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DEFENCE
Princess of Wales
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence of which regiments the Princess of Wales is colonel in chief. [2282]
Mr. Soames: The Princess of Wales is colonel in chief of the Light Dragoons and the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment--Queen's and Royal Hampshires.
Training Areas
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which body was responsible for taking the decisions on the locations of the low-level operational training areas; and what other bodies were consulted prior to their establishment. [528]
Mr. Soames: The decisions on the locations of the tactical training areas were taken by the Ministry of Defence in consultation with National Air Traffic Services. Records to indicate whether any other bodies were consulted have not been retained.
Refits
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the last refitting dates of all (a) surface vessels and (b) submarines which have taken place over the last five years, indicating the cost of each refit. [463]
24 Nov 1995 : Column: 341
Mr. Arbuthnot [holding answer 20 November 1995]: The date and cost of refits undertaken over the last five years are:
| Vessel | Refit completion date | Total cost at outturn prices (£) |
|---|---|---|
| a. Surface vessels | ||
| Middleton | April 1991 | 3,800,000 |
| Chiddingfold | April 1991 | 4,304,000 |
| Sheraton | April 1991 | 2,568,000 |
| Southampton | May 1991 | 23,600,000 |
| Sirius | May 1991 | 22,990,000 |
| Dovey | May 1991 | 707,000 |
| Humber | May 1991 | 545,000 |
| Sir Bedivere | August 1991 | 1,873,000 |
| Landing Craft Unit 715 | August 1991 | 200,000 |
| Landing Craft Unit 714 | August 1991 | 202,000 |
| Nottingham | September 1991 | 23,562,000 |
| Beaver | September 1991 | 25,859,000 |
| Helford | November 1991 | 839,000 |
| Andromeda | December 1991 | 27,392,000 |
| Herald | December 1991 | 8,522,000 |
| Hurworth | January 1992 | 7,554,000 |
| Blackwater | January 1992 | 2,592,000 |
| Itchen | March 1992 | 1,921,000 |
| Olmeda | April 1992 | 8,995,000 |
| Kingfisher | April 1992 | 746,000 |
| Britannia | May 1992 | 7,627,000 |
| Landing Craft Unit 701 | May 1992 | 277,000 |
| Liverpool | July 1992 | 39,538,000 |
| Bicester | July 1992 | 8,215,000 |
| Colonel Templer | July 1992 | 5,854,000 |
| Anglesey | November 1992 | 5,029,000 |
| Wilton | November 1992 | 1,977,000 |
| Landing Craft Unit 710 | November 1992 | 365,000 |
| Hecla | December 1992 | 4,985,000 |
| Arun | December 1992 | 640,000 |
| Manchester | February 1993 | 45,697,000 |
| Alderney | March 1993 | 5,692,000 |
| Diligence | March 1993 | 2,983,000 |
| Smiter | March 1993 | 15,000 |
| Spey | April 1993 | 2,539,000 |
| Bayleaf | April 1993 | 3,865,000 |
| Messina | May 1993 | 13,000 |
| Biter | May 1993 | 24,000 |
| Olna | May 1993 | 8,786,000 |
| Archer | June 1993 | 28,000 |
| Ajax | July 1993 | 193,000 |
| Beagle | September 1993 | 2,547,000 |
| Atherstone | September 1993 | 2,773,000 |
| Fort Austin | September 1993 | 6,875,000 |
| Brave | November 1993 | 20,488,000 |
| Argus | November 1993 | 4,726,000 |
| Black Rover | November 1993 | 3,058,000 |
| Grey Rover | November 1993 | 2,415,000 |
| Orangeleaf | December 1993 | 3,721,000 |
| Brecon | March 1994 | 9,024,000 |
| Sir Percivale | March 1994 | 1,693,000 |
| Illustrious | April 1994 | 152,659,000 |
| Gleaner | April 1994 | 56,000 |
| Brambleleaf | May 1994 | 5,058,000 |
| Berkeley | May 1994 | 3,741,000 |
| Landing Craft Unit 706 | June 1994 | 145,000 |
| Battleaxe | July 1994 | 13,203,000 |
| Leeds Castle | August 1994 | 5,013,000 |
| Gold Rover | August 1994 | 3,405,000 |
| Sir Geraint | September 1994 | 2,081,000 |
| Gloucester | October 1994 | 48,365,000 |
| Resource | October 1994 | 6,236,000 |
| Sir Galahad | November 1994 | 2,956,000 |
| Ledbury | December 1994 | 6,106,000 |
| Olwen | December 1994 | 8,119,000 |
| Sir Tristram | February 1995 | 3,647,000 |
| Orkney | March 1995 | 5,457,000 |
| Oakleaf | April 1995 | 5,883,000 |
| London | May 1995 | (1)27,584,000 |
| Fort Grange | May 1995 | 8,353,000 |
| York | June 1995 | 34,339,000 |
| Bulldog | June 1995 | 3,774,000 |
| Landing Craft Unit 700 | September 1995 | 123,000 |
| Landing Craft Unit 704 | September 1995 | 116,000 |
| b. Submarines | ||
| Renown | April 1993 | 155,571,000 |
| Splendid | December 1993 | 118,202,000 |
(1) Shows costs to date, as final cost certificates have not yet been
received.
