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DEFENCE
Procurement Fraud
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the level of reported fraud in his Department in each year since 1990, including all forms of procurement fraud, including those perpetrated by contractors involving corruption of officials by contracts and collusion between officials and contractors; how many officials have been disciplined or dismissed for involvement in these cases; how many officials involved in these cases remain employed by the Ministry of Defence or other Government Departments and agencies; and if he will make a statement. [39158]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The level of reported non-procurement fraud and theft since 1990 is as follows:
1990 91: 53 cases
1991 92: 45 cases
1992 93: 54 cases
1993 94: 108 cases
1994 95: 207 cases
The figures for officials, including service personnel, disciplined or dismissed for non-procurement fraud and theft are as follows:
1990 91: 104 disciplined and/or dismissed
1991 92: 51 disciplined and/or dismissed
1992 93: 55 disciplined and/or dismissed
1993 94: 85 disciplined and/or dismissed
1994 95: 124 disciplined and/or dismissed
The level of reported procurement fraud including corruption and collusion is as follows:
1990 91: 23 cases
1991 92: 18 cases
1992 93: 27 cases
1993 94: 7 cases
1994 95: 10 cases
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Three officials were convicted in this period for procurement crimes involving corruption and collusion. Each of them retired at the time or before investigations and prosecution commenced. None of the three is presently employed by another Government Department or agency.Trident
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the cost savings that could be made over the next 25 years from the immediate cancellation of the Trident nuclear programme. [39245]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The Government remain committed to the Trident programme. It follows that no detailed assessment has been made of the financial consequences of its cancellation. At this stage of procurement, the chief saving that would accrue from cancellation would be the operating costs, currently estimated to be some £6 billion over the life of the programme.
Trident remains the most effective means of providing a credible deterrent into the next century. No other use of the resources to be spent on Trident, such as an increase in our conventional forces, could contribute so significantly to deterrence.
RAF Machrihanish
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the purpose, and the cost, of upgrading RAF Machrihanish in each year since 1990. [39044]
Mr. Soames: Information on the cost of upgrading is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 1990, however, about £56 million has been spent on capital projects at RAF Machrihanish to provide and maintain the level of infrastructure necessary at a NATO forward operating base. The majority of this expenditure was funded by NATO.
National Radiological Protection Board
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions or advice his Department has given to the National Radiological Protection Board regarding the storage and safekeeping of records, including computerised data, which arose from or related to its study into the effects of radiation on the veterans of British nuclear tests; what instructions he has issued to have parts of this information destroyed; and if he will make a statement. [39212]
Mr. Soames: None. The NRPB is, however, proposing to cease to maintain its database on the incidence of death and cancer among veterans of the British nuclear test programme. The existing data will continue to be stored but may be retained in a paper-based or equivalent format.
Uranium Stocks
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the amounts of uranium stocked at (a) Chapelcross, (b) Dounreay and (c) Sellafield. [39013]
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Mr. Arbuthnot: It would not be in the national interest to make public details of fissile materials, such as uranium, associated with the defence programme.
Low Flying
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by date and location for the last 12 months the low flying monitoring that has been carried out by the RAF Skyguard radars; and what were the results on each occasion. [39529]
Mr. Soames: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) of 19 October 1995, Official Report , column 344 . No breaches of military low flying regulations were detected during the deployments conducted between 1 November 1994 and 20 October 1995, although the results of the Huntingdon deployment between 17 and 20 October 1995 are provisional until the radar and video tapes have been analysed.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the operational range of the RAF Skyguard radars; and if he will make a statement. [39527]
Mr. Soames: The maximum range of the Skyguard radar in the search mode is approximately 20 km and in the tracking mode, 15 km. However, effective ranges will vary according to the nature of the terrain in which the radar is operating.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by date and location for the last 12 months the low flying monitoring that has been carried out by the RAF Skyguard radar in the electronic warfare training at Royal Air Force, Spadeadam; and what were the results on each occasion. [39528]
Mr. Soames: The Skyguard radar has not been used to monitor military flying at low level within the electronic warfare tactics range at RAF Spadeadam during the past 12 months.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the designation of each unit that currently operates the Royal Air Force Skyguard radar. [39526]
Mr. Soames: The RAF Skyguard radars are operated by RAF Spadeadam personnel when operating in the electronic warfare threat role and by RAF Spadeadam and RAF police flying complaints flight personnel when monitoring military low flying.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Skyguard radars are in operational service with the Royal Air Force; and if he will make a statement. [39530]
Mr. Soames: There are two Skyguard radars in operational service with the Royal Air Force and one in-use reserve.
