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Cadet Forces
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) private and (b) state-funded schools have cadet forces ; and how many of these cadets forces are linked to (i) the Royal Navy, (ii) the Army and (iii) the Royal Air Force ; how many pupils in (1) private and (2) state- funded schools are enrolled in cadet forces for each of the armed services ; and how much the cadet forces in (x) private and (y) state-funded schools for each service cost his Department annually.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Imphal Barracks
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to identify a future MoD use for the offices at Imphal barracks, York, which are due to become vacant in mid-1996 when York-based army manning and records staff transfer to Kentigern House in Glasgow ; and how he intends to consult (a) York city council and (b) the trade unions representing MoD civilian staff over future uses for these offices.
Mr. Soames : The office accommodation to be vacated is situated within Imphal barracks, and cannot be leased or disposed of. In accordance with our normal procedures we are looking for alternative defence uses for the accommodation ; this work is still ongoing. If a defence use for the accommodation is found York city council will be notified. The city council would be consulted if we were proposing a material change of use or some form of development. If any alternative defence use affects MoD civilians then the proposal would be the subject of consultations with the trade unions in the normal way.
Royal Air Force
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the RAF squadrons and units that have been disbanded or reorganised in the last five years indicating (a) the broad nature of the work of the squadron or unit, (b) the date of the change, (c) whether the squadron or unit was subject to market testing and (d) whether any of the duties have been taken over by contractors ; and if he will name the contractors in each applicable case.
Mr. Soames : The information required is not held centrally, nor in the form requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the RAF squadrons and units which are currently or will as a result of the defence costs study be subject to (a) market testing or (b) contractorisation ; and if he will indicate the broad nature of the work of the squadron or unit.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member.
University Air Squadrons
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many university air squadrons there are ; what they cost to run per year ; how may university students were attached to them in each of the last five years ; and how many of these students entered service with the RAF on completion of their courses in each of the last three years.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon . Member.
Property Sales
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of Defence how many service properties that were owned by his Department have been sold in each of the last five years; and what was the yearly revenue received from these sales.
Mr. Soames : The term "service properties" is taken to mean land, buildings and residential dwellings. Details of the number of service properties sold are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
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The receipts received from the sale of service properties in each of the last five financial years are set out in the table :
A
Financial |Residential |Land/ |Total
Year |Dwellings<1>|Buildings
|£ |£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |48,000,000 |23,200,000 |71,200,000
1990-91 |46,000,000 |34,600,000 |80,600,000
1991-92 |54,000,000 |48,300,000 |102,300,000
1992-93 |42,000,000 |26,200,000 |68,200,000
1993-94 |29,300,000 |41,400,000 |70,700,000
<1> Married quarters and civilian houses.
Peacekeeping Manual
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) of 10 February, Official Report, column 484, 4 March, Official Report, column 941, and 24 June, Official Report, columns 388-89 whether, account was taken in drawing up the two NATO documents on peacekeeping, of the advice received by his Department from the academic bodies consulted in the preparation of the United Kingdom manual on peacekeeping;
(2) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) of 4 March, Official Report, column 941, if he will list all the academic bodies consulted in the course of preparing the new United Kingdom manual on peacekeeping.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all sites within his Department where luminising operations have been or are carried out ; what sums are required for containment or decontamination of wastes arising ; what criteria govern the inclusion of such sites within the national radioactive waste inventory ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : As part of a review of its procedures for dealing with instances of land contamination on the defence estate, my Department is in the process of identifying sites where radium luminising work has been undertaken in the past and establishing the extent of decontamination work undertaken after luminising work was discontinued. It is too early to say what further containment or decontamination work may subsequently be required at such sites. In completing the national radioactive waste inventory, my Department acts in accordance with the guidance notes which require details of any waste allocated either for disposal to the BNFL land burial site at Drigg or for storage pending the availability of a national deep underground repository.
Alcohol Abuse
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the scale of alcohol abuse in the armed services.