24 Nov 1995 : Column: 342
Royal Ordnance plc
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the relationship between his Department, Royal Ordnance and PRB; and which countries were supplied with armaments and defence equipment arising from it. [996]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The question does not specify dates, but the Royal Ordnance factories were part of the Ministry of Defence until 2 January 1985, when the property, rights and liabilities were vested in Royal Ordnance plc. At this time, the company was wholly owned by the Government and the Secretary of State for Defence was the sole shareholder. RO plc from 2 January 1985 operated, as far as possible, as an independent company and acted commercially, under the terms of a memorandum of understanding. RO plc sold the tank factory in Leeds to Vickers plc in October 1986 and the sale of RO plc to British Aerospace was completed in April 1987. Since April 1987 the relationship between the Ministry of Defence and the company has been one of customer and supplier.
PRB was also a supplier to the Ministry of Defence, both directly and, we believe, indirectly, as a subcontractor to Royal Ordnance.
From 2 January 1985, exports by Royal Ordnance were subject to the normal licensing arrangements, but it has been the practice of successive Governments not to reveal information about individual defence exports.
Mr. Foulkes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures exist for military air traffic controllers to report breaches of active danger areas by military aircraft; and how many such breaches were reported in each of the last three years. [1298]
Mr. Soames:
National Air Traffic Services procedures allow military air traffic controllers to report civil and military aircraft breaches of danger areas in the United Kingdom. In the event of a breach by UK-based military aircraft, a report is sent to the appropriate military operating authority. Reports of breaches by foreign military aircraft are sent to NATS. Where the aircraft operator is not known, breaches are reported initially to
24 Nov 1995 : Column: 343
HQ Military Air Traffic Organisation so that the aircraft can be identified. Since the beginning of 1993, the number of infringements by military aircraft has been:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 3 |
| 1994 | 15 |
| 1995 (to date) | 13 |
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the difference between a practice interception and a visual identification, in terms of the manoeuvres permitted by British military fighter aircraft when in the vicinity of a civil aircraft. [1305]
Mr. Soames: An interception is the initial manoeuvre flown by military aircraft to identify visually an aircraft which has penetrated the UK air defence region without warning. The practice of these manoeuvres is essential training for military aircrew, but any training involving civil aircraft is conducted only as part of a pre-briefed exercise and does not take place in controlled airspace.
Low Flying
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates in the past year on which fast jet low flying was authorised after 2300 hours; and what was the reason for the special authorisation in each case. [1286]
Mr. Soames: Fast jet low flying was authorised after 2300 hours on the nights of 8-9 and 9-10 June 1995 and 25-26 July 1995 to meet essential training requirements.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to use the automated low flying enquiry and notification system to monitor the concentrations of night low flying in particular areas over time, as an aid to managing the environmental impact of such flights. [1292]
Mr. Soames: The intention is to make the fullest practicable use of ALFENS, which will include such monitoring.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if military aircraft are permitted to carry out night low-flying sorties over the United Kingdom, other than in the highlands restricted area, in areas where the forecast weather is less than the minimum requirements for visual flight. [1304]
Mr. Soames: Outside the highlands restricted area, night low-flying sorties may be conducted only in areas where the weather conditions meet the minimum requirements for visual flight.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress in introducing the ALFENS system; when he expects the system to reach its full operational capability; and how many United Kingdom air bases will have the system installed. [1293]
Mr. Soames: Tests of the system commenced in July 1995 as scheduled. These revealed a number of problems which are being resolved, in order to provide full operational capability as expected by mid-1996. ALFENS will be installed at 73 United Kingdom military bases.
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