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Low Flying
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on informing (a) hon. Members and (b) local media when changes are made in the directional flow control measures in the United Kingdom low flying system.
Mr. Hanley : When significant changes are made to the United Kingdom low flying systems, hon. Members whose constituencies are affected are given appropriate notification as are the local media. The United Kingdom low flying system is, however, under continuous review and changes to arrangements such as directional flow control measures are made when necessary. It is not our practice to notify hon. Members and the local media of all such changes.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the map showing the general structure of the night low flying system.
Mr. Hanley : A copy of a map of the United Kingdom night low flying system is being placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which aircraft types in British military service are classified as light propellor-driven aircraft for the purposes of the low flying regulations.
Mr. Hanley : The aircraft types in British military service which are classified as light propellor-driven aircraft for the purposes of the low flying regulations are the Bulldog, the Chipmunk and the Islander aircraft.
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Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if light propellor-driven aircraft and helicopters flying at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 ft above ground level are obliged to comply with the directional flow regulations in the United Kingdom low flying system.
Mr. Hanley : All military aircraft, including helicopters and light propellor-driven types, flying at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 ft above ground level are required to comply with the directional flow arrows in the United Kingdom low flying system, whether they are booked into the system or not.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the minimum authorised altitude for Nimrod aircraft flying over the sea.
Mr. Hanley : The minimum authorised altitude for Nimrod aircraft flying over the sea within three nautical miles of the United Kingdom coastline is 250 ft. Beyond three nautical miles from the coastline, the Nimrod is authorised to fly down to 200 ft during the day.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if low flying military jet aircraft seeking permission to enter class D airspace during the course of a low flying sortie are required to meet the regulations for such airspace in respect of (a) not exceeding an indicated airspeed of 250 knots and (b) maintaining a vertical separation from cloud of 1,000 ft.
Mr. Hanley : Low flying military jet aircraft seeking permission to enter class D airspace are not required to comply with the airspeed limit of 250 knots, which applies only to civil aircraft. They do, however, have to maintain a vertical separation from cloud of 1,000 ft if flying under visual flight rules.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which commanders in the Royal Air Force currently hold the authority to approve or decline unit requests to fly at less than 250 ft over the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement on the procedures in force for requests for and authorisations of such flying.
Mr. Hanley : Commanders-in-chief or officers of equivalent status may authorise flying at less than 250 ft, but not less than 100 ft in the tactical training areas in the United Kingdom. In practice, this authority is delegated to the air officer commanding of the group concerned. Units wishing to carry out operational low flying submit requests to group headquarters where they are scrutinised to ensure the activity represents the minimum necessary before authorisation is given.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are used in determining whether an environmentally sensitive location is granted Provost Marshal Prohibited or Provost Marshal Restricted area status, as opposed to low flying avoidance area status ; and what are the differences between Provost Marshal areas and other types of low flying avoidance area, in terms of available sanctions on aircrew breaching these areas.
Mr. Hanley : In the majority of cases where it is agreed to grant avoidance status, a permanent, seasonal, or temporary low flying avoidance area will be declared, thus providing protection from military aircraft conducting low flying training. Exceptionally, if it is necessary to exclude
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all military aircraft including, wherever possible, those on operational tasks, a provost marshal prohibited or restricted area will be created. There is no difference between a provost marshal area and a low flying avoidance in terms of the available sanctions on aircrew breaching these areas.Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the radius of provost marshal prohibited area PMP 103.
Mr. Hanley : Provost marshal prohibited area PMP 103, which applied to the Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust, is no longer in force. It was replaced in April 1987 by a seasonal avoidance which is in effect between 1 September and 15 April each year. It is not our practice to release detailed information on the dimesions of such avoidances.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if individual Royal Air Force flying units maintain their own lists of features for use as simulated targets ; and what is the procedure for pre- surveying the areas surrounding these locations in order to ensure their suitability on environmental and safety grounds.
Mr. Hanley : Royal Air Force units maintain locally produced simulated target lists and these are reviewed regularly. Targets are carefully selected and account is taken of the location of nearby habitation and the environmental and safety factors involved.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities for overland low flying at less than 250 ft were made available to (1) Royal Navy Sea Harrier pilots and (2) Royal Air Force Harrier pilots prior to deploying to the south Atlantic for combat operations during the Falklands war.
Mr. Hanley : Since 1979 fixed-wing flying below 250 ft in the United Kingdom low flying system has been restricted to three sparsely populated areas in northern Scotland, central Wales and the Borders which are designated as tactical training area. There is no record of any aircraft having been authorised to fly training sorties below 250 ft outside these areas in preparation for deployment to the Falklands.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to authorise fixed-wing low flying at night at less than 250 ft.