Mr. Soames : Alcohol abuse in the armed forces is taken very seriously and considerable effort is put into dealing with alcohol-related problems. A comprehensive system of education and treatment has been developed
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throughout the services. In addition to the collation of disciplinary data in respect of alcohol-related offences, numbers of alcohol dependence/chronic alcoholism cases are also monitored. There were 272 such cases in 1992, the latest year for which figures are available, compared with 369 cases in 1988. These represent 0.09 per cent. and 0.11 per cent. of service strength respectively.Column 558
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men and women were court martialled for drink-related offences in each of the three armed services in each of the last five years.
Mr. Soames : The numbers of service men and women convicted of drink -related offences at courts martial in the five years up to 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, are as follows :
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|1988|1989|1990|1991|1992
----------------------------------------------
Royal Navy
Males |9 |13 |5 |7 |7
Females |- |- |- |- |-
Army
Males |20 |22 |12 |14 |10
Females |- |- |- |- |-
Royal Air Force
Males |20 |10 |10 |13 |6
Females |- |1 |1 |- |-
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual expenditure in each year since 1989 of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF on alcohol abuse programmes expressed in constant 1994 prices.
Mr. Soames : Each of the services offers a comprehensive education programme to combat alcohol abuse plus treatment for alcohol dependency. Details of the costs involved are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Air Collision
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to be able to publish the MoD board of inquiry findings into the reasons for the fatal collision between an RAF jet and civilian helicopter onon 23 June 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The summary of the RAF board of inquiry into this accident will be published shortly and copies placed in the Libraries of the House. In the meantime, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Wallace), Official Report, column 264.
Civil Servants (Business Interests)
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the rules in the Department's defence services section governing the interests or involvement of civil servants in private businesses related to the work and activities of his Department ; and what information he has on such interests held by the current head of the defence services section.
Mr. Freeman : Officials must not put themselves in a position where their duty and their private interests conflict : they must not make use of their official position to further their private interests, or lay themselves open to suspicion of dishonesty. Responsibility for monitoring compliance with these regulations rests with line management. No central records are held.
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Territorial Army (Consultants)
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the consultants he has appointed to help recruitment to the Territorial Army with details of their terms of reference and the total cost to his Department.
Mr. Soames : My Department has not appointed any consultants to help recruitment to the Territorial Army. The advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi was, however, awarded the single Army national advertising account in March 1994 and this includes national Territorial Army recruiting advertising.
War Widows
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations the Government have received from the War Widows Association in respect of widows whose husbands fought in conflicts before 1974, and who have recently been widowed, about their difficulty in demonstrating for pension purposes that their late husband's deaths were due wholly, or in part, to their spouses' service in the armed forces.
Mr. Soames : My Department receives representations from the War Widows Association from time to time. We have not, however, recently received any concerning the demonstration that a service man's death was attributable to his service in respect of forces family pensions under the armed forces pension scheme, although such representations may have been received by the Department of Social Security which administers the war pensions scheme.
RN Engineering College, Plymouth
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider giving 12 months notice of redundancy to all non-mobile grades of civilian employees at the Royal Naval engineering college, Manadon, Plymouth.
Mr. Soames : My Department gives staff under notice of redundancy at least the minimum period, usually six months, stipulated in the staff regulations which have been agreed with the trades unions. It is our practice, however, to give more notice wherever practicable.
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Official Service Residences
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 18 July, Official Report , columns 62-64 if he will identify the county in which each of the numbered residences is situated and the rank of the officer in residence.
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Mr. Soames : The county, or country where the residence is overseas, in which each of the numbered residences is situated and the rank of the officer in residence is shown in the table.
