| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Hanley : The three Army Air Corps Gazelle helicopters currently in Belize will be used in support of the jungle training of British Army units when the British Army training support unit is established on 1 October 1994.
Anti-tank Helicopter
Mr. Wilkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the recent invitation to tender for the British Army anti-tank helicopter requirement was extended to the South African Atlas Denel corporation and the involvement of Her Majesty's Treasury ; and what effect he expects this to have on the date of final selection.
Mr. Aitken : Atlas Aviation, part of the Denel Corporation, submitted an unsolicited bid last November in response to my Department's invitation to tender for the Attack Helicopter. After preliminary assessment, and discussions with the company, it was decided that it should have access to the invitation to tender to allow them to put its bid on the same footing as the five solicited bids. This was a matter for MOD and Her Majesty's Treasury was not involved. Steps have been taken to minimise the effect on programme timescales, including strict conditions on the timing and quality of the Denel-Atlas bid. The impact on the date of final selection should be minimal.
Export Licences
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in what way, and at what time, the fact that items exported to Saudi Arabia as part of the Al Yamamah agreements were not subject to export licence controls was made known to Parliament ;
(2) in what way, and at what time, the fact that items exported by Royal Ordnance as part of Defence Sales Export Organisation deals were not subject to export licence controls since 1981 was made known to Parliament.
Mr. Aitken : The fact that the Crown cannot licence itself is self- evident.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Government of Saudi Arabia were made aware that items exported to that country as part of the Al Yamamah agreements would not be subject to export licence controls.
Mr. Aitken : The Government of Saudi Arabia are aware that defence equipment supplied under the Al Yamamah arrangement is subject to the normal foreign policy and defence criteria.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the items covered by the Al Yamamah contracts were subsequently exported.
Column 146
Mr. Aitken : All the items covered by the Al Yamamah contracts have been or will be exported.
Anthrax Vaccine
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he maintains stocks of anthrax vaccine, including penicillin-resistant anthrax vaccines.
Mr. Hanley : Details relating to all vaccines giving protection against biological warfare agents are classified.
Ferranti International plc
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether new orders have been placed by his Department with Ferranti International plc since it went into receivership.
Defence Exports
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the countries of destination of items sold by Royal Ordnance as part of the Defence Sales Export Organisation's contracts with Crown status since 1981.
Mr. Aitken : It is not our policy to provide details of defence exports.
Housing Trust
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the terms of reference and the funding provision for his Department's housing trust.
Mr. Hanley : My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.
Household Division Officers
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers in the Household Division received their secondary education in the public sector.
Mr. Hanley : The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Defence Expenditure
Mr. Jim Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give as a percentage defence expenditure compared to gross domestic product for the period 1979 to 1983 and for the period 1989 to 1993 ; and if he will make a statement on the implications for the long-term defence of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is as follows :
Defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP
|Percent
---------------------------------------------
1977-78 |4.6
1978-79 |4.5
1979-80 |4.6
1980-81 |4.9
1981-82 |5.0
1982-83 |5.2
1983-84 |5.2
1989-90 |4.0
1990-91 |4.0
1991-92 |4.2
1992-93 |3.9
1993-94 |(forecast) 3.7
Notes:
1. Figures include exceptional expenditure
on Falklands/Gulf conflict but exclude Gulf
burdensharing contributions from other
Governments.
2. Figures from 1978-79 take account of the
technical changes in the treatment of Armed
Forces and civilian pensions.
The Government does not consider any fixed percentage of GDP as being appropriate for defence expenditure. As we demonstrated in "Defending Our Future" the 1993 Statement on the Defence Estimates, defence spending is set at a level which balances commitments, capabilities and the availability of resources.
Iraq
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 8 March, Official Report, column 132, what action he has taken to reconsider evidence in relation to the alleged destruction of marsh Arab settlements, since the film of aerial observation of Iraq was shown by his Department to the hon. Member for Linlithgow.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest information about the scale of Iraqi Government military action in southern Iraq ; and what response he is making.
Mr. Hanley : We are monitoring the situation closely with our coalition allies, taking account of new information as it becomes available. We believe that the evidence shows that the systematic destruction of the settlements and habitat of the marsh Arabs is continuing, in contravention of United Nations Security Council resolution 688.
Royal Yacht
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which commercial bodies or organisations representing commercial interests have had use of the royal yacht since 1990 ; on what grounds ; on whose authority ; and at what cost.
