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provision annually to the Technical Secretariat of information on States Parties programmes related to protective purposes. 4. It is becoming apparent that the provision of effective protective measures is an essential element of the web of deterrence which also includes arms control and export monitoring and controls. The provision of effective protective measures not only reduces the utility of chemical weapons to a potential aggressor but also reduces the range of chemicals that might be used as chemical weapons and hence need to be subject to arms and export controls.1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for Blaenau Gwent on 2 February, Official Report, column 156, if he will list the external suppliers which have supplied chemical and biological compounds for prophylactic research at Porton Down since 1979 (Question 34, Order Paper 9 July 1993) has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out research to ensure that the United Kingdom Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. As part of this work the potential hazard of possible chemical and biological warfare agents is assessed and the effectiveness of British protective measures evaluated.
3. The normal practice at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down is to purchase any required chemical and biological compounds from commercial suppliers when these are commercially available. If they are not commercially available then the Establishment will synthesise the appropriate compounds. 4. In order to support the programme of work, chemical and biological compounds are purchased from a number of commercial suppliers. We do not maintain records which enable us to identify which suppliers provided the compounds used for prophylactic research.
Trucks (Drop Tests)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many drop tests have been carried out on the truck cargo heavy duty mark II vehicles, or components thereof, operated by his Department ; when they were carried out ; and what was the total cost of these tests.
Mr. Aitken : The prime contractor conducted three drop tests on full size vehicle sections and 11 other impact tests on vehicle sections, sub- assemblies and component parts during the period March 1988 to February 1992.
It is not possible to identify the total costs of these tests since they were not separately priced in the contract. However, one drop test, using a full size vehicle section, was priced individually at approximately £300,000.
Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the expenditure, so far, on projects to evaluate the options for the future theatre nuclear weapon.
Mr. Aitken : Expenditure to the end of March 1993 on studies of possible vehicles has been as follows :
Year |£ ------------------------------ 1989-90 |928,518 1990-91 |1,372,329 1991-92 |1,870,285 1992-93 |2,658,471
Expenditure on the warhead programme cannot be released for reasons of national security.
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British Manufacturing and Research Company
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department has had with BMARC since 1979.
Mr. Hanley : Comprehensive records for the period in question are no longer available. Current records show that BMARC received 36 contracts with a total value of £42,100,000 between September 1985 and July 1991. This includes contracts placed during the period--1989-1991--when BMARC was known as Astra Defence Systems Ltd.
Al-Yamamah Project
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total expenditure by Her Majesty's Government in support of administration of the Al-Yamamah contracts to the most recent available date.
Mr. Aitken : None. the cost of my Department's administration of Al- Yamamah contracts is met by the Government of Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total expenditure by Her Majesty's Government in promotion of project Al-Yamamah to the most recent available date.
Mr. Aitken : It is not practicable to apportion the costs of the Defence Export Services Organisation to individual projects.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amounts have been paid to British Aerospace in connection with the Al-Yamamah agreement with Saudi Arabia ; and on what dates.
Mr. Aitken : It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on detailed matters concerning individual defence export sales.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total expenditure by Her Majesty's Government on brokerage fees or commissions in support of the Al-Yamamah contracts.
Mr. Aitken : My Department has not employed business agents in connection with Al-Yamamah contracts and has consequently paid no fees or commissions.
Guard Service
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether members of the MoD Guard Service who are transferred to contractors under the market testing programme will still be required to attend training provided by his Department and apply for career and promotion opportunities within the Ministry of Defence.
Mr. Aitken : Should members of the MGS be transferred to contractors under the market testing programme they will cease to be civil servants, and will no longer be part of the Department's training programme and career structure.
Operations West
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he is taking to ensure that if Operations West is run by a contractor (a) in the event of
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the failure of the contractors, the operation can be brought back into his Department and (b) where the contractor buys the site and equipment that his Department or other contractors will be able to compete for a successor contract.Mr. Aitken : The contract contains provisions against failure on the part of the contractor, ranging from financial penalties to cancellation of the contract. The site is to be leased rather than sold ; the lease will end if the service contract is terminated. Title to the computer equipment will remain with my Department for the duration of the service contract.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are being taken to ensure that the investment appraisal model which will be used for the market testing exercise at Operations West (a) conforms to the latest management accounting rules and (b) includes the cost of transferring staff to other posts who do not wish to work for the successful contractors.
Mr. Aitken : Prior to the market test, the Operations West market testing project team was advised on an investment appraisal model format which conformed to the latest management accounting rules. Under the provisions of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, my Department has no obligation to find alternative employment for staff who do not wish to transfer to a contractor. It was therefore assumed, for the purposes of comparing bids, that no staff would be transferred elsewhere in the MoD.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why he is proposing to contractorise the Ministry of Defence Guard Service at Operations West ; and what support his Department is giving to the in-house bid for Operations West.
st value for money. The in-house bid was fully resourced and supported by expert consultants.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are being taken to ensure that the successful contractor who takes over Operations West under the current market testing exercise will be able to ensure (a) the security of personal information relating to his Department's staff held on the computer system and (b) the security and commercial confidentiality of information held on the press system.
Mr. Aitken : The security standards applicable to Operations West have not changed. The security policy which will be implemented at the site will be the same as that which applied when the site was operated by my Department. Contractors employed on defence work are required, as a condition of contract, to safeguard information to which they might have access in the course of their work, and to adhere to security requirements and procedures laid down by my Department.
Site Security
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how he will ensure the security and safety of sites which pass to the custody of private contractors as a result of the market testing programme.