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Military Corrective Training Centre (Colchester)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when he last visited the military corrective training centre at Colchester; [39491]
(2) at what dates during the past 12 months his Ministers have visited the military corrective training centre at Colchester. [39488]
Mr. Soames: I visited the centre on 21 June 1995.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the current types of offences committed for which prisoners at the military corrective training centre at Colchester are convicted; and if he will make a statement. [39505]
Mr. Soames: The following list gives details of offences for the current detainees being held at MCTC: Absent without leave and desertion; drug offences; violence; indecency with children; dishonesty; criminal damage and other military offences.
Lockheed U-2R Missions
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by date, for the last 48 months, and by airfield the number of Lockheed U-2R aircraft missions that have been made from Royal Air Force stations; if the aircraft missions were (a) arriving or (b) departing from the station; and if he will make a statement. [39533]
Mr. Soames: United States air force U-2R reconnaissance aircraft have conducted a number of missions in support of NATO and UN peacekeeping and humanitarian aid operations from RAF stations. With the closure of RAF Alconbury's runway on 31 March 1995, the U-2Rs were temporarily transferred to RAF Fairford to continue this mission. However, it is not our policy to comment in further detail on operational matters.
Yorkshire Air Museum
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action his Department is taking to preserve the Yorkshire air museum based at Elvington, North Yorkshire after the closure of Royal Air Force, Elvington, with particular reference to the air shows carried out there; and if he will make a statement. [39531]
Mr. Soames: The Yorkshire air museum is a commercial enterprise situated on its own land adjacent to RAF Elvington. The museum is one of a number of civil organisations to whom my Department has licensed casual use of RAF Elvington both before and since its closure in 1992 as a relief landing ground. Subject to former owner obligations, it is therefore planned to dispose of it in the best interests of the taxpayer by offering it for sale on the open market, at which time the Yorkshire air museum and others will have an opportunity to bid for it. It is, however, our intention to continue to make the airfield available for casual use for as long as practicable before sale.
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Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decision he has come to in respect of the future of the battle of Britain memorial flight with particular reference to (a) its composition, (b) its activities and (c) its cost; and if he will make a statement. [39503]
Mr. Soames: There are no plans to change the composition or activities of the battle of Britain memorial flight, which will continue to be one of the most celebrated display assets of the Royal Air Force. A review of the current charges for air display assets generally is about to be undertaken, together with a study into the possibility of sponsorship for the BBMF.
Captain Chris Kelly
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to be in a position to make a statement on the circumstances of the death of Captain Chris Kelly. [39504]
Mr. Soames: As the board of inquiry into the death of Captain Kelly is on-going it would be inappropriate to make a statement at this time.
Executive Agencies
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by grade the number of staff and their cost for (a) the financial year 1994 95 and (b) the estimated figures for the financial year 1995 96, for each executive agency for which he is responsible. [39487]
Mr. Arbuthnot: This information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on staff numbers and costs for defence agencies is given in the annual report and accounts of each agency, which are laid before the House or placed in the Library of the House, as appropriate.
Former Yugoslavia (Reconnaissance)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by date for the last 48 months the number of Royal Air Force Canberra photo-reconnaissance missions that have been made over former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement. [39532]
Mr. Soames: It is not our policy to comment on operational matters of this nature.
Nuclear Tests
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement in respect of the United Kingdom resuming its nuclear test programme should the United States Government cease their moratorium on nuclear testing. [39574]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Her Majesty's Government have no plans to carry out further nuclear weapon test explosions and we hope to see the negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty successfully completed in the first half of 1996. We have no reason to believe that the United States will abandon its moratorium before then.