Mr. Hanley : Since 1990 the royal yacht has been used by commercial bodies and by non-governmental bodies representing commercial interests by, singly or jointly, the following organisations : British Gas
British Invisibles
General Council of British Shipping
Indo-British Partnership Initiative
London Forum
London First
Scottish Financial Enterprise
Scotch Whisky Industry
The royal yacht may be used to promote British exports and attract inward investment to the United Kingdom, on the authority of Buckingham palace and the Cabinet Secretary. All additional costs were paid for by the organisations concerned.
Column 148
Service Children's Education
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about action the Service Children's Education Association intends to take regarding critical HMI/Ofsted reports on private and independent schools benefiting from the service children's boarding school allowance scheme.
Mr. Hanley : The Service Children's Education Authority will send copies of HMI/Ofsted reports to parents with children at the schools concerned.
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many pupils at private and independent schools are benefiting from the service children's boarding school allowance ;
(2) how much the service children's boarding school allowance scheme has cost his Department in 1993-94 ; and if he will give his estimate for 1994- 95 ;
(3) if he will list the amount of money being spent by his Department under the service children's boarding school allowances scheme and each of the private and independent schools benefiting from the scheme ;
(4) if he will list the names and location of the private and independent schools receiving moneys from the service children's boarding school allowance.
Mr. Hanley : For the spring term 1994, boarding school allowance-- BSA was claimed in respect of a total of 13,608 service children. Some of these attend schools in the state sector and numbers of just those attending private and independent schools could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Expenditure on BSA for the financial year 1993-94 is currently estimated at £133,360,000. It is not possible to provide an estimate for financial year 1994-95 at this stage as total expenditure will reflect both the rate of BSA and the total number of children in respect of whom it is claimed. A list of schools attended by the children of BSA claimants is not compiled annually. I am arranging, however, for a copy of the most recent version which was compiled in 1992, to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Service Children's Education Association to send to parents of the children at Finborough, Rodney and Lime House schools the recent HMI/Ofsted reports on that school.
Mr. Hanley : I expect the Service Children's Education Authority to send the reports on Finborough and Lime House schools to parents before the end of April. It is not intended to distribute the report on Rodney school which relates to an inspection that took place in 1991, and is regarded by the Department of Education as being out of date.
Defence Land Agency
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement regarding the circumstances which led to the arrest of Charles Ellis and Roger Pannell from the Defence Land Agency, by his Department's police ; and on what date the arrest took place.
Mr. Hanley : I confirm that the Ministry of Defence police are investigating certain activities concerning
Column 149
disposal of MOD property in south-west England. Several arrests were made in August and September 1993 but as yet no charges have been laid. An MOD employee has been suspended from duty while inquiries continue. As the MOD police have yet to complete their investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.Consultants
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood (Dr. Wright) of 31 January, Official Report, column 551, if he will list the firms of consultants employed by his Department and the number of contracts they have undertaken in each of the last five years.
Mr. Aitken : The information requested can be provided only for the last two years ; information for earlier years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I will write accordingly to the hon. Member in the near future.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information technology consultants his Department has employed ; and for what purpose and at what total cost for each of the last five years.
Mr. Aitken : My Department does not centrally maintain the details sought on information technology consultants ; the answer to this question could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Jordan
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total gross value of exports to Jordan under successive memoranda of understanding regarding Government to Government special export deals.
Mr. Aitken : It is not our practice to give the value of orders placed under such Government agreements.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many main battle tanks formed part of the exports to the Kingdom of Jordan under the memorandum of understanding arms export deals with the Kingdom of Jordan.
Mr. Aitken : It has been the established practice of successive Governments not to release information about individual defence exports.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if 155 mm shells were exported under the memorandum of understanding with the Kingdom of Jordan.
Mr. Aitken : It is not our practice to comment on detailed matters concerning individual defence exports. However, certain information about the contracts placed under the Jordan defence package has been made public during oral evidence given to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry. Exceptionally, therefore, I can provide the information the hon. Gentleman requests. No 155 mm shells were exported under the memorandum of understanding with Jordan.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantity of artillery fuses and propellant were exported under the memorandum of understanding on arms export deals with the Kingdom of Jordan.
Column 150
Mr. Aitken : It is not our practice to comment on detailed matters concerning individual defence exports. However, certain information about the contracts placed under the Jordan defence package has been made public during oral evidence given to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry. Exceptionally, therefore, I can provide the information the hon. Gentleman requests. No artillery fuses were exported under the memorandum of understanding with Jordan.
International Military Services Ltd.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff or employees of International Military Services Ltd. have been transferred to other companies.
