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Mr. Needham : The available data are published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited in the annual series of "Motor Industry of Great Britain, World Automotive Statistics". Data for United Kingdom exports of buses and coaches, defined as vehicles with 10 seats or more, in total and by country can be found in table 62 ; the equivalent for imports is in table 91. This publication is available in the Library of the House. My Department does not forecast the balance of payments.
DEFENCE
Management Systems
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department's computer-aided facilities management systems cost ; from whom they were purchased ; how many person hours were required to commission them ; what the estimated and actual saving has been from their operation ; and to what extent the use of such systems accounts for the apparent rise in theft noted in his answer to the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell) of 16 February, Official Report, column 821.
Mr. Aitken : Information on computer-aided facilities management systems in my Department is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, a computerised system known as the works information management system, is currently being introduced in MOD headquarters buildings in Whitehall, Bath and Glasgow, principally to provide a register of assets in accordance with Government accounting regulations. The system is operated under licence from Pierce Management Services and is being commissioned on behalf of my Department by Building and Property Facilities Management Ltd. at an estimated cost of £357,000, of which £253,260 has been spent to date. It is not possible to identify the hours spent on commissioning the system nor the savings from its operation, since it is not yet fully operational.
Defence Export Services Organisation
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the purpose of the Defence Export Services Organisation ; and what its annual expenditure was in each of the last five years. Mr. Aitken : The Defence Export Services Organisation exists to help British defence manufacturers market and sell their products abroad, within the parameters laid down by Government policy, and to dispose of surplus MOD equipment. The net cost of the organisation in 1993-94 is expected to be some £16.3 million. Changes in accounting conventions make exact comparisons with earlier years difficult with
earlier years.
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Agency Chief ExecutivesMr. Radice : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian agency chief executives in his Department are currently paid more than £82,925, excluding performance-related bonuses ; and whether such chief executives were recruited directly to their present post from outside the civil service.
Mr. Hanley : The chief executive of the Defence Research Agency is the one chief executive in my Department who earns more than £82,925 per annum. He was recruited from outside the civil service.
Arms Sales
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arms or defence-related equipment have been sold to the Philippines in each year since 1986.
Mr. Aitken : It is not our policy to reveal details of arms sales to individual countries.
Military Training
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fatalities occurred during static line training between 1970 and 1990 ; how many of them were head injury cases ; and how many were reservists or Territorial Army members.
Mr. Hanley : There were five fatalities during the course of military static line training between 1970 and 1990, one of which resulted from injuries to the head. Four of these fatalities involved reservists or members of the territorial army.
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deaths there were at the military training drop zone at West-on-the Green in the period 1978 to 1983 ; and what were the dates of each incident.
Mr. Hanley : There were four fatal accidents in the course of military parachute training at the drop zone at Weston-on-the-Green during the period 1978 to 1983. These occurred on 30 March 1978, 13 June 1978, 20 June 1979 and 16 September 1981. Static line parachute jumps were being performed in all four cases.
RAF Finningley
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which is the largest civilian aircraft that could be landed at RAF Finningley in normal operating conditions.
Mr. Hanley : The runway, taxiways and parking area at Finningley are capable of normal use by aircraft of up to the size and weight classification of the Boeing 747. However, the operation of aircraft of this size is currently constrained by ground obstacles adjacent to the taxiways.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the length of the runway at RAF Finningley ; and how many (a) civilian and (b) military aircraft have landed or taken off from RAF Finningley for each of the last four years and the current year to date.
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Mr. Hanley : RAF Finningley has a single runway, RW 20/02, which is 2,744.5 m in length. Civilian and military aircraft movements to or from Finningley in the past three years and the current year to date are as follows ; figures for 1990 are not available:
4
Year |Civilian |Military
|aircraft |aircraft
|movements |movements<1>
----------------------------------------------------
1991 |17 |45,000
1992 |16 |60,000
1993 |20 |61,000
1994<2> |4 |9,300
<1> Approximate.
<2> To date.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what scope there is to extend the existing runways at RAF Finningley within the aerodrome's existing curtilage.
Mr. Hanley : There is 800 ft of land between the airfield boundary and the threshold of the runway at Finningley. However, the use of this space for a runway extension is not considered practical, partly because of the obstacle presented to aircraft taking off or approaching by the railway line immediately outside the airfield's northern boundary, and partly because the land in question is low-lying and would therefore require extensive works to render it suitable for a runway extension.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which is the largest (a) military and (b) civilian aircraft to have landed, or taken off, from RAF Finningley during the last 10 years.