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Residence |Location |Rank ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 |London |Admiral 2 |London |Vacant 3 |London |Rear Admiral 4 |London |Rear Admiral 5 |Middlesex |Admiral 6 |Middlesex |Vice Admiral 7 |Middlesex |Rear Admiral 8 |Middlesex |Rear Admiral 9 |Hampshire |Admiral 10 |Hampshire |Rear Admiral 11 |Hampshire |Rear Admiral 12 |Hampshire |Vice Admiral 13 |Hampshire |Lieutenant General 14 |Hampshire |Surgeon Rear Admiral 15 |Hampshire |Surgeon Rear Admiral 16 |Hampshire |Commodore 17 |Dorset |Rear Admiral 18 |Somerset |Rear Admiral 19 |Devon |Vice Admiral 20 |Devon |Captain 21 |Devon |Rear Admiral 22 |Devon |Commodore 23 |Devon |Captain 24 |Fife |Vice Admiral 25 |Fife |Commodore 26 |Strathclyde |Commodore 27 |Gibraltar |Rear Admiral 28 |USA |Vice Admiral 29 |London |Field Marshal 30 |London |Air Chief Marshal 31 |London |General 32 |London |General 33 |London |General 34 |London |Lieutenant General 35 |London |Major General 36 |London |Major General 37 |Hampshire |Lieutenant General 38 |Surrey |Major General 39 |Surrey |Major General 40 |Wiltshire |Major General 41 |Wiltshire |Major General 42 |Wiltshire |Lieutenant General 43 |Wiltshire |General 44 |Wiltshire |Major General 45 |Wiltshire |Lieutenant General 46 |Lothian |Major General 47 |Northern Ireland |Lieutenant General 48 |Kent |Brigadier 49 |Yorkshire |Major General 50 |Hampshire |General 51 |Shropshire |Major General 52 |Germany |Lieutenant General 53 |Germany |Major General 54 |Belgium |General 55 |Belgium |Field Marshal 56 |Hong Kong |Major General 57 |Cyprus |Major General 58 |London |Admiral 59 |Buckinghamshire |Air Chief Marshal 60 |Buckinghamshire |Air Chief Marshal 61 |Buckinghamshire |Air Marshal 62 |Buckinghamshire |Air Vice Marshal 63 |Buckinghamshire |Air Vice Marshal 64 |Oxfordshire |Air Vice Marshal 65 |Middlesex |Air Vice Marshal 66 |Middlesex |Air Marshal 67 |Cambridgeshire |Air Chief Marshal 68 |Cambridgeshire |Air Marshal 69 |Cambridgeshire |Air Vice Marshal 70 |Hertfordshire |Air Vice Marshal 71 |Gloucestershire |Air Chief Marshal 72 |Gloucestershire |Air Vice Marshal 73 |Fife |Air Commodore 74 |Berkshire |Air Vice Marshal 75 |Lincolnshire |Air Vice Marshal 76 |Germany |Air Vice Marshal 77 |Holland |Air Chief Marshal
Minx Programme
Mr. Keith Hill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what developments and for what reasons have taken place in the Minx programme; and which companies were involved in it.
Mr. Freeman : In 1991 industry conducted feasibility studies against a cardinal point specification for MINX to inform decisions about our future procurement strategy. The companies involved were Royal Ordnance, Huntings and Ferranti.
Royal Marines School of Music
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what covenants he has prepared relating to the upkeep of the listed buildings on the site of the Royal Marines school of music at Deal in the event of the sale of the site; and what effect the inclusion of the listed buildings is likely to have on the value of the site as a whole for private sector development.
