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Military Equipment Exports
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many jobs in Scotland are dependent (a) directly and (b) indirectly on the export of military equipment; and if he will provide a breakdown by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local government area within Scotland. [25422]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Statistics are not held in the form requested. Owing to the complexities and methodological problems involved, it would be extremely difficult to generate the information required and this could be achieved only at disproportionate cost. Tables 1.9 and 1.10 of the 1995 edition of "UK Defence Statistics" include figures for the number associated with direct employment in the production of defence equipment in the UK, by region, and the number employed in the UK associated directly and indirectly with defence expenditure. A copy of this publication is held by the Library of the House.
Torture Equipment
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations are taking place into the producer of the "Dispatches" programme on the export of torture equipment by his Department's police; and how much the investigation has cost so far. [24952]
Mr. Soames: This is a matter for the chief constable/chief executive of the Ministry of Defence Police. I have asked the chief constable/executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Walter Boreham to Mrs. Anne Clwyd, dated 16 April 1996:
I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the Despatches programme, as this falls into my area of responsibility as Chief Constable/Chief Executive of the Ministry of Defence Police Agency.
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Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (1) the number of married quarters for service personnel stationed in Scotland, for (a) Army, (b) Navy, (c) Royal Air Force and (d) Royal Marines personnel, (2) the location of the housing and (3) the number of housing units at each location. [25187]
Mr. Soames:
Family quarters are no longer managed by the individual services but are now managed centrally by the Defence housing executive through a system of seven regional controllers and 24 area managers. There are 6,702 family quarters in areas 23, 24 and 25 which cover the whole of Scotland.
My officers have conducted an investigation regarding the Despatches programme screened on 11 January 1995, and have submitted a report to the Crown Prosecution Service. I am awaiting their advice.
I estimate the cost of the investigation to be £3,600.
The number of housing units within each area is as follows:
Area 23: Glasgow, Helensburg, Dumfries, Prestwick, Benbecula and Sterling.
Area 24: Perth, Edinburgh, Penicuik, Pitreavie, Turnhouse, Melrose, Kinross, Dumfermline, Windygates, Cupar, Dundee, Leuchars, Arbroath and Rosyth.
Area 25: Inverness and Highlands sites, Kinloss, Lossiemouth, Buchan, Saxa Vord, Stornoway and Thurso.
Area 23: 1,778
Area 24: 2,506
Area 25: 2,418.
Boards of Inquiry
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what circumstances his Department's boards of inquiry are set up; who carries out the inquiry; in what circumstances the reports or conclusions of boards of inquiry are made public; and how many boards of inquiry have been launched in each of the past five years. [24959]
Mr. Soames: A board of inquiry--BOI--is set up in accordance with Section 135(1) of the Army Act 1955 and BOI (Army) Rules 1956, section 135 of the Air Force Act 1955 and BOI (Air Force) Rules 1956 and Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy by authority of the Defence Council.
A BOI must be convened in certain circumstances such as unlawful absence exceeding 21 days, the capture by the enemy of a person subject to military law, the death of a person abroad in a military establishment where no inquiry is required by civil law, disablement of a ship, and aircraft accidents. BOIs may also be convened in a variety of other circumstances where the incident affects military service.
In general, a BOI may be convened by the service boards, an officer not below the rank of colonel or equivalent or, in certain circumstances, an officer of any rank commanding a unit or detachment.
Boards of inquiry are internal fact-finding investigations undertaken for military purposes and to prevent a recurrence of a similar incident. As such, they are not in the public domain. Boards of inquiry reports
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are, however, made available, subject to the minimum security requirements, to the next of kin of deceased service personnel who are killed in in-service accidents.
Records covering the number of BOIs convened are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. John Townend:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy that the position of the fishing industry safety group will be safeguarded following changes to the Marine Safety Agency. [24816]
Mr. Norris:
I have asked the chief executive of the Marine Safety Agency to write my hon. Friend.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. John Townend, dated 16 April 1996:
Mrs. Anne Campbell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to promote the nutritional benefits of food grown in the United Kingdom. [21617]
Mrs. Browning:
A wide range of nutritious foods are grown in the United Kingdom and my colleagues and I are happy to promote their virtues.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what savings to date have been made by his Department as a result of out-sourcing arrangements made with the EDS computer system; what assessment he has made of the equivalent costs for carrying out this work in-house; and if he will make a statement. [24230]
Mr. Boswell:
The Ministry holds no out-sourcing contracts with EDS, so there are no savings or equivalent in-house costs to be assessed.
Mr. David Nicholson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in how many individual cases assistance was refused owing to mistakes by farmers
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in completing IACS forms, in each of the years since these came into effect; and what representations he has received on this subject since 1 January 1995. [24292]
Mr. Baldry:
It is possible to correct mistakes in IACS forms in certain limited circumstances. The EC rules prescribe automatic penalties for all other cases of discrepancy and make no allowance for the reason for the discrepancy. More stringent penalties apply in respect of serious negligence and fraud.
Some 3,465 and 2,807--provisional figures--IACS applications in 1994 and 1995 respectively faced some level of penalty in the UK as a result of discrepancies found in land area. Of these, the penalties applied in 553 and 367 cases respectively resulted in the loss of all area-related aid. A number of representations on this subject have been received since 1 January 1995, mainly relating to individual cases.
Mr. Dafis:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the chemical two-butoxy Etanol was an ingredient in the dispersant used on the Sea Empress oil spill at Milford Haven. [23708]
Mr. Baldry:
Yes. Two-butoxy ethanol is one of the family of butyl glycols, as included in the list given in my reply of 4 March 1996, Official Report, column 83.
Mr. Olner:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make available the recent report, "Cetacean bycatch in the UK tuna driftnet fishery in 1995", to the Council of Fisheries Ministers meeting in April; and if he will be making recommendations to the Ministers on driftnetting. [24841]
Mr. Baldry:
The report has already been made available to the Council of Fisheries Ministers and I intend to urge the Council to seek further ways of reducing by-catches of cetaceans in high seas driftnet fisheries while taking account of the effect of fishermen's livelihoods.
Mr. Olner:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he intends to review the current maximum lengths of driftnets in respect of the finding of the recent report, "Cetacean bycatch in the UK tuna driftnet fishery in 1995"; and what proposals he has to ban the use of driftnets; [24842]
(3) what asssessment he has made of the scientific evidence for a ban on high seas driftnets. [24581]
Mr. Baldry:
The current maximum length of driftnets permitted on UK and other Community fishing vessels is set at 2.5 km, in line with the precautionary approach and in response to United Nations resolutions. I am not aware of scientific evidence that justifies a different maximum length or a ban on the use of driftnets. I do not therefore
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support the European Commission's proposal, but I do not think that means should be sought to reduce by-catches of cetaceans in high seas driftnet fisheries.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your Question about safeguarding the position of the Fishing Industry Safety Group (FISG) following changes to the Marine Safety Agency (MSA).
Procedures for consultation on safety matters with the fishing industry, of which FISG is an important part, are currently being reviewed with the full participation of the industry. As part of the review, industry representatives met recently with MSA officials to discuss consultation procedures, including FISG. The industry has undertaken to consider and comment on the current arrangements and possible ways in which those arrangements could be improved. The MSA will consider those comments fully before decisions are taken about future consultation arrangements.
(2) what response he has made to the proposals for a ban on the use of driftnets from the European Parliament and the European Commission; and if he will make it his policy to support an EU-imposed ban on driftnetting; [24580]
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