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Service Quarters
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from hon. Members regarding empty Ministry of Defence service quarters in Chester. [20377]
Mr. Soames: My Department has not received any representations in the past 12 months from an hon. Member concerning empty dwellings owned by my Department in Chester. One has been received, however, from the hon. Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Hall) relating to Cheshire, Official Report, 22 May 1995, column 393.
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what representations he has received from hon. Members regarding empty Ministry of Defence service quarters in Gravesham; [20375]
- (2) what representations he has received from hon. Members regarding empty Ministry of Defence service quarters in Dover. [20376]
Mr. Soames: My Department has not received any representations in the past 12 months from hon. Members concerning empty dwellings owned by my Department in the Gravesham and Dover areas.
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service married quarters are owned by his Department in each parliamentary constituency in Staffordshire; and how many are currently empty. [20374]
Mr. Soames: My Department owns 280 properties in the Stafford constituency at RAF Stafford. Of these, there are 30 vacant service families quarters, of which nine have been allocated to new families in April/May 1996.
My Department owns 205 properties in the Staffordshire, South-East constituency, at Whittington barracks. Of these, 90 are vacant service families quarters, of which 57 have been identified for alienation. Of the remaining 33 empty homes, seven have been allocated for incoming families during April 1996.
Air Accidents
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates, locations, aircraft types and circumstances of all incidents since June 1993 in which military aircraft have made unintentional contact with the ground or with ground features with special reference to trees and power lines; and which of these incidents involved breaches of low flying regulations. [19744]
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Mr. Soames: The information requested for the Army Air Corps and RAF is as follows:
| Date | Location | Type | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 October 1993 | Lyneham | RAF Hercules | Struck obstruction on approach to land in turbulent conditions |
| 15 November 1993 | Kafjord, Norway | RAF Harrier | Wirestrike |
| 2 January 1994 | Northern Ireland | RAF Wessex | Wirestrike |
| 19 March 1994 | Salisbury plain | RAF Puma | Struck a tree whilst positioning to land |
| 18 May 1994 | 20 nautical miles north-west of Oban | RAF Puma | Wirestrike |
| 25 May 1994 | Salisbury plain | AAC Lynx | Main rotors hit trees whilst the aircraft was hovering |
| 10 October 1994 | BATUS, Canada | AAC Gazelle | Strong gust of wind caused the nose to pitch up and tail to hit the ground shortly after take-off |
| 17 October 1994 | Germany | RAF Puma | Wirestrike |
| 24 January 1995 | Northern Ireland | RAF Puma | Main rotors severed power cable on landing |
| 1 February 1995 | Salisbury plain | AAC Gazelle | Main rotors hit some branches whilst the aircraft was hovering |
| 19 October 1995 | Sennybridge | RAF Puma | Rotor blades struck a tree following uncommanded yaw on landing |
| 28 February 1996 | Northern Ireland | AAC Lynx | Tail of the aircraft struck the ground during landing |
The Royal Navy does not hold this information centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
None of the incidents was formally classified as a breach of United Kingdom military low flying regulations.
Ms Mowlam:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he will take as a result of the finding of the Scott inquiry that the letter written to the hon. Member referred to in D.4.33 concerning changes in the Government's policy on the supply of arms to Iraq was misleading. [16953]
Mr. Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he will take as a result of the finding of the Scott inquiry that the letter written to the hon. Member referred to in D.4.33 concerning changes in the
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Government's policy on the supply of arms to Iraq was misleading. [16957]
Mr. Henderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he will take as a result of the finding of the Scott inquiry that the letter written to the hon. Member in D.4.33 concerning changes in the Government's policy on the supply of arms to Iraq was misleading. [16955]
Mr. Battle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he will take as a result of the finding of the Scott inquiry that the letter written to the hon. Member referred to in D.4.33 concerning changes in the Government's policy on the supply of arms to Iraq was misleading. [16954]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
The Government continue to take the view that the Howe guidelines were not changed and do not consider that further action is necessary.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flights in United Kingdom airspace by military remotely piloted vehicles were authorised on 6 January 1995. [19750]
Mr. Soames:
One such flight was authorised within the Llanbedr danger area--EGD202.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates, locations and aircraft types involved in all incidents since 1990 of breaches of low flying regulations which were witnessed by RAF police deployed on covert monitoring duties. [19641]
Mr. Soames:
Details of apparent breaches of low flying regulations detected by the RAF police during covert monitoring of the United Kingdom low flying system, including deployments with Skyguard, are as follows:
| Date | Location | Numbers and types of aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| 2 October 1990 | East Leyton, Richmond North Yorkshire | 1x RAF Tornado |
| 16 July 1991 | Eshottt airfield, Northumberland | 3x German Air Force F4 |
| 23 September 1991 | Keswick, Cumbria | 1x AAC Gazelle |
| 24 September 1991 | Keswick, Cumbria | 1x RAF Harrier GR5 |
| 26 September 1991 | Keswick, Cumbria | 2x French Air Force Mirage |
| 2 July 1992 | Beverly/Linley Hill aerodrome, North Humberside | 1x RAF Tornado |
| 22 September 1994 | Ambleside, Cumbria | 1x USAF F15 |
| 5 May 1995 | Bude, Cornwall | 1x RAF Hawk |
| 9 May 1995 | Bude, Cornwall | 1x RAF Tornado |
Ministry of Defence Police
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what basis the Ministry of Defence police are responsible
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for security at (a) Royal Ordnance premises and (b) other private company premises; what payment is made for the service; and if he will make a statement. [20356]
Mr. Soames: Ministry of Defence police are responsible for security at some Royal Ordnance plc premises under the terms of an agreement made in 1985. Ministry of Defence police are not responsible for security at other private company premises. My Department recovers the greater part of the cost of the services of the MOD police from Royal Ordnance plc.
Extended Range Ordnance
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning extended range ordnance under development for the AS 90 SP Howitzer. [20198]
Mr. Arbuthnot [holding answer 11 March 1996]: Proposals for the extended range ordnance and modular charge system for the AS90 SP Howitzer have recently been submitted to my Department by the prime contractor, Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. These proposals are currently being assessed.
M107 Shells
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which companies his Department purchases M107 shells. [20460]
Mr. Arbuthnot: M107 ammunition is currently supplied by Simmel Difesa of Italy.
Simmel
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions the Italian company Simmel has been investigated in relation to United Kingdom procurement fraud; and what action was taken. [20459]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Following an investigation by the Ministry of Defence police fraud squad which commenced in early 1991, James Taylor--a MOD civil servant--was convicted of corruptly agreeing with an agent for Simmel SPA to accept payment by Simmel for hotel accommodation in Venice for himself and his wife to the value of £880. On 22 December 1993 Taylor was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and ordered to pay £13,500 prosecution costs. A confiscation order for £32,710 was also made. He received concurrent sentences on five other counts of corruptly receiving £24,000 from Gordon Foxley. On the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service no action was taken against Simmel or its agent.
F16 Aircraft
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total cost of his Department's examination of the option to lease American F16 aircraft. [20458]
Mr. Arbuthnot: In order to ensure the achievement of value for money, the cost-effectiveness of our procurement decisions is routinely tested in a combined operational effectiveness and investment appraisal--COEIA. In the case of the decision to upgrade the Tornado F3's weapons systems, this proposal was tested against alternative options including the lease of F-16 aircraft from the
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United States. The estimated total cost of the COEIA was approximately £295,000. The specific costs attributable to evaluating the F-16 option are not separately identifiable.
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