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Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 16 October, Official Report , column 36 , if he will make a statement outlining the procedure enabling students at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, to train for the management and operation of diesel powered submarines. [39959]
Mr. Soames: This is a matter for the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency, NRTA, under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from A. D. Ferguson to Mr. Jeff Rooker, dated 30 October 1995:
The Secretary of State for Defence has asked the Chief Executive of the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency (NRTA) to reply to your Parliamentary Question, pursuant to the Answer given on 6 October, about the procedures that enable students at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth to train for the management and operation of diesel powered submarines. I am replying on behalf of the Chief Executive who is away.
You will wish to be aware that the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, which is part of the NRTA, provides initial training to newly entered Royal Naval Officers (as part of the Naval General Training syllabus) and to International students from Foreign and Commonwealth navies. The NRTA does not, however, provide training in support of the management and operation of diesel powered submarines, since such submarines are no longer in operational use by the Royal Navy.
Operation Deliberate Force
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many targets were hit by RAF missions during Operation Deliberate Force. [40019]
Mr. Soames: Twenty-two were hit by RAF aircraft during Operation Deliberate Force.
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many munitions and bombs were dropped by the RAF during Operation Deliberate Force. [40021]
Mr. Soames: Forty-eight laser-guided bombs and 30 1,000 lb freefall bombs were dropped by RAF aircraft during Operation Deliberate Force.
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost so far to the United Kingdom of Operation Deliberate Force. [40020]
Mr. Soames: The additional costs to the United Kingdom of Operation Deliberate Force are not separately identifiable from the costs arising from Operation Deny Flight, which are estimated to be some £31 million in 1995 96.
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many missions were flown by RAF aircraft during Operation Deliberate Force. [40018]
Mr. Soames: RAF aircraft flew 268 missions during Operation Deliberate Force.
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the estimates of collateral damage and the number of Bosnian Serb casualties during Operation Deliberate Force as a result of (a) NATO and (b) British action. [40022]
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Mr. Soames: This information is not available though there is no evidence that Operation Deliberate Force caused significant civilian casualties or other collateral damage. In selecting targets, UN and NATO commanders paid careful attention to minimising such risks.
Mount Igman
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for East Lothian on 24 October, and to his letter of 17 August, what considerations led him to suggest that a non-governmental organisation's aid convoy over Mount Igman could jeopardise an agreement between the UN and the Bosnian Serb army. [40174]
Mr. Soames: The hon. Member was strongly urged to seek the advice of UNPROFOR and the UNHCR on the choice of aid routes to Sarajevo. At the time in question, their advice was firmly against the use of the Mount Igman route in the light of the agreement which the UN had secured with the Bosnian Serbs on the use of the Kiseljak road as the main aid route.
Married Quarters (Discounts)
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discounts are offered on the sale of surplus married quarters; what is the basis of such discounts; and if such discounts can be offered in respect of properties other than the properties in which the claimer of the discount resides. [40491]
Mr. Soames: A discount of 30 per cent. is given under the discounted married quarters sales scheme. The 30 per cent discount has a five-year property retention condition, as stipulated by the Inland Revenue, which was based on local authority "right to buy", at the time of the scheme's inception. The married quarters offered for sale in the scheme are surplus, and, as such, would not normally be occupied by the applicant, and are regularly advertised to the three services.
Gulf War Fatalities
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his most recent estimation of the total number of fatalities suffered in the Gulf war by (a) coalition forces and (b) the Iraqis. [39826]
Mr. Soames: Coalition forces suffered the loss of 223 personnel killed in action in the Gulf war.
No reliable figures are available for Iraqi casualties.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Orford Ness)
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the responsibility for, and the cost of, removing transformers containing polychlorinated biphenyls buried in his Department's land at Orford Ness in Suffolk. [40192]
Mr. Soames: My Department no longer owns any land at Orford Ness; the site was sold to the National Trust in March 1993. The National Trust is in the process of
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removing the contamination, and discussions are taking place between the trust, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which is an adjacent landowner, and the Ministry of Defence to determine how the work should be funded.Bosnia (Rents)
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the amounts of rent paid for each of the military facilities used by British troops in Bosnia and in total. [40398]
Mr. Soames: The information requested is not available as the United Nations pays the rent for the military facilities used by British troops in Bosnia.
