarding the contract to operate the Aldermaston nuclear weapons plant ;
(2) what assessment he made of the safety record of Hunting plc in advance of awarding the contract to manage the Atomic Weapons Establishment from 1 April.
Mr. Aitken : A comprehensive and detailed assessment was carried out on all tenders received for the contract to operate AWE. Safety factors were extremely important in judging the competition. The fact that Hunting- BRAE were appointed as AWE operating contractor demonstrates that we have full confidence in their meeting our rigorous safety standards and that their parent organisations were judged to be fully acceptable in terms of the demanding safety role and responsibility at AWE.
Kineton Armaments Depot
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the role and function of the proposed incinerator to be built at the central armaments depot, Kineton ; what is the schedule for its construction ; and what materials it is intended to destroy ; (2) what regulations exist for controlling the emissions from the proposed incinerator to be built at the central armaments depot, Kineton.
Mr. Aitken : The MOD has a requirement to demilitarise a proportion of its ammunition through an incineration facility. This includes surplus ammunition which has to be burned at high temperatures, and recoveries of explosive ordnance which may be of an
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uncertain condition or age. Previously, these types of ammunition have been dumped at sea, but that practice has now ceased. We plan to examine the potential for incineration to be carried out commercially before deciding upon the need for a MOD facility. In the event that a MOD facility were required, it would be designed to fully meet the emissions requirements as set out in the 1990 Environmental Protection Act and described in detail in Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution guidance note no. IPR 5/1.White and Red Commissioning
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the differences between white commissioning and red commissioning.
Mr. Aitken : White commissioning is the process of proving that new plant and facilities operate safely and satisfactorily using similar but non-radioactive materials. Red commissioning is the process of proving that the new plant facilities operate safely and satisfactorily using limited amounts of the actual radioactive materials.
Windscale Decommissioning
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's expected contribution to the costs of decommissioning the Windscale piles and associated chimneys ; and what is the total estimated cost of this operation.
Mr. Aitken : My Department is making a contribution of 91.5 per cent. towards the costs incurred in decommissioning the Windscale piles and associated chimneys. Work currently being undertaken constitutes the intial stages of a programme which is expected to take at least 50 years to complete. It is, therefore, too early to determine the likely total cost.
Low Flying
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of aircraft movements authorised for flying below 250 ft over the United Kingdom in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 ; on how many days such low flying took place in each year ; and if he will provide a breakdown of these figures for (i) the northern Scotland tactical training area, (ii) the central Wales tactical training area, (iii) the Borders tactical training area and (iv) other areas.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The number of aircraft movements authorised for flying below 250 ft within the tactical training areas is set out in the table. The number of days on which such flying actually took place is not available, however, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Figures in the table relate to the number of days on which flying was authorised to take place. We would expect actual figures to be significantly lower because alternative dates are often pre-booked for use in case of bad weather. Between August 1990 and March 1991 all three tactical training areas were made available on weekdays for essential operational low flying training associated with the United Kingdom's commitment in the Gulf. Operational low flying in the United Kingdom is confined to the three tactical training areas.
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Tactical training
areas
|Northern Scotland|Central Wales |Borders |Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991
Operational low flying (OLF) movements |468 |90 |1,256 |1,814
Number of days on which OLF authorised |126 |115 |119 |360
1992
OLF movements |979 |174 |2,067 |3,220
Number of days on which OLF authorised |165 |125 |187 |477
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of low-flying sorties carried out over the United Kingdom in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 calculated by (i) counting the number of sorties directly and (ii) the pre-1985 method of logging movements between low- flying areas.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is set out in the table :
|1991 |1992
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of sorties |127,400|131,464
The approximate number of sorties flown using the pre-1985 method |99,636 |111,288
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total number of low-flying sorties flown over the United Kingdom in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 was accounted for by (i) fast jets, (ii) light jet trainers,(iii) heavy propeller-driven aircraft, (iv) light propeller-driven aircraft and (v) helicopters.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is as follows :
Per cent.
