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Munitions Exports (Form F680)
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the nature and number of missiles and munitions involved and their destination country, together with the country named as an end user on each occasion Ministers or officials in his Department signed form F680 since 1985 covering the export of munitions or missiles having either a nuclear conversion capability or a nuclear engineered version. [14856]
Mr. Arbuthnot: I have nothing to add to the replies that I gave to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 7 February, Official Report, columns 247-48.
Unexploded Bombs
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the procedures to be followed by construction companies on (a) private sector building contracts and (b) Government contracts, when they discover unexploded bombs and other ordnance material in the course of excavation or other work; and if he will make a statement. [14303]
Mr. Soames: Any building contractor discovering a suspected piece of unexploded ordnance should immediately contact the local police, who, after conducting a risk assessment, will request assistance from the joint services EOD operations centre at Didcot. A service explosive ordnance team will be tasked to deal with the item.
International Criminal Tribunal
Mr. William Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops serving with the implementation force are under orders to co-operate with the international criminal tribunal; if this co-operation extends to (a) searching for, (b) reporting, (c) detaining and (d) handing over any persons suspected of committing crimes within the jurisdiction of the tribunal; and if he will make a statement. [14315]
Mr. Soames:
NATO and IFOR fully support the efforts of the United Nations tribunal, which is responsible for investigating war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and bringing to justice those individuals indicted by the tribunal. IFOR has clear instructions to pass on to the tribunal any information it acquires about indicted war criminals, to detain any such individuals encountered during operations and to transfer them immediately to the tribunal. It is not part of IFOR's mandate to search for these individuals. The chief prosecutor of the tribunal has said that he is satisfied with the level of support offered by IFOR and has agreed that this should be provided within the limits of its mandate and available resources.
12 Feb 1996 : Column: 446
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what countries (a) the Ranger or (b) the Barmine mine systems have been exported. [14556]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
It remains Government policy normally not to reveal details of specific exports. However, we have not exported land mines for over a decade.
Ms Rachel Squire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to expedite the processing of compensation claims relating to asbestos injuries relating to the work of his Department. [14349]
Mr. Soames:
Claims for compensation from MOD civilian employees, both past and present, for asbestos-related illness are dealt with on our behalf by an insurance company. Neither the company nor the Ministry of Defence is aware of any unwarranted delay in settling these claims. However, if the hon. Member has specific cases in mind I should be glad to take them up.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what have been the costs incurred by his Department in chartering merchant vessels to transport British troops and equipment to the IFOR operation in Bosnia. [14602]
Mr. Soames:
The cost of chartering merchant vessels for the IFOR operation is £483,599.
Dr. Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by name of vessel and flag of registration the merchant vessels chartered by his Department to transport British troops and equipment to the IFOR operation in Bosnia. [14603]
Mr. Soames:
The names and flags of registration of merchant vessels chartered for the IFOR operation are as follows:
Yuriy Maksaryov: Ukrainian
Elein K: Cypriot
Women Officers (Pregnancy)
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost to public funds to date of compensating serving women who lost their service careers through pregnancy. [14008]
Mr. Soames: As at 5 February 1996, £5,704,197 has been paid to 342 officers discharged on grounds of pregnancy between 1978 and 1990--an average of £16,678 each.
Trident
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 18 December, Official Report, column 985, what is (a) the full complement deployment of the two Trident submarines currently operational and (b) the full potential complement for HMS Victorious; for what reason there is a difference between these figures and the number of missiles collected by his Department
12 Feb 1996 : Column: 447
for deployment on (i) the two submarines and (ii) HMS Victorious. [14292]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
Each of our Trident submarines is capable of carrying 16 missiles. To date, we have collected 32 missiles from the US, of which four have been test fired. I am not prepared to give details of missile deployment.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 18 December, Official Report, column 985, if HMS Vigilant and HMS Vengeance will each need to conduct two test firings of Trident missiles before entering operational service. [14290]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
It is the norm for each strategic submarine ballistic nuclear to conduct at least one test firing, as part of its demonstration and shakedown operation, before its entry into operational service. The actual number fired will depend on a variety of factors, including the requirement to gather launch data for various modelling purposes.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current policy on the sale of (a) aircraft and (b) other armaments to Indonesia and Nigeria. [14345]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
It is the Government's policy to support the sale of British defence equipment overseas where this is compatible with our political, strategic and security interests. All licence applications for the export of defence equipment are considered on a case-by-case basis in the light of established criteria, including the international guidelines to which we are committed. In particular, we do not export defence equipment that is likely to be used for internal repression.
In the case of Nigeria, the Prime Minister announced a full UK arms embargo against the Nigerian military on 11 November 1995. On 20 November 1995, the European Union adopted a full scope EU-wide arms embargo against the Nigerian regimes.
Mr. Tony Banks:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 January, Official Report, column 537, if he will list the differences between the stated duties of equerries and those of other staff responsible for visits, engagements and dealing with routine correspondence. [14888]
Mr. Soames:
Equerries provide support across the full range of activities undertaken by members of the royal family but they have special responsibilities relating to the many ceremonies and military events in which the Queen, as head of the armed services, and other members of the royal family participate at home and abroad.
Deregulation
Dr. Spink:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consultation he is undertaking with small and medium enterprises regarding deregulation. [13058]
12 Feb 1996 : Column: 448
Mr. Freeman:
I have regular meetings with various representative bodies of small and medium businesses about deregulation. I have invited all businesses, including members of the Federation of Small Businesses, to write to me with details of those regulations which are unnecessarily hampering their business and have so far received over 400 replies. I am also responsible for implementing the small business litmus test, which requires all Government Departments to consult some typical small businesses to ensure they will not be disproportionately affected by proposed regulations.
Mr. Corbett:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will publish his response to the recommendations made by the interdepartmental review of fire safety legislation and enforcement. [14670]
Mr. Chris Davies:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will announce his response to the interdepartmental review of fire safety legislation and enforcement. [14595]
Mr. Harry Greenway:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will publish the response of the Government to the recommendations contained in the report of the interdepartmental review team into fire safety legislation and enforcement. [14846]
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to respond to the recommendations of the interdepartmental review of fire safety legislation and enforcement in the United Kingdom. [14796]
Mr. Willets:
I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) on 8 February, 1996, Official Report, column 283.
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