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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 26 March 1996
DEFENCE
Nimrod Aircraft
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which aircraft the Nimrod R1 replaced in active service with the Royal Air Force. [22363]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Nimrod R1 replaced Comet Mk2s in No. 51 Squadron Royal Air Force.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the Nimrod R1 lost on 16 May 1995 had received its star window upgrade. [22354]
Mr. Soames: Star window equipment was not fitted to this aircraft.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of the star window upgrade to the Nimrod R1; and from which sub-heads of which votes these funds are taken. [22352]
Mr. Soames: The value of the star window upgrade is under £30 million. Costs have been charged to vote 2, section M6.
Bahrain
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials and members of the United Kingdom armed forces are (a) stationed in Bahrain and (b) attached to Bahrainian military, police or paramilitary units or services (i) to support contracts, (ii) on secondment and (iii) for training (1) currently and (2) on 1 January 1995. [22662]
Mr. Soames: It is our practice not to comment on the precise location of forces deployed on operations in the Gulf region.
One Royal Navy officer, acting as UK/Bahrain defence co-operation officer, is based at the British embassy in Bahrain.
No members of the UK armed forces are attached to Bahrain's military, police or paramilitary units or services, nor were there any on 1 January 1995.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits have been undertaken to Bahrain by (i) officials of his Department and (ii) members of the United Kingdom armed forces in the last 12 months with, in each case, their rank and status. [22661]
Mr. Soames:
The information is not available in the form requested.
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Rev. Martin Smyth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to report on the inquiry into Gulf war syndrome. [22551]
Mr. Soames:
As stated in my reply to the right hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) of 30 January 1996, Official Report, columns 607-608, we are in the process of commissioning a series of epidemiological studies into the alleged Gulf war syndrome. I shall report further when significant information becomes available.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual cost of (a) routine maintenance and (b) refitting of HMY Britannia. [22823]
Mr. Soames:
The present estimated cost of maintenance for the current financial year is £1,262,000. No further refits are planned.
Mr. Eastham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many companies have tendered for the new air-launched, anti-armour weapon, currently out to tender; if he will list the companies involved and the countries they are based in; and what is the estimated number of jobs that will be created to fulfil this contract. [22580]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
Five companies have tendered for the new advanced air-launched anti-armour weapon as follows:
| Company | Country |
|---|---|
| BAe Dynamics | UK |
| GEC Marconi | UK |
| Hunting Engineering | UK |
| Texas Instruments | US |
| Thompson Thorn Missile Electronics | UK/FR |
It is too early to give any meaningful estimate of the number of jobs which will be created to fulfil the contract.
Research and Development
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of Government expenditure in support of military research and development for each year since 1986-87, including the figures planned for 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98. [22682]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The information requested is set out in the 1995 edition of "Forward Look", the publication on Government-funded science, engineering and technology, volume 3, table 2.1, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Service Accommodation
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of his Department's (a) married quarters and (b) other houses in each parliamentary constituency. [22999]
Mr. Soames: The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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22 Special Air Services
Mr. David Martin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the location of 22 SAS. [23297]
Mr. Soames: The present site at Stirling Lines, Hereford occupied by 22 SAS is too small to meet long-term requirements and it is planned to move the unit to the former RAF site at Credenhill, Hereford within the next three years.
"The Military Ethos (The Maintenance of Standards)"
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what purpose the Army produced and published a paper entitled "The Military Ethos (The Maintenance of Standards)" in January 1994; to whom it was distributed; and with what instructions for onward transmission. [22715]
Mr. Soames [holding answer 25 March 1996]: The purpose of the Army paper "The Military Ethos (The Maintenance of Standards)", is to explain the requirement for high standards of personal conduct and respect for law demanded of those in military service. Before the paper was promulgated, the Army had issued edicts on various subjects such as drug misuse, but without fully explaining the reasons behind them. The paper is intended to make all serving Army personnel, recruits and members of the Territorial Army conversant with the standards required of them, and the reasons behind them.