Category Proportion of
sorties flown
--------------------------------------------------
Fast jets |58.13|55.90
Light jet trainers |7.53 |5.34
Heavy propeller-driven aircraft |1.36 |1.79
Light propeller-driven aircraft |3.35 |5.13
Helicopters |29.63|31.84
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many breaches of low flying regulations were reported to the relevant authorities by the aircrew involved in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total number of low-flying sorties flown over the United Kingdom in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 was represented by (i) British military aircraft, (ii) the United States Air Force aircraft and (iii) other aircraft.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is as follows :
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|1991 |1992
|Per cent.|Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------
British military |83.9 |89.0
USAF |14.7 |9.4
Others |1.4 |1.6
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Air Force police personnel are currently employed on surveying potential new areas for low flying ; and if he will make a statement on the criteria and method used by the Royal Air force police when surveying potential new areas for low flying.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There are no plans to change the basic structure of the United Kingdom low-flying system implemented in 1979. Two RAF Police senior NCOs are, however, occupied full time in carrying out a continuous review of the system to ensure that it remains properly reflective of current environmental and flight safety considerations.
Guards Officers
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the number of officers currently serving in the Guards, other than quartermasters, whose parents were members of socio-economic group 5 when the commission was made.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Jasmin plc
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work has been carried out for his Department by Jasmin plc of Bulwell, Nottingham, on whether the tests required by his Department on nerve detectors were necessary ; over what period the work was carried out ; what was its cost ; and what plans he has to compensate the company for that work.
Mr. Aitken : Over the last five years the Department has had many contracts with Jasmin, totalling over £10 million in value. The work has been primarily in the fields of chemical and vapour detection and fire control simulators. All tests required by the Department on nerve agent detectors have been necessary. As is our normal practice, payments will continue to be made for all work that has been properly completed in accordance with the terms and conditions of our contracts.
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MoD Employees, Northern Ireland
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed by the Ministry of Defence in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Aitken : At 1 January 1993, the Ministry of Defence employed 2, 878 full-time and part-time civil servants in Northern Ireland.
Submarine Refitting
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will name the consultants appointed by him to report on the proposals of the two royal dockyards for refitting submarines ; (2) what are the terms of reference of (a) the financial consultants and (b) the civil engineers, appointed to scrutinise the nuclear submarine refitting bids submitted by the royal dockyards ;
(3) if he will publish reports prepared by the consultants assessing the rival bids for the nuclear submarine refitting programme.
Mr. Aitken : A range of specialist consultants have for some considerable time provided advice on future arrangements for warship refitting, chief among these being Coopers and Lybrand (financial and business advice), and, by sub-contracts to Coopers and Lybrand, Allot and Lomax (civil engineering) and the safety and reliability directorate of AEA Technology (nuclear safety). The various consultants provide assessments of, and advice on, those aspects of the proposals from the two Royal Dockyard contractors that fall within their area of expertise. Central to their advice is much commercially sensitive information as well as classified material ; their advice will therefore not be published. We will, however, release as much information as possible, subject to the constraints of commercial confidentiality and security, once we have announced our proposals to the House.
Naval Dockyards
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the results of the latest evacuation exercises at Rosyth and Devonport dockyards.
Mr. Aitken : Evacuation of the nuclear licensed sites within the Rosyth and Devonport dockyards is exercised annually. Both the most recent exercises were conducted satisfactorily. Evacuation procedures involving the wider dockyard workforce are tested periodically during nuclear accident response major exercises. The most recent such exercises took place at Rosyth in October 1989 and at Devonport in January 1993. In both cases the evacuations were completed satisfactorily.
Employees, Gosport
Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his best estimate of the number of (a) uniformed service personnel, (b) his Department's civilian personnel and (c) defence dependent civilian personnel who are currently employed within the constituency of Gosport.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : At 1 July 1992, 5,849 service personnel and 3,904 full and part-time MoD civilian civil servants were based in the Gosport local authority area. No figures are available for the number of defence dependent civilians in the Gosport constituency.
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Public Appointments
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.
Service Secondments
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for defence how many service personnel have been seconded to outside organisations from each of the services in each of the last five years ; if he will list these organisations and the roles undertaken ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No Royal Navy or Army personnel have been seconded to outside civilian organisations in the last five financial years.