Mr. Aitken : This is a matter for the company.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which contracts formerly held by International Military Services Ltd. have been sold, disposed of, or transferred, to other companies.
Mr. Aitken : This is a matter for the company.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received that arms or arms related exports by International Military Services Ltd. or the Defence Export Sales Organisation have been passed to countries or destinations other than the stated end-user.
Mr. Aitken : It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the existence of any such reports.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which assets formerly held by International Military Services Ltd. have been sold, disposed of, or transferred to, other British companies.
Mr. Aitken : This is a matter for the company. All shares in IMS Ltd. remain the property of the Secretary of State for Defence.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the affairs of International Military Services Ltd. were subject to scrutiny by the defence internal audit teams.
Mr. Aitken : No. Its accounts are audited by Price Waterhouse which is appointed on an annual basis. The National Audit Office has access to the books and records of the company.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which years since 1981 the global provision for statutory liabilities in respect of IMS Ltd. was drawn down ; and in respect of what sums.
Mr. Aitken : There has been no such draw down.
Anti-tank Missiles
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he placed the most recent orders for anti-tank missiles ; and what studies are being undertaken into the design, availability and performance of future anti-tank missiles.
Mr. Aitken : The most recent orders for anti-tank guided missiles were placed as follows :
SWINGFIRE final follow-on order ; contract placed November 1987. TOW OTA (Overhead Top Attack) modified missiles ; contract placed October 1987.
Column 151
The United Kingdom continues to participate in the development of third generation anti-tank guided missile programmes- -both medium range and long range--known as TRIGAT, in collaboration with European partners. Proposals for the United Kingdom's future attack helicopter are being evaluated which include a long-range anti-tank missile system. In addition, studies are being undertaken into future technologies for anti-tank missiles beyond the turn of the century.Arms Exports
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the benefits or privileges extended to arms or arms related exports as a result of Crown status.
Mr. Aitken : Arms or arms related exports having Crown status are all subject to exactly the same foreign and defence policy considerations as exports carried out under an export licence.
Defence Sales
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 25 March, Official Report, column 470, whether Royal Ordnance or Defence Export Services Organisation were asked to supply information as to end-users in respect of arms or arms-related exports having Crown status.
Computer Systems
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what computer systems his Department have brought in, for what function and at what cost for each of the last five years ; and in each case if the computer system is still in use.
Mr. Aitken : This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers in his Department were approached to sign public interest immunity certificates in connection with the Matrix Churchill trial and declined to do so.
Mr. Aitken : No Minister in my Department has declined to sign a public interest immunity certificate in connection with the Matrix Churchill trial.
Polaris Missiles
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what method his Department will dispose of the propellant inside Polaris missiles when they are scrapped.
Mr. Aitken : Propellant contained within surplus Polaris components is already being disposed of, by burning, in an environmentally safe manner.
Column 152
SOCIAL SECURITY
Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cold weather payments have been made in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) Humberside since October 1993.
Mr. Scott : The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Disability Working Allowance
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what are the estimated costs to his Department of abolishing the qualifying benefit rules for disability working allowance.
Mr. Hague : This information is not readily available. The cost would depend on the nature of any alternative qualifying test, the way in which any such test was applied, the number of people who decide to take up work or change their pattern of work, and the levels of earnings and other income.
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many disability working allowance claims have been disallowed for reasons of income higher than the appropriate level ; how many of these claims had weekly incomes above this level of (i) up to £1, (ii) between £1 and £2, (iii) between £2 and £5, (iv) between £5 and £10, (v) between £10 and £15 and between £15 and £20.
Mr. Hague : Since March 1992, 3,371 claims have been disallowed because income is in excess of the appropriate level.
The remaining information is not available in the form requested.
Family Credit
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what percentage of those couples in Scotland who were in receipt of family credit in 1993-94, received family credit for (a) 26 weeks only, (b) 52 weeks only and (c) more than 52 weeks ;
(2) what percentage of those lone parents in Scotland who were in receipt of family credit in (a) 1992-93 and (b) 1993-94, received family credit for (i) 26 weeks only, (ii) 52 weeks only and (iii) more than 52 weeks ;
(3) what percentage of those couples in Scotland who were in receipt of family credit in 1992-93, received family credit for (a) 26 weeks only, (b) 52 weeks only and (c) more than 52 weeks.
Mr. Hague : The information requested for 1992-93 is in the table. The figures for 1993-94 are not available.
| Next Section
| Home Page |