Mr. Hanley : There are no such plans.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the towns specified for avoidance in the United Kingdom Military Low Flying Handbook are also marked as locations requiring avoidance on the pre-printed low flying charts used by aircrew.
Mr. Hanley : Military pilots are instructed to avoid flying low over major conurbations and towns and to avoid all other populated areas wherever possible whether they are listed for avoidance in the United Kingdom Low Flying Handbook or not. The boundaries of the avoidance areas around major conurbations are shown on the low flying charts used by aircrew. In addition, towns sufficiently large to qualify for formal avoidance status are shown as built up areas on the charts, together with some smaller towns, and aircrew will therefore be reminded of their location when planning sorties. The only towns specifically marked as
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sites to be avoided are a number of small communities within tactical training areas, which are too small to show as built up areas but are to be avoided by aircraft carrying out operational low flying.Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the low flying areas in which there is an upper limit on the number of aircraft which can operate within the area at one time ; what is the numerical limit in each case ; and what was the date of introduction of the limit in each case.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is as follows :
Low Flying Area |Number of aircraft |Date of Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LFA 7 |30 |October 1987 LFA 12 |15 |November 1990 LFA 17 |20 |October 1987
These limits apply to military fixed-wing aircraft, and do not include helicopters.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many formed Royal Air Force Vulcan flight crews held qualifications to fly at 100 ft above ground level in each year from 1977 to 1982.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is not available.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to carry out a radar surveillance of low flying by military jet aircraft in the Barnsley/Doncaster/Rotherham/Sheffield low flying transit area ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : There are no plans at present to carry out a radar surveillance of the transit area.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of low-flying sorties conducted by each type of Royal Air Force aircraft from Canadian forces base Goose Bay during the 1993 flying season.
Mr. Hanley : The number of low flying sorties carried out by Royal Air Force aircraft at Canadian forces base Goose Bay during the 1993 season was as follows :
|Sorties
----------------------------
Tornado GR1 |574
Harrier GR7 |5
Tornado F3 |2
Aircraft Noise
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the highest speed achieved by the USAF F-16 aircraft during noise measurement runs at RAE West Freugh in June 1990 ; and what plans he has for further measurements of the noise levels generated by this type of aircraft.
Mr. Hanley : The highest speed the F-16 achieved during the noise measurement trials at RAE West Freugh in June 1990 was 453 knots. There are no plans at present for further noise trials of the F-16 aircraft, which is not based in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 July, Official Report, column 466, what was the result of the rearranged tests analysing the noise generated by the F-15E aircraft at low level ; at what location the tests were held ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : The trial to measure the noise generated by the F-15E rearranged for July did not take place, again due to the poor weather conditions. The trial was however conducted successfully at RAE West Freugh during September. The results are at present being analysed.
Missiles
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current status of the conventionally armed stand- off missile programme.
Mr. Aitken : We are currently revising and updating our requirement paper. We expect to issue a formal request for proposals against a cardinal points specification to interested United Kingdom and overseas companies early in the new year.
Tornado
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Tornado aircraft will be converted to GR1b for the maritime role ; and how many of that number will be on the front-line strength of operational squadrons.
Mr. Hanley : We plan to modify a total of 26 Tornado aircraft to GR1b standard for the maritime role. Of these, 24 will be on the front-line strength of operational squadrons.
Ministry Police
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements will be made for providing substantive answers to parliamentary questions relating to the Ministry of Defence police after it becomes an agency.
Mr. Hanley : All chief executives of defence agencies are encouraged to reply to Members of Parliament direct, where the parliamentary question covers matters falling within their area of responsibility. The same will be true for the chief constable, Ministry of Defence police. In such cases, the MP will receive a standard reply from the Minister which states that the chief executive will be replying. The Minister's reply, together with the chief executive's letter, will be published in Hansard .
Goose Bay
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the amounts paid to the Canadian Government each year since 1987 for Royal Air Force use of Canadian forces base, Goose Bay.