RAF personnel have been seconded to British Aerospace to provide specialist operational, maintenance and support services in connection with the company's contract with the Royal Saudi Air Force, as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1988-89 |107
1989-90 |127
1990-91 |116
1991-92 |52
1992-93 |36
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines cover terms and conditions of employment of service personnel who go on secondment to outside organisations ; what insurance conditions apply to them ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The terms and conditions of employment of service personnel seconded to civilian organisations are normally set out in memoranda of understanding between my Department and the organisation concerned. My Department does not purchase insurance to cover service personnel. Those on secondment are in the same position as they are when serving with British forces ; they are able to claim compensation from any party, including my Department and the organisation to which they are seconded, if they are injured due to the negligence of that party. In addition, they remain eligible for invaliding benefits payable under the armed forces pension scheme.
RAF Bases
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many man hours were spent on (a) search and rescue work and (b) national defence work at each of the RAF bases in 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Information is not recorded on this basis.
Search and Rescue
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of callouts of the search and rescue service from RAF Leuchars in each month in 1992 and to
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date in 1993 ; on how many of those occasions search and rescue services were on standby at other RAF stations ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is given in the table :
RAF Leuchars-search and rescue callouts
|1992 |1993
Month |Total number of |Total number<2> of
|callouts |callouts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
January |9 |20
February |11 |15
March |9 |<1>8
April |12
May |8
June |18
July |14
August |21
September |8
October |7
November |9
December |5
|--
Total |131 |<1>43
<1> Provisional figure only.
<2> To end February.
RAF search and rescue services are on standy 24 hours at other RAF stations with the exception of RAF Chivenor which is on standy during daytime only.
University Air Squadron
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the running of the University Air Squadron has cost in each of the last five years ; where it has been based ; how many students have benefited from it in each of the last five years ; what fees are payable by the students ; if any changes are planned in the future ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There are 17 university air squadrons (UAS) located around the United Kingdom and the headquarters is at RAF Cranwell. Responsibility budgets were not in operation prior to financial year 1991- 92 and therefore figures are not available. Direct cash costs for financial year 1991-92 were £9.2 million and £8.8 million for financial year 1992-93 ; 484 students joined the UASs in 1988 ; 446 in 1989 ; 496 in 1990 ; 452 in 1991 and 500 in 1992. Students do not pay fees to the UAS organisation and attend under a bursary scheme or cadetships. Southampton UAS is to relocate from Lee on Solent to Boscombe Down with effect from 19 April 1993.
Non-proliferation Treaty
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer from the Foreign Secretary of 15 February, Official Report, column 33, if he will list those organisations his Department has received representations from, or initiated contact with, on the issue of the first preparatory committee meeting of the non-proliferation treaty.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My Department has regular contacts with a range of organisations which have an interest in the nuclear non- proliferation treaty.
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Bosnia No-fly Zone
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect the imposition of the no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina will have on the safety and ability of British Forces serving with the United Nations in Bosnia-Herzegovina to carry out the role currently assigned to them.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We regard the safety of our forces serving in Bosnia as a paramount consideration. All necessary steps will be taken to reduce to the minimum the risks which those forces face. Any change in that risk that could result from the imposition of the no-fly zone or could come from any other source is being taken into account in our planning.
Army Bases (Guards)
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to replace service personnel guarding Army bases in the United Kingdom with Ministry of Defence police.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The mix of service personnel, MoD Police and MoD guard service used to protect MoD establishments, including Army bases, in the United Kingdom is kept under regular review. The mix at particular locations may change from time to time according to a variety of circumstances. Our aim is to provide the most cost effective and flexible manpower mix consistent with the level of security required at a specific location. There are no particular plans for a general redeployment of MOD Police to Army locations.
Surplus Departmental Properties
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from housing associations relating to his policy regarding the sale of surplus MoD accommodation.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There is regular contact between the Department and housing associations interested in purchasing surplus MoD accommodation and a number of deals are currently being negotiated.
Iraq
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will seek to obtain from his United States counterpart a copy of the report, produced by the Central Intelligence Agency in July 1990, "Iraq's Growing Arsenal : Programs and Facilities".
Redundancies
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans the Government have to deal with those who will be homeless after being made redundant as a result of "Options for Change".
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A wide range of resettlement advice and support is available to all personnel leaving the services. A joint services housing advice office has been set up to provide advice and guidance on housing options, working closely with the local authorities and housing
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