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DEFENCE
Menwith Hill
Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if (a) the squadron leader in charge and (b) other British employees at Menwith Hill have signed the US Official Secrets Act. [20631]
Mr. Soames: It is not our policy to comment on specific security arrangements.
Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United States personnel are under the command of the squadron leader in charge at Menwith Hill. [20627]
Joint Rapid Deployment Force (Ferries)
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the roll-on roll-off ferries that are to be bought for the joint rapid deployment force, announced on 26 March, will be manned by British seafarers; and if he will make a statement. [25479]
Mr. Soames: No decision has yet been reached on the most appropriate manning arrangements for the roll-on roll-off ferries to support the joint rapid deployment force. An announcement will be made in the summer, once all relevant factors have been properly weighed.
RAF (Commitments)
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the capacity of the RAF to meet its commitments. [25797]
Mr. Soames: I am fully confident that the RAF continues to have the capacity to meet its operational commitments.
22 Apr 1996 : Column: 26
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has introduced to reduce overstretch in the RAF. [25798]
Mr. Soames: The Royal Air Force has introduced a number of temporary measures to minimise the burden on personnel during the current drawdown. These include provisions to postpone tactical and operational evaluations and scale down formal inspections and staff visits. Such measures are a sensible way of ensuring that operational capabilities are maintained over this transitional period.
British Steel
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total value of commercial orders placed by his Department with British Steel plc in each year from 1988 to 1995. [25819]
Mr. Arbuthnot: In the years concerned, the value of the orders placed directly with British Steel plc by the Department was:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1988 | 36,000 |
| 1989 | 836,000 |
| 1990 | 168,000 |
| 1991 | 80,000 |
| 1992 | 2,330,000 |
| 1993 | 297,000 |
| 1994 | 42,000 |
| 1995 | 37,000 |
All figures are approximate.
Most steel for the Ministry of Defence will be procured via MOD prime contractors for shipbuilding, tanks etcetera.
NATO
Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the decision by the Chief of the Air Staff to postpone tactical evaluations and operational evaluations on the United Kingdom's ability to fulfil its NATO obligations. [25587]
Mr. Soames: The planned postponement of Tacevals and Opevals in the period to March 1997 will have no detrimental impact on the UK's ability to fulfil its obligations to NATO.
Oral Communication Classes
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance he is giving Air Chief Marshall Sir Michael Graydon in implementing oral communication classes at the Royal Air Force's officer training school, Cranwell; what plans he has to recommend these classes to the other armed services training establishments; and if he will make a statement. [25565]
Mr. Soames: Oral communication is already taught at the officer training colleges of all three services. The syllabuses are kept under constant review and are subject to change as appropriate by the respective commanding officers. Contrary to recent reports in the press, there are no plans to change the existing oral communication syllabus at the RAF college, Cranwell.
22 Apr 1996 : Column: 27
Beaufort's Dyke
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what explosions recorded by the British Geological Survey in the immediate vicinity of Beaufort's dyke in 1995 were related to his Ministry's activities. [25720]
Mr. Soames: From the data supplied by the British Geological Survey, one explosion in the immediate vicinity of Beaufort's dyke corresponds to the record of a controlled detonation of a second world war mine on 7 February 1995 on a beach in the West Freugh range area.
Battle of Trafalgar Bicentenary
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what preparations his Department is making for the commemoration of the bicentenary of the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson. [25915]
Mr. Soames: It is too early for any arrangements or plans to have been considered by my Department for this important event in October 2005.
Trident Submarines
Ms Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the costs quoted in the original bid and what are the current estimated costs of (a) Project DI54 and (b) the nuclear refitting process for Trident strategic submarine ballistic nuclear; what are the reasons for the difference; and from what source additional expenditure will be met. [25616]
Mr. Arbuthnot: In respect of Project D154, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 April 1996, Official Report, column 458. The financial projections which underpinned the 1993 decision to place nuclear work at Devonport took into account capital costs and total operating costs associated with conducting both nuclear and non-nuclear refitting work over a 15-year period. These amounted to some £5,284 million for the option selected. The cost of the Trident refitting programme will be influenced by the outcome of negotiations on the sale of Devonport royal dockyard and the actual duration of refits. The information is not available in the form requested.
Laser Weapons Protocol
Ms Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of (a) the practical interpretation and (b) the implications of the laser weapons protocol, with particular reference to intentional and unintentional blinding. [25206]
Mr. Soames: We welcome the adoption by the UN weaponry convention review conference in October 1995 of the protocol on blinding laser weapons. We believe that the protocol meets humanitarian concerns without adversely affecting normal military uses of lasers. Our interpretation is that it would prohibit the employment of laser weapons specifically designed, whether as their sole combat purpose or as one of their combat purposes, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision.
As to the employment of other lasers, states parties are required to take feasible precautions to avoid the incidence of permanent blindness to unenhanced vision.
22 Apr 1996 : Column: 28
The user's intention--or lack of it--to cause blindness is not, as such, material. We are currently studying the implications of this protocol and will take a decision on whether to ratify it following the final session of the review conference.
Mr. Win Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the times and the days that training flights have been undertaken from RAF St. Athan indicating the land bearings below the airspace used for training. [25418]
Mr. Soames:
Three types of flying training are undertaken from RAF St. Athan:
Hawk aircraft flying takes place during the station's normal hours of operation which are 0830 to 1700 hours Monday to Thursday and 0830 to 1600 hours on Fridays. Bulldog aircraft and gliders also operate outside of these hours during the summer months and at weekends throughout the year.
Training flights use much of the available airspace. Details of land bearings and the specific time and date for flights could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in the international discussions aimed at outlawing the use of land mines. [9385]
Mr. David Davis
[pursuant to the answer, 17 January 1996, c. 579]: In order to make greater progress in achieving international agreement on effective measures to reduce the dangers to civilians from land mines, we have taken a series of national decisions following a review of our policy, as follows:
22 Apr 1996 : Column: 29
(a) Elementary flying training for the members of the University of Wales university air squadron using Bulldog aircraft.
The station is also used as a forward operating base for Hawk aircraft from RAF Valley using the Pembrey range for advanced fast jet training.
(b) Air experience flying for air cadets using Bulldog aircraft.
(c) Air experience and training for air cadets using gliders.
The UK will work actively towards a total, world-wide ban on anti-personnel mines. Should such a ban be agreed, we would give up our anti-personnel land mine capability, and would destroy our stocks accordingly.
All our current anti-personnel mines are