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DEFENCE
Porton Down
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many scientific papers have been published between April 1991 and the present day under the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment technical papers series; and how many of these papers were produced as unclassified papers; [7302]
(2) when the Porton technical papers series was first produced by the chemical defence establishment at Porton Down. [7303]
Mr. Arbuthnot: These matters are for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, DERA, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 20 December 1995:
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which countries outside Britain the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down has carried out tests and studies involving service personnel. [7296]
Your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence asking when the Porton Technical Paper series was first produced by the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down and how many papers have been produced between April 1991 and the present day under the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) Technical paper series and how many of these were produced as unclassified papers have been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which includes CBDE as one of its divisions. I am replying to both questions in this letter.
The first Porton Technical Paper has a publication date of 1947.
Since the change of name to the CBDE Technical Paper series in 1991 a total of 179 papers have been published, 90 of which were produced as unclassified documents.
I hope this information is helpful.
Mr. Arbuthnot: This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, DERA, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 20 December 1995:
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Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking in which countries outside Britain the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) at Porton Down has carried out tests and studies involving service personnel has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which includes CBDE as one of its divisions.
Trials of equipment developed at Porton Down involving service personnel have taken place in many countries and on many occasions over the 80 year history of CBDE. These include an assessment of the difficulties of using respirators in the Khyber Pass in the 1920s, assessment of protective equipment in India in 1930s and assessment of protective clothing in Australia during the Second World War. It would involve disproportionate costs to try to identify all the studies which have been undertaken in various parts of the world as part of the development of equipment by CBDE to ensure the safe and effective protection of the United Kingdom's Armed Forces.
I hope this information is helpful.
Animal Welfare Advisory Committee
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the members of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee; for what reasons these individuals have been chosen to serve; if the committee will be able (a) to review experiments before they are carried out and (b) to veto or modify such experiments; which establishments this committee will review; what access to information and data this committee will have and if members of the committee have to sign the Official Secrets Act; how many members of the committee have either previously (i) served on a committee connected to the work of the chemical and biological defence establishment, (ii) worked at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment or (iii) been in receipt of an extramural contract from the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment; and if (1) the whole or (2) parts of the committee's annual report to his Department's chief scientific officer will be available to the public or hon. Members. [7304]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The terms of reference of this committee were placed in the Library of the House, as reported on 17 July 1995, Official Report, column 971. There is some further work to be done concerning membership and detailed committee procedures. I expect to make an announcement soon.
Chauffeur-driven Cars
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of chauffeur-driven cars used by his Department was in each of the past five years. [5860]
Mr. Arbuthnot: This information is not held centrally and could be provided in the form requested only at disproportionate cost.
For that information which is readily available, however, I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces gave to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 11 July 1995, Official Report, column 534, the letter which my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State sent to the hon. Member for Darlington on 20 July 1995 and my letter of 28 November 1995 to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones).
A copy of both letters have been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Welsh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received regarding a ban on the production of land mines in the United Kingdom. [7330]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
A number of representations have been received regarding the production of anti-personnel mines.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what papers concerning Britain's decision to abandon production of chemical weapons have been opened to the public at the Public Record Office under the open government initiative. [7300]
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Mr. Arbuthnot:
Since records released to the Public Record Office under the open government initiative are not organised by subject matter, we can not identify which relate to Her Majesty's Government's decision to abandon production of chemical weapons without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the United States Government on the implications for the United Kingdom defence industry of "Buy American" clauses inserted in the most recent Department of Defence budget. [7140]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
The provisions of the Buy American Act are waived for UK defence equipment in accordance with the US-UK defence co-operation memorandum of understanding signed in January 1995. Frequent representations are made at all levels to the US Administration and Congress to convey Her Majesty's Government's concern that such provisions damage the prospects for defence co-operation between the US and its allies. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence expects to raise the matter when he visits Washington in January.
Mr. Raynsford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what fees or liabilities have been incurred to date in the course of the marketing of the Royal Naval college site in Greenwich. [7144]
Mr. Soames:
The costs to date of exploring interest in the future use for the Royal Naval college, Greenwich amount to £55,590 plus VAT, exclusive of in-house staff resources. An additional sum will be payable to the Government Property Lawyers on receipt of the invoice.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities used for the incineration of clothing, furniture and other combustible material radioactivity contaminated as a result of British nuclear tests in the Pacific and Australia have been monitored since 1965; and what arrangements are in place to assess the levels of radioactivity at the site. [7145]
Mr. Soames:
Christmas island sites were monitored in 1981 by the New Zealand Department of Health and do not require further monitoring as it was found that no site on the island presented a health risk. In Australia the nuclear test sites are subject to frequent monitoring by Australian organisations. No contaminated equipment or material was returned to the United Kingdom for incineration, therefore, no monitoring for this type of contamination is required.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the value of naval spares stored in his Department's Portsmouth naval depot; what are the main categories of spares held at the depot; what condition these spares are currently in; how many lorries per week are bringing spares to the depot; from
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what bases these spares are being brought; and if he will make a statement. [7189]
Mr. Soames:
The current value of naval stores held at the RN stores depot in Portsmouth naval base is £758 million.
The main categories of stores held are marine engineering equipment, electrical and electronic material and general stores which are not applicable to specific ships or equipment.
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