Mr. Soames : As no decision has been made to sell the site at Deal, the question of preparing covenants relating to the upkeep of listed buildings has not arisen. The impact that listed buildings may have on the value of the site, should it be disposed of, will depend on the nature of any proposed future use, which would be considered under the normal planning and listed building processes.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 19 July, if he will commission an independent study by a firm of chartered accountant and management consultants of the commercially confidential and operationally secret material relating to his proposals for the Royal Marines school of music, Deal; if he will include in the consultative document a summary of their assessment; and if he will allow suitably qualified consultants representing local interests access to the relevant material and the defence cost study;
(2) if he will explain the different methods of setting out the cost of training of Royal Marines bandsmen used in the Minister of State's answer of 20 June, Official Report, column 64, and his oral statement of 14 July, Official Report, column 1171, and if he will set out a reconciliaton of the two different amounts on the basis of (a) annual costs and (b) total training period costs;
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the market for military land and buildings in (a) Uxbridge, (b) Twickenham and (c) Deal;
(4) pursuant to his answer of 19 July, if he will list the names and addresses of the principal contractors and sub-contractors used of maintenance by the Royal Marines school of music at Deal ; and if he will estimate the contribution to the local economy of the annual spending on maintenance at the school of music ;
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(5) pursuant to his answer of 19 July, if he will make a statement on the reason for the level of expenditure on maintenance at the Royal Marines school of music at Deal ; if he will provide an indication of the main heads of expenditure under this item each year ; what assessment he has made of the value for money of this expenditure ; and if he will publish figures for Uxbridge and Kneller Hall as a comparable basis to those given for Deal.Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member.
Dundrennan Test Range
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the implications in regard to (a) future employment, (b) environmental restoration from contamination arising from testing activities and (c) the electromagnetic rail upon research, development demonstration programme of his oral announcement on 14 July of the closure of the Dundrennan test range at Kirkcudbright, Official Report , column 172.
Mr. Freeman : The test and evaluation establishment Kirkcudbright currently employs 31 MOD civilians and about 100 contractors staff. The electro-magnetic launcher facility, which is operated by the Defence Research Agency, is not affected by the proposed closure and up to 25 people would need to be retained--primarily to maintain range security and safety--for as long as the DRA require the facility. As far as restoration from contamination is concerned, I refer the hon. Member to the reply of my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger), Official Report , 15 July, column 818 .
Ministerial Speeches
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy routinely to place in the Library copies of all speeches he, or other Ministers in his Department, make on matters for which they have departmental responsibility in the period 21 July to 16October.
Mr. Soames : Arrangements will be made for copies of speeches made by Ministers in my Department in a public forum, which make policy statements, to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mergers
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his policy to refer mergers between major United Kingdom defence contractors and foreign-owned or based companies to (a) the Prime Minister, (b) the Secret Intelligence Service, (c) the Security Service and (d) the Cabinet Office ; and who formally sanctions such a merger.
Mr. Freeman : My Department is consulted by the appropriate regulatory authorities in cases likely to involve
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the interests of the MOD and provides advice on how these would be affected by a proposed merger. The security implications of proposed mergers are considered and other authorities consulted as necessary.Biological and Toxic Weapons Conference
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals Her Majesty's Government intend to submit to the special conference on biological and toxic weapons in Geneva in September ; and if he will place any non-confidential papers put to and circulated at the conference in the Library.
Mr. Soames : We will be proposing at the special conference that states parties to the biological and toxin weapons convention work to strengthen the convention through the creation of an effective verification regime and, to this end, that the special conference agrees a mandate for a group of experts to draft a verification protocol for the BWC. We will further be proposing that this work be completed in time for the 1996 fourth BWC review conference. Copies of papers from the special conference will be placed in the Library of the House.
Recruits
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new recruits have been taken on by each of the armed forces in the past five years.
Mr. Soames : I refer the hon. Member to table 2 of "Tri-Service Personnel Statistics 1--Strengths, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces," a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Redundancies
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many redundancies there have been in each of the armed forces in the past five years.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member.
Operation Snowdrop
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to the method of aerial delivery of relief supplies known as Operation Snowdrop.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member.
Land Mines
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if United Kingdom arms manufacturers continue to possess the capacity for production and development of land mines ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The current edition of the defence manufacturers handbook lists the following companies with mines among their products : British Aerospace Defence, British Aerospace, Royal Ordnance, Hunting Engineering and Plalite.