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Mr. Aitken : Where a site passes to the custody of private contractors as a result of the market-testing programme, the contractors are required to conform to strict guidelines. Their adherence to these is monitored closely and regularly.
Market Testing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish the investment appraisal models for market testing exercises.
Mr. Aitken : No. There are no standard investment appraisal models for market-testing exercises ; appraisal models are designed for specific market tests and may therefore contain commercially sensitive material. Each appraisal is conducted in accordance with the Department's investment appraisal and market testing accounting rules.
Maritime Refitting and Repair
Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the management of (a) Rosyth and (b) Devonport concerning the future of the British maritime refitting and repair industry.
Mr. Aitken : Officials from my Department have regular meetings with the commercial managers at both Rosyth and Devonport dockyards, although it is not our policy to discuss the future of other United Kingdom commercial yards with them.
Porton Down
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deaths or accidents requirng treatment in hospital have occurred in his Department's chemical and biological warfare establishment at Porton Down in each of the last 30 years.
Mr. Hanley : This is a matter for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment under its framework documents and I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Graham S. Pearson to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 19 July 1993.
1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him how many deaths or accidents requiring treatment in hospital have occurred at his Department's chemical and biological warfare establishment at Porton Down in each of the last 30 years (Question 35, Order Paper 8 July 1993) has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
2. The Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down has its own small hospital to support the volunteer programme, which is the focus for occupational health in the Establishment. Consequently any members of staff requiring first aid treatment attend the Establishment hospital.
3. The records of the Safety Section of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, and before that the Chemical Defence Establishment (1972- 1991) and before that the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment (1953 -1972) go back to 1965. Prior to 1988, the Safety Section only has records of more serious accidents for which local enquiries were held.
4. There have been no deaths or permanent disability cases in the past 30 years. The number of accidents involving treatment at the Establishment hospital for each year since 1965 and recorded in the Safety Section records are tabulated below :
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Year |Number --------------------- 1965 |1 1966 |nil 1967 |1 1968 |nil 1969 |nil 1970 |nil 1971 |nil 1972 |1 1973 |nil 1974 |1 1975 |1 1976 |1 1977 |4 1978 |nil 1979 |1 1980 |1 1981 |nil 1982 |1 1983 |1 1984 |2 1985 |1 1986 |1 1987 |3 1988 |1 1989 |5 1990 |4 1991 |8 1992 |2 1993 |4 The apparent increase from 1988 is due to improved reporting procedures for accidents. Most of the accidents since 1988 have been fairly minor injuries, not associated with chemical or biological warfare agents, requiring first aid treatment.
Vaccines
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel volunteered to accept vaccination against biological agents during Operation Granby.
Mr. Hanley : All vaccinations for service personnel are given on a voluntary basis. Information relating to measures against biological warfare agents is classified.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the United Kingdom possesses stocks of vaccine against
penicillin-resistant anthrax.
Mr. Hanley : As I stated in the answer I gave the hon. Member on 12 July, Official Report, column 366, details relating to all vaccines giving protection against biological warfare agents are classified.
Civil Servants
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) grade 3 and (b) grade 5 civil servants were in post in his Department at the latest available date ; what were the comparable figures for the same month in 1980 ; and if he will publish the equivalent data for the armed forces.
Mr. Hanley : The information is as follows :
Civilian staff in |1 April 1993 |1 April 1980 post ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Grade 3 |50 |81 Grade 5 |355 |396
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Service staff in |1 April 1993 |1 January 1980 post -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Major Generals (and equivalents) |128 |<1>172 Brigadiers (and equivalents) |371 |<1>395 <1> Service data at 1 April 1980 are not available.
RAF Anniversary, Fairford
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what invitations have been issued to the South African air force to participate in the Royal Air Force 75th anniversary at Fairford on 24 and 25 July and on what basis ; and what response has been received ;
(2) whether aircraft and/or crews will be participating at the RAF's 75th anniversary on 24 and 25 July from (a) the South African air force and (b) citizen force aircraft.
Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Member to the announcement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 17 June, Official Report, column 1006. The RAF benevolent fund has also issued an invitation to the South African chief of air staff. We understand that no South African aircraft--civilian or military--are able to take part in the airshow, but the South African
CAS will attend.
RAF Stornaway
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the contract to expand the residential facilities at RAF Stornoway is expected to be announced. Mr. Hanley : The activation of RAF Stornoway as a forward operation base for RAF aircraft is under review. The requirement for additional residential facilities depends upon the outcome of that review. A decision on whether or not to proceed with the contract will be announced once the review is complete.
Hong Kong Garrison
Dr. Twinn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Hong Kong garrison ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : Broad plans have now been finalised for the withdrawal of the Hong Kong garrison by 30 June 1997. Units of all three services--the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force will remain in Hong Kong until then. The garrison will, however, continue to reduce in stages over the period, as local forces assume responsibility for its former operational tasks. In the latter part of 1994, the 1st Battalion the Black Watch will return to the United Kingdom and the two Gurkha battalions will merge to form the 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles. One battalion will remain in Hong Kong until June 1997.
The strength of logistic and other supporting units will be reduced in line with that of front-line units. The three Royal Navy patrol craft currently in Hong Kong will remain until 1997. Royal Air Force helicopters will also remain in Hong Kong until 1997, although their numbers may be reduced. The plans mean that for the final two years of British sovereignty the garrison will be about 3,000 strong. It will comprise a headquarters, an infantry battalion group, logistic support, naval patrol craft and Royal Air Force helicopters.
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