Mr. Hanley : The amounts paid to the Canadian Government for the Royal Air Force use of the Canadian forces base, Goose Bay are as follows :
Year |£ --------------------------------- 1987-88 |4,269,000 1988-89 |5,262,000 1989-90 |5,482,000 1990-91 |9,468,000 1991-92 |12,309,000 1992-93 |15,492,000
Jobs
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many jobs are dependent on defence exports (a) as reported in this year's statement on the defence estimates and (b) according to the United Kingdom defence statistics in 1993; how the two sets of figures are calculated; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : The "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1993" gives a figure of in excess of 100,000 jobs directly or indirectly dependent on defence exports. The 1993 edition of "UK Defence Statistics" gives in table 2.24 for the 1991-92 financial year figures of 75,000 for direct employment, and 70,000 for indirect employment dependent on defence exports. There is only one set of figures, which are those given in "UK Defence Statistics". These are calculated by comparing estimates of the value of defence exports based on data provided by HM Customs and Excise and the Society of British Aerospace Companies, with estimates of sales per employee for the main industries concerned based on data provided by the Central Statistical Office. More details of the methods used to obtain these employment estimates are given in an article in the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1988", volume 2.
RAF Sea Kings
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when RAF Sea Kings dedicated to search and rescue will begin to use a satellite-based navigation system ; and when he expects all search and replace aircraft to be using the system.
Mr. Hanley : It is planned to equip Mk3 RAF Sea Kings with a global positioning system--GPS--a satellite-based navigation system. The Sea King Mk3a helicopter scheduled to be delivered to the RAF in 1996 will be fitted with GPS, and it is expected the whole RAF fleet will be equipped with GPS by late 1997. Royal Navy search and rescue helicopters are expected to be fitted with GPS within the next two years.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what navigation system is currently used by RAF Sea Kings dedicated to search and rescue.
Mr. Hanley : The main navigation systems used by the RAF search and rescue Sea Kings comprise a Decca Mk19 hyperbolic navigation system, a doppler radar, an air data system and a tactical navigation system. These are supported by VHF omni-range, instrument landing system equipment, a VHF and UHF homing system and automatic direction finding equipment. In addition, a horizontal situation indicator at each pilot station displays navigational steering information.
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Defence Export Services Organisation
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff are employed within the Defence Export Services Organisation ; and what is the breakdown of those posts.
Mr. Aitken : The following is a breakdown of the staff employed within the Defence Export Services Organisation :
Office |Staff numbers
-------------------------------------------------------------
London Based |263
Overseas |25
Directorate General Saudi
Armed Forces Projects (1) |221
Malaysian Project Office (1) |33
Kuwait Programme Office (1) |21
Directorate of Sales (Disposals)
British Forces Germany |43
Army Sales Team |60
|---
Total |666
(1) Self funding.
Personnel Statistics
Mr. John Townend : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of (a) uniformed personnel and (b) MoD civil servants on 1 Janaury 1988 ; and what are the latest figures.
Mr. Hanley : The information is as follows :
|1 January 1988 |1 September 1993
----------------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom
Regular Forces |317,300 |267,200
MOD Civil Servants
(Full-time
equivalents) |144,800 |(1) 128,000
Note:
(1) Of these some 33,000 are in the administration group, some 54,000
are specialist non-industrial staff and some 41,000 are industrial
staff.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants are working at his Department's offices in Whitehall.
Mr. Aitken : On 1 September 1993, there were some 3,400 full-time and part-time MOD civil servants working in the Whitehall area.
Pregnancy (Dismissals)
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent the negotiations on subsidiarity with the EC will enable him to adopt a policy of not paying compensation to women dismissed from the services on account of pregnancy.
Mr. Hanley : Liability of the Government to pay compensation to women dismissed from the armed forces on account of pregnancy between August 1978 and August 1990 was established following an agreed order of the High Court applying EC directive 76/207--the equal treatment directive. The Government believe that this directive is consistent with the principle of subsidiarity.
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Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women were dismissed from the services as a result of pregnancy between 1978 and 1990 ; and on what authority the policy of dismissing such women was based up to 1990.
Mr. Hanley : Some 5,600 women were dismissed from the services on pregnancy between August 1978, when the EC equal treatment directive came into force, and August 1990, when the services discontinued the practice of dismissing women on pregnancy and introduced maternity leave.
The basis for the policy of dismissing service women on pregnancy prior to August 1990 was the exemption granted to the armed forces in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
Departmental Costs
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated amount to be spent in 1993-94 in rent and other associated costs with the offices of his Department in Whitehall.
Mr. Hanley : The estimated amount to be spent in 1993-94 in rent and other associated costs on MoD headquarters offices in Whitehall will be about £58 million. This includes £30 million in rental charges payable to the Department of the Environment under the property repayment services scheme.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Freemasons
35. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received regarding disclosure by freemasons in public life ; and what action he has taken.
Mr. David Davis : Apart from representations by the hon. Member, my office has received six letters on this subject. The civil service management code has been amended to identify freemasonry as a possible conflict of interest. A copy is in the Library of the House.