Porton Down
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) on 24 June, Official Report, column 372,
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if it is his practice to ensure that service personnel with allergic reactions or histories are identified prior to the offer or administration of counter-CBW medical preparations.Mr. Soames : It is standard medical practice to ensure that vaccines, whether against biological warfare or natural diseases, are withheld if individual recipients display contraindications, such as a history of severe allergic reaction to the vaccines concerned. In the case of the nerve agent pretreatment set tablets taken against the threat of chemical attack, no medical evidence has been found, in over 40 years of therapeutic usage, that the active ingredient--pyridostigmine bromide--can cause allergic reactions.
Naval Ship Contracts
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the naval ship contracts on which claims for price and cost adjustments are still outstanding ; and what is the maximum sum of liabilities arising from such price and cost adjustments.
Mr. Freeman : All MOD contracts, whether for ship platforms, systems, equipments or weapon systems, provide for price adjustment. Each claim for price adjustment is assessed on its merits and no maximum can be set. Details of claims are commercially confidential to the companies concerned.
Ballistic Missile Defence System
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has let a contract for study of a ballistic missile defence system ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The UK ballistic missile defence pre-feasibility study is the subject of a competitive tendering exercise. Tenders were received on 23 June 1994 from two consortia led by British Aerospace plc and Logica UK Ltd. and these are currently being assessed. It is intended that the contract award will be announced in the autumn.
Nuclear Test Veterans
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans of Britain's nuclear tests have been contacted by the NRPB in carrying out its investigations into illnesses subsequently contacted by participants in the tests.
Mr. Soames : I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 26 May, Official Report, column 231.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what illnesses the National Radiological Protection Board has considered in respect of participants in British nuclear tests ; and what plans there are to extend the range.
Mr. Soames : The illnesses considered by the NRPB in the compilation of its study are shown on table 6.11 of the report (R.266), a copy of which can be found in the Library of the House.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans of the British nuclear tests
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have been awarded a war pension in each year since the first case associated with the tests was diagnosed ; and how many applications have been rejected.Mr. Hague : I have been asked to reply.
I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received from the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association; and what has been his response.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member.
Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of defence expenditure was accounted for by nuclear weapons (a) before and (b) after the recent round of defence cuts.
Mr. Soames I will write to the hon. Member.
Ministerial Visits
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fund-raising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.
Mr. Soames : Between 1 January and 30 June 1994, Ministers in my Department made 27 overseas trips in their official capacity. Fund-raising activities for the Conservative party are not part of our official duties.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a table showing, in 1992-93 prices, the gross public spending for each year to 1990-91 and the projected expenditure for each year to 1995-96 for each executive non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department, as listed in "Public Bodies 1993".
Mr. Soames [holding answer 15 February 1994] : I will write to the hon. Member.
LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
European Parliament (Pensions and Life Assurance)
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Lord President of the Council what life insurance payments and pension are available to members of the European Parliament that are not available to Members of this House ; and how they are financed.
Mr. Newton : There are no arrangements or benefits made by the Government for Members of the European Parliament which are not made in parallel for Members of Parliament. There is, however, a scheme of additional voluntary contributions run by a non-profit making organisation set up by Members of the European Parliament, to which the Parliament contributes two thirds of the contributions in respect of those Members who subscribe to it. There is also a limited life assurance scheme run by the European Parliament for its Members
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with a maximum benefit of about £12,500 payable on death or on the attainment of 60 years of age, provided that the policy has been in place for at least 10 years.Drugs
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Lord President of the Council, if the group studying solutions for the drugs problem is free to recommend decriminalising cannabis.
Mr. Newton : The central drugs co-ordination unit's remit is to ensure that departmental policies on drug misuse are planned, developed and implemented within a clear strategic framework and to devise an effective basis for local co-ordination of action against the drugs problem. Individual Government Departments remain responsible for their own policies to tackle drug misuse. My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has already made it clear that the Government have no intention of decriminalising or legalising any currently banned drug.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Lord President of the Council, when he expects the group in his Department studying drugs to present the report.
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