The paper was issued on 21 October 1993 and distributed to commanders in chief, all commands and districts both home and abroad. Commanding officers were instructed to bring the paper to the attention of all ranks. To that end, commanding officers were to set aside time to explain personally these issues to their officers and senior non-commissioned officers to ensure that the message was understood.
TRADE INDUSTRY
Export Licences
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the President of the Board Trade if he will list, by year, country and export classification, the number of waivers used Customs and Excise with respect to the export of military equipment. [19241]
Mr. Oppenheim: This information was not collated centrally by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.
Mr. Smith: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what monitoring is done to ensure that goods leaving the United Kingdom on temporary export licences are returned to the UK; and if he will list those occasions since 1990 when goods exported on temporary licences have not been returned. [19249]
Mr. Oppenheim: Export licences granted for the temporary export of goods are valid for a period of 12 months, which may be extended in certain circumstances. If notification of return of goods is not received by due date, the matter is taken up immediately with the consignor. There are occasions when goods
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licensed for temporary export are legitimately retained overseas on a permanent basis after due consideration by my Department.
The second part of this question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.
Medical Research
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much was spent on research into (a) cancer, (b) heart disease and (c) stroke in each year since 1989; and if he will make a statement. [21579]
Mr. Ian Taylor: Research funding from the Medical Research Council for all three areas between 1989-90 and 1994-95, which is the latest year for which full figures are available, is summarised in the table:
| Cancer | Heart disease | Stroke | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 figures using current definitions of research areas | 13.2 | 11.4 | 3.4 |
| (1)1993-94 | 13.3 | 6.1 | 0.9 |
| (1)1992-93 | 13.5 | 5.4 | 1.0 |
| (1)1991-92 | 13.6 | 5.3 | 0.6 |
| (1)1990-91 | 13.5 | 5.9 | 0.4 |
| (1)1989-90 | 13.3 | 5.5 | 0.4 |
(1) Figures using previous definitions of research areas.
There are two major qualifications to these figures. First, the basis for indexing and retrieving electronic research data at the Medical Research Council changed after 1993-94. Trends cannot, therefore, be read between the first five years on the one hand, and 1994-95 on the other.
Secondly, cancer studies are underpinned by a significant amount of basic research of some relevance to the above figures, but not included within them. Such areas include research into genetic blueprint and health--£37.7 million; molecules and cells--£64.9 million; and infections and immunity--£60.2 million.
The Scottish Office Home and Health Department's expenditure on these areas in as follows:
| Cancer | Heart disease | Stroke | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 762,720 | 254,070 | 115,272 |
| 1993-94 | 963,910 | 361,404 | 141,835 |
| 1992-93 | 454,391 | 295,995 | 64,959 |
| 1991-92 | 181,113 | 140,004 | 90,677 |
| 1990-91 | 82,561 | 24,337 | 6,908 |
| 1989-90 | 112,862 | 72,308 | 79,975 |
In addition, the Department of Health--England and Wales--spent £8.3 million on cancer research in 1994-95. On heart disease and stroke, in 1993-94, the latest available figures, the Department of Health's policy research programme spent £400,000 on research into cardiovascular disease, and the NHS research and development programme on cardiovascular disease and stroke spent £49,537 in the same year. It is estimated that the NHS programme will spend £3,093,185 in 1995-96.
Figures for other years and for Northern Ireland are not readily available.
26 Mar 1996 : Column: 471
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's funding for research into cancer. [21452]
Mr. Taylor:
The Medical Research Council, which receives its funding from my Department, supports an extensive programme into cancer. For the financial year 1994-95, which is the latest year for which full figures are available, MRC expenditure was £13.2 million.
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's funding for research into (a) heart disease and (b) stroke. [21578]
Mr. Taylor:
The Medical Research Council, which receives its funding from my Department, supports an extensive programme into heart disease and stroke. For the financial year 1994-95, which is the latest year for which full figures are available, the expenditure on (a) heart disease was £11.4 million and for (b) stroke was £3.4 million.
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