Realising Our Potential"
42. Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about action so far implemented following publication of his White Paper on science technology and engineering "Realising Our Potential".
Mr. David Davis : Progress in implementing the White Paper has been excellent. We have established a new Council for Science and Technology to provide high-level advice. We have embarked on a technology foresight programme, aimed at achieving new working partnerships between industry, academia and Government. We have made preparations for the new research council structure, including appointing the first of the new part-time chairmen. We have announced a number of initiatives to promote public understanding of science, engineering and technology.
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Market Testing
39. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the effect of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 on market testing in the civil service.
Mr. Waldegrave : The Government issued guidance in March this year which set out a framework for considering questions raised by the regulations. I am happy to say that Departments have made good progress in their market-testing programmes.
44. Mr. Fabricant : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what analysis his Department has made regarding the likely outcome of a subsequent review of market testing within a given department.
Mr. Waldegrave : Departments have made good progress in their market -testing programmes. My officials in the efficiency unit are currently undertaking an analysis of the outcome of the market-testing programme for 1992-93, ending on 30 September. They will be reviewing their findings with Departments. I shall report on the results of their analysis when it has been completed.
Wildlife
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what research he has commissioned into development of natural wildlife in pocket parks.
Mr. Waldegrave : This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. For my part, I have not commissioned any research on this topic. I understand, however, that the Ground Work Foundation and English Nature, bodies funded by his Department, are active ichy of Lancaster what further plans he has to implement plans outlined in his White Paper on science published earlier this year.
Mr. Waldegrave : Since the White Paper was published, I have established the new Council for Science and Technology which meets for the first time on 9November, launched the technology foresight programme and appointed the first of the new part-time chairmen of research councils. I will shortly be appointing the director general of research councils and the remaining chairmen and chief executives. We have launched a new grants scheme to aid small-scale initiatives in the public understanding of science. Finally, the first Forward Look on publicly funded science and technology will be published next April.
Citizens Charters
43. Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those charters and the specific targets where financial compensation is a remedy for failure to meet the charter's standards.
Mr. David Davis : There are seven charters containing provision for financial compensation. They are the British Rail passengers charter ; London Underground customers
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charter ; Northern Ireland railways passengers charter ; Contributions Agency contributors charter ; Contributions Agency employers charter ; and the Benefits Agency customer charter.Mr. Amess : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received on the effectiveness of the citizens charter.
Mr. David Davis : My right hon. Friend has received numerous representations about the effectiveness of the citizens charter, most recently at a series of regional forums where local public service managers have been discussing how they are putting charter principles into practice.
Nuclear Test Programme
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has, following his recent statement on open government in relation to documents which continue to be withheld from public scrutiny beyond 30 years, to release documents having a bearing upon the health and safety of participants in Britain's nuclear test programme.
Mr. Waldegrave : The White Paper on open government (Cm 2290) published on 15 July 1993 states, in paragraph 9.28, that all Departments will, as resources can be made available :
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"re-review all material currently withheld for longer than 30 years to see whether its sensitivity has passed and to release it if possible".Records relating to Britain's nuclear test programme are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence who will be arranging for these records to be reviewed as part of this undertaking.
HEALTH
NHS Trusts
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications for trust status have been made to the South East Thames regional health authority ; how many have been approved ; how many rejected ; and what evaluation has been made of the performance of the trusts which have been approved against the prospectuses issued at the time of their applications.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is shown in the table. The business planning process and financial performance of national health service trusts are monitored by the NHS management executive outposts. The main accountability tools for this purpose are a business plan, a strategic direction, annual accounts and an annual report.
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Trust applications in the South East Thames region
|Applications|Approved |Rejected |Deferred |Withdrawn
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st wave |5 |1 |3 |0 |1
2nd wave |13 |10 |3 |0 |0
3rd wave |13 |11 |2 |0 |0
4th wave |12 |7 |0 |<1>5 |0
<1> Secretary of State will announce her decisions on these five applications at the turn
of the year.
Medical Complaints Appeals
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure equality of access to appropriate legal advice for patients and practitioners at medical complaints appeals ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : Professor Alan Wilson of Leeds university is chairing a full review of national health service complaints systems. He is due to report at the turn of the year.
Non-urgent Surgery
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the names of hospitals and health authorities who had ceased non- urgent surgery on 30 September.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally. Early evidence indicates that most hospitals are managing their workload effectively. Guidance was issued by the national health service management executive to ensure that effective monitoring systems are in place so that local managers can identify problems early and take action to maintain a balanced activity throughout the year. A copy of the guidance EL(93)10 is available in the Library.
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