---

Scott Inquiry

Mr. Robin Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide a breakdown of the spending by his Department on external advice in relation to the Scott inquiry; and how much has been spent on legal advice and for whom. [10226]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The amount so far spent by my Department on external advice in relation to Sir Richard Scott's inquiry is £215,862; this consists entirely of legal advice. This cost includes the provision of advice by the Treasury Solicitor's Department. The names of the individuals and their legal advisers are confidential to them.

Mr. Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has (a) read, collated or received and (b) authorised civil servants or any other persons to read, collate or receive copies of draft sections of Sir Richard Scott's report circulated by Sir Richard Scott to Ministers, civil servants and other persons. [10227]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The handling of extracts of Sir Richard Scott's draft report, subject to guidance received from the inquiry, is for those to whom they are sent. The Government do not disclose details of correspondence between the inquiry and individual witnesses.

Mr. Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost of salaries since 1992 paid to persons in his Department employed on a part-time or full-time basis in any connection in relation to the Scott inquiry. [10225]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The direct salary cost of officials within my Department wholly employed on matters relating to the Scott inquiry since 1992 is approximately £218,000. Other officials will inevitably be involved from time to time; their direct salary cost is unquantifiable.

Gulf War (Veterans' Children)

Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from doctors on the need for an independent inquiry into the

18 Jan 1996 : Column: 733

incidence of birth deformities among the children of Gulf war veterans; and if he will make a statement. [9928]

Mr. Soames: My Department has no record of any representations having been received from doctors on the need for an independent inquiry into the incidence of birth deformities among children of Gulf war veterans.

Mr. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will commission an independent inquiry into the incidence of birth deformities among children of Gulf war veterans; and if he will make a statement. [9929]

Mr. Soames: My Department is not aware of any established scientific or medical evidence to suggest that there is a higher incidence of birth abnormality among children of Gulf war veterans than exists in the general population. In the circumstances, there are no grounds for an independent inquiry. However, as part of its investigations into the health effects of Gulf war service, my Department is actively considering, in conjunction with civilian medical specialists recommended by the Royal College of Physicians, whether there is any further research that should be undertaken in this area.

Official Service Residences

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy in respect of official service residences. [10099]

Mr. Soames: Our policy is to implement the Cazalet report and we shall be making an announcement shortly.

Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what sums have been authorised for expenditure on each of the official service residences since February 1995. [10100]

Mr. Soames: The information requested is not yet held centrally. However, my Department gathers this information annually by financial year for internal reporting purposes and to provide information to the House of Commons Defence Committee. This information will be available later in the year.

SAS

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning manpower levels in the SAS. [10103]

Mr. Soames: Manning of the SAS is being maintained at a satisfactorily high level.

Royal Army Medical College

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the future of the Royal Army medical college at Millbank, London; what functions the college currently carries out; and which college will carry out these functions in the future. [9955]

Mr. Soames: The Royal Army Medical College at Millbank provides postgraduate training in military surgery, military medicine, Army pathology, military psychiatry, preventive medicine, military entomology, general practice and the dental sciences. The future of the

18 Jan 1996 : Column: 734

college is being examined on a tri-service basis, although no specific recommendations have yet been made. There will be normal consultation when firm proposals emerge.

Missiles Contract

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will place a contract for his Department's conventially armed stand-off missiles. [9956]

Mr. Arbuthnot: We expect to be in a position to place a contract in late 1996.

Land Mines (Bosnia)

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of anti-personnel land mines in Bosnia. [9957]

Mr. Soames: IFOR estimates that up to 5 million land mines, including anti-personnel mines, may have been laid in Bosnia.

Partnership for Peace

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost per annum to his Department of NATO's partnership for peace process. [9977]

Mr. Soames: The UK's direct contribution to the commonly funded NATO costs of the partnership for peace programme is estimated to amount to some £790,000 in 1996; the costs of UK military personnel seconded to the partnership co-ordination cell at supreme headquarters allied powers in Europe in Mons are some £200,000 annually. In addition, the UK's outreach programme of bilateral co-operation with central and eastern European countries contains many activities which are linked to, or conducted within the spirit of partnership for peace.

Ammunitions Procurement

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries from which Britain procures ammunition. [10101]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Apart from the United Kingdom, companies from the following countries are current suppliers of ammunition to my Department as main contactors:

France
Germany
Holland
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Greece
United States of America
Canada

Israel

RAF Coltishall

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much is being spent to replace (a) showers, (b) baths and (c) kitchens at RAF Coltishall; when the

18 Jan 1996 : Column: 735

decision was taken to replace these items; when they were last replaced; and if he will make a statement. [9967]

Mr. Soames: A programme is in hand for the improvement of bathrooms and kitchens in family quarters at RAF Coltishall. The cost of the work on kitchens is currently subject to tender action. The estimated cost of new showers, including necessary tiling, is £197,600 and for the replacement of baths, wash-basins, WCs, hot water cylinders and new floor covering, where such replacements are deemed necessary, £102,400. The requirement to install showers and to refurbish kitchens and bathrooms was set in January 1993. The families' quarters are of 1935 and 1955 vintage and original kitchens and bathrooms are being replaced, although some individual items have been replaced previously on a wear and tear basis.

Mr. David Hart

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 14 December, Official Report, column 774, what was the purpose of each of the visits made by Mr. David Hart to United Kingdom defence companies; and what further visits to British defence companies are currently arranged for Mr. Hart. [9968]

Mr. Portillo: Mr. Hart's visits were made in his capacity as my independent adviser. There are no further visits currently planned.

Type 23 Frigates

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the total cost of each of the last 10 type 23 frigates built for his Department. [9954]

Mr. Arbuthnot: It is not our practice to publish unit production costs.

DBS Special Batteries

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department currently has with DSB Special Batteries. [9958]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The central database maintained by the Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive shows that there are 17 contracts valued at approximately £2.4 million with DSB Special Batteries. It is possible that there may be some other work placed with the company by one of the agencies or local purchase units, but this information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

---