Mr. Hanley : The largest military aircraft to have landed at, or taken off from, RAF Finningley during the last 10 years is a Lockheed C5 Galaxy, and the largest civilian aircraft to have done so is Concorde.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total annual cost of running the aerodrome at RAF Finningley.
Mr. Hanley : For financial year 1993-94 the estimated running costs for RAF Finningley are £30,700,000. This includes the operating costs of units based at or run from RAF Finningley, as well as the operating costs of the airfield.
Runway Capacity
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each of the airports and aerodromes in Yorkshire and Humberside that his Department owns or controls, other than RAF Finningley, what scope there is to extend the existing runways within the airports or aerodromes existing curtilage.
Mr. Hanley : The runways in question could in principle be extended by the following distances :
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|Runway |Metres
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAF Leeming (only one operationalrunway) |1,000
RAF Linton-on-Ouse |RW 04 |100
|RW 22 |350
|RW 28 |220
|RW 10 |60
Church Fenton |RW 06 |Nil
|RW 24 |360
|RW 16 |120
|RW 34 |Nil
Dishforth |RW 34 |150
|RW 16 |Nil
|RW 28 |(after levelling) 320
|RW 10 |Nil
Topcliffe No extension is possible at Topcliffe;
the runways are due to be reduced in
length to accommodate Army training
requirements
Apart from RAF Leeming, all figures assume that runway approach lighting could be placed on adjacent farmland.
Airport Running Costs
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each of the airports or aerodromes that his Department owns or controls in Yorkshire and Humberside, other than RAF Finningley, the total annual cost of running them.
Mr. Hanley : For financial year 1993-94 the total running costs for RAF Leeming and RAF Linton-on-Ouse are estimated at £54,760,000 and £20,300,000 respectively. The figure for RAF Linton-on-Ouse includes the cost of running the relief landing grounds at Church Fenton, Dishforth and Topcliffe.
Airports and Aerodromes
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the area of each of the airports or aerodromes that his Department owns or controls in Yorkshire and Humberside.
Mr. Hanley : The total area of each site is as follows :
Site |Area in
|hectares<1>
-------------------------------------------
RAF Finningley |367
RAF Leeming |474
RAF Linton-on-Ouse |291
Church Fenton |206
Dishforth |191
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Ministerial Visits
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of his Minister of State for the Armed Forces' visit to south Yorkshire on 27 January ; what locations he visited ; with whom he had discussions ; what notification of his visit was given to hon. Members who have constituencies in south Yorkshire ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : I visited Menwith Hill station, in north Yorkshire, on 27 January 1994. I received briefings on the current role of the station from various United States and United Kingdom personnel including the chief of station. I gave advance notice of this visit to my hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry), in whose constituency Menwith Hill station is situated.
United States Military Personnel
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total number of United States military personnel based in the United Kingdom ; how many United States military personnel are at each base or facility operated by the United States forces in the United Kingdom ; what is the total number of United States military personnel based in each local authority area in the United Kingdom ; and what are the corresponding figures for November 1990.
Mr. Hanley : There are currently 15,954 United States military personnel based in the United Kingdom at the following locations. The breakdown, as of March 1994 and November 1990, is as follows :
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Location County Numbers
|March 1994 |November 1990
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAF Alconbury |Cambridgeshire |2,159 |2,759
RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge |Suffolk |0 |4,800
RAF Brawdy |Dyfed |340 |340
Broughton Moor |Cumbria |0 |0
RAF Burtonwood |Cheshire |0 |250
RAF Caerwent |Gwent |0 |6
RAF Chicksands |Bedfordshire |1,237 |1,300
Chilwell |Nottinghamshire |0 |0
RAF Croughton |Northamptonshire |420 |420
RAF Daws Hill<1> |Buckinghamshire |724 |724
RAF Edzell |Tayside |820 |820
RAF Fairford |Gloucestershire |120 |40
Felixstowe |Suffolk |30 |30
RAF Feltwell |Norfolk |62 |62
RAF Fylingdales |North Yorkshire |1 |1
Glen Douglas |Strathclyde |0 |19
RAF Greenham Common |Berkshire |0 |2,000
Holy Loch |Strathclyde |0 |2,100
RAF Hythe |Hampshire |2 |2
RAF Kemble |Gloucestershire |0 |19
RAF Lakenheath<2> |Suffolk |4,288 |4,688
RAF Machrihanish |Strathclyde |74 |104
Menwith Hill Station |North Yorkshire |360 |360
RAF Mildenhall |Suffolk |3,033 |2,650
RAF Molesworth |Cambridgeshire |423 |16
RAF Nocton Hall |Lincolnshire |12 |12
RAF Oakhanger |Hampshire |275 |275
RAF Sculthorpe |Norfolk |0 |0
RAF Spadeadam |Cumbria |5 |4
RAF St. Mawgan |Cornwall |100 |60
RAF Thurso |Highland |0 |330
RAF Upper Heyford<3> |Oxfordshire |1,194 |4,500
RAF Upwood |Cambridgeshire |175 |181
RAF Uxbridge |London borough of Hillingdom|100 |100
RAF Wethersfield |Essex |0 |290
<1> Includes personnel at Dunstable,Eastcote, Hayes, Central London and West Ruislip.