Regimental Museums
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the name and location of each regimental museum in the United Kingdom. [40399]
Mr. Soames: The information requested is contained in the tables:
Regimental and corps museums directly funded by
the Ministry of Defence
Corps or regiment |Location
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Household Cavalry |Windsor
Queen's Dragoon Guards |Cardiff
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards |Edinburgh
|York (4/7th DG)
Royal Dragoon Guards |Chester (5 Innis DG)
|Eastbourne (QRIH)
Queen's Royal Hussars | Warwick (QOH)
9/12th Lancers |Derby
|Preston (14/20th H)
Kings Royal Hussars | Winchester (RH)
|Newcastle upon Tyne
|(15/19th H)
Light Dragoons |Barnsley (13th/18th H)
|Belvoir Castle
Queen's Royal Lancers |(16/5th and 17th/21st L)
Royal Tank Regiment |Bovington
Royal Artillery |Woolwich
Royal Engineers |Chatham
Royal Signals |Blandford
The Foot Guards |London
Royal Scots |Edinburgh
|Dover
|Winchester (R Hamps)
Prince of Wales Royal Regiment | Guildford
Kings Own Royal Border Regiment |Carlisle
|London/Alnwick
|Bury (Lancs Fus)
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers |Bury (R Warwicks)
|Bury St Edmunds
|Chelmsford (Essex)
The Royal Anglian Regiment |Northampton/Norwich
Devonshire and Dorset Regiment |Dorchester
|Winchester
|Bodmin (DCLI)
The Light Infantry |Shrewsbury (KSLI)
Prince of Wales Own Regiment of |York
Yorkshire
The Green Howards |Richmond
Royal Highland Fusiliers |Glasgow
The Cheshire Regiment |Chester
Royal Welch Fusiliers |Caernarvon
Royal Regiment of Wales |Cardiff Brecon
King's Own Scottish Borderers |Berwick upon Tweed
|Ballymena
The Royal Irish Regiment | Armagh (RRF)
Worcestershire and Sherwood |Worcester/Nottingham
Foresters Regiment
The Queen's Lancashire Regiment |Preston
The Staffordshire Regiment |Lichfield
Black Watch |Perth
|Aberdeen
Highlanders |Ford George
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders |Stirling
The Parachute Regiment |Aldershot
Brigade of Gurkhas |Winchester
The Royal Green Jackets |Winchester
Yorkshire and Lancashire |Rotherham
Army Air Corps |Middle Wallop
Royal Chaplains Department |Bagshot
Royal Logistic Corps |Deepcut/Mychett
Royal Army Medical Corps |Deepcut/Mychett
Royal Electrical and Mechanical |Aborfield
Engineers
Adjutant General Corps-Royal |Chichester
Military Police
Royal Army Dental Corps |Aldershot
Army Physical Training Corps |Aldershot
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army |Deepcut/Mychett
Nursing Corps
Military museums that are not funded by MOD Title |Location --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scottish United Services Museum |Edinburgh Cheshire Yeomanry |Chester 4th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment |Hull Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment |Luton Museum Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Museums |Hamilton Carmarthen Museum |Carmarthen Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry |Preston Museum Duke of Wellington's Regiment Museum |Halifax Durham Light Infantry Museum |Durham City Guernsey Militia Museum |Guernsey Kings Liverpool Regiment Museum |Liverpool Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment |Lancaster Museum Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry |Doncaster Museum Leicestershire and Derbyshire Yeomanry |Derby Museum Leicestershire and Rutland Yeomanry |Oakham Leicestershire Yeomanry Collection |Loughborough Lincolnshire Regiment Collection |Lincoln Lincolnshire Yeomanry Museum |Lincoln Museum of the Manchesters (Kings |Ashton under Lyne Regiment) Northamptonshire Yeomanry Museum |Northampton Northumberland Hussars Yeomanry |Newcastle upon Tyne Museum Pembroke Yeomanry Museum |Haverfordwest Queen's Own Royal West Kent |Maidstone Regiment Museum Royal Devon Yeomanry Museum |Barnstaple Royal Leicestershire Regimental |Leicestershire Museum Royal Sussex Regiment Museum |Eastbourne Sherwood Foresters |Derby Somerset Military Museum |Taunton Staffordshire Yeomanry Museum |Stafford The Buffs Regimental Museum |Canterbury Worcestershire Yeomanry Museum |Worcester 101 Northumbrian Field Regiment |Newcastle upon Tyne RA(V) 39 Engineer Regiment Museum |Waterbeach Army Museums Ogilby Trust |Winchester Artists and Rifles Museum |Chelsea Ayrshire Yeomanry Museum |Alloway by Ayr Buckinghamshire Military Museum |Aylesbury Fife and Forfar Yeomanry Museum |Fife Fusiliers London Volunteer Museum |Newport Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers Museum |Newport Hereford Light Infantry Museum |Hereford Hertfordshire Regiment Museum |Hertford Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery |Hitchin Museum Inns of Court and City Yeomanry |Holborn Museum Kohima (2 Div) Museum |York Leeds Rifles Museum |Leeds Liverpool Scottish Regimental Museum |Liverpool London Irish Rifles Museum |Chelsea Loyal North Lancashire Regiment |Preston Museum Montgomeryshire Yeomanry Museum |Welshpool Museum of Princess Louise's |Hammersmith Kensington Regiment Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry |Oxford Museum Queen's Own Mercian Yeomanry |Telford Museum Royal Army Education Corps Museum |Beaconsfield Royal Army Pay Corps Museum |Winchester Royal Berkshire Yeomanry Museum |Windsor Royal Hospital Museum |Chelsea Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |Camberley Collection Royal Military School of Music Museum |Twickenham Royal Monmouthshires RE Militia |Monmouth Museum Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry Museum |Carlton South Lancashire Regiment Museum |Warrington South Notts Hussars Yeomanry Museum |Nottingham Staff College Museum |Camberley Sussex Yeomanry Museum |Brighton Warwickshire Yeomanry Museum |Warwick Westminster Dragoons Museum |Chelsea Yorkshire Yeomanry Museum |York Essex Yeomanry Museum Collection |Margaretting Military and Aero Museums (Aldershot) |Aldershot Trust Combined Operations Museum |Inveraray East Riding of Yorks Yeomanry |Beverley Collection Honourable Artillery Company Museum |City Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry |Tonbridge Museum London Scottish Regimental Museum |Westminster Museum of Army Transport |Beverley Museum of the Scottish Horse |Dunkeld Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry Museum |Sheringham Westmoreland and Cumberland |Penrith Yeomanry Museum
Exercise Co-operative Nugget 95
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British personnel were involved in Co-operative Nugget 95 in Louisiana, USA; and if he will make a statement. [37797]
Mr. Soames [holding answer 19 October 1995]: A total of 97 British personnel--five officers and 92 soldiers--were involved in Exercise Co-operative Nugget 95, a NATO sponsored partnership for peace exercise.
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Queen's University Air Squadron, Belfast
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the annual cost of the university air squadron at Queen's university, Belfast; and what percentage it represents of the total annual cost of all the university air squadrons in the United Kingdom. [39351]
Mr. Soames [holding answer 25 October 1995]: The estimated annual cost of Queen's university air squadron for the financial year 1995 96 is £957,000, which represents 9.3 per cent. of the total estimated annual cost of the 16 university air squadrons.
Employee Fraud
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of cases of all forms of fraud committed by employees of his (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies, for each year from 1991 92 to 1994 95; and for each of these years, what was the total monetary sum (i) misappropriated in such frauds and (ii) subsequently
recovered. [39139]
Mr. Arbuthnot [holding answer 24 October 1995]: The number of reported non-procurement frauds and thefts committed by Ministry of Defence employees, including defence agencies, during each of the years 1991 92 to 1994 95 is as follows:
1991 92: 45 cases
1992 93: 54 cases
1993 94: 108 cases
1994 95: 207 cases
There were no reported frauds and thefts committed by staff working in non- departmental public bodies during the period in question. The estimated sums misappropriated and the sums recovered in each of the years 1991 92 to 1994 95 are as follows:
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