<2> Includes RAF Feltwell and RAF Sculthorpe.
<3> Includes RAF Bicester (currently 0),RAF Little Rissington (currently 31) and RAF Welford (currently 37).
European Regional Development Grant
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what use his Department has, or plans to, put the £1,000,000 allocated by the European regional development fund grant listed in table 1 on cash plans of his Department for 1993-94, in his departmental annual report and expenditure plans, 1994-95 to 1996-97, Cm. 2501.
Mr. Hanley : The EC grant listed at table 1--Cash Plans--of Cm. 2501 reflects the payment during 1993-94 of the sum of £1,375,000 to the Royal British Legion as a contribution towards the design and construction of their joint services training and resettlement centre at Tidworth. The purpose of this grant is to provide job-related training for ex-service personnel and the wives and dependants of service personnel based in the Tidworth area, and for civilians in the local community.
Self-financing Regulatory Authorities
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many self- financing regulatory authorities his Department has set up since 1979 ; what was the annual running cost of each of the self-financing regulatory authorities in each of the last three years ; what is the current staffing establishment ; and what it was last year and two years ago.
Mr. Aitken : My Department has not set up any self-financing regulatory authorities since 1979.
Quangos
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of quangos for which he is responsible ; how much in public funds has been given to each quango in each of the last three years ; what is the current staffing establishment of each quango ; and what it was five years ago.
Column 754
Mr. Hanley : Such information is contained in the publication "Public Bodies 1993" and earlier editions of the same publication. Copies of all editions are available in the Libraries of the House.
Rules and Regulations
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many rules and regulations his Department has passed in each of the last three years.
Mr. Aitken : My Department has not been responsible for any secondary legislation with a regulatory impact on business in the last three years.
Sir Bedivere
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to invite tenders for the refitting of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ship Sir Bedivere ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : RFA Sir Bedivere is presently the subject of a competition for a ship life extension programme as opposed to a programmed refit. An invitation to tender for Sir Bedivere's SLEP was issued on 26 November 1993 and tender return date is 24 March 1994.
Landing Platform Dock
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the project definition studies for the landing platform dock began ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : There have been two phases of project definition studies for the landing platform dock replacement. Initial project definition studies began in November 1991 and were completed in early 1993. A second phase commenced in May 1993 and is due to complete this spring. We will then take a decision on the issuing of an invitation to tender for the design and build of the first of class.
Column 755
Malaysia
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence project team's advice under the Malaysian memorandum of understanding, on the reasonableness of prices quoted by United Kingdom suppliers was based on the final delivered price in Malaysia.
Mr. Aitken : The advice given was on a Government-to-Government basis and as such is confidential.
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which activities of United Kingdom suppliers are being monitored by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence project team under the Malaysian memorandum of understanding.
Mr. Aitken : The MOD project team monitors progress on those contracts designated under the MOU.
Column 756
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what elements within the designated contracts under the Malaysian memorandum of understanding the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence project team advised the Malaysian Government on how to negotiate most effectively.
Mr. Aitken : My Department has not been asked to provide advice on negotiations.
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence project team set up under the Malaysian memorandum of understanding ; how much of the cost will be covered by the management fee ; and what are the component costs of the project team.
Mr. Aitken : The cost of the project team is funded entirely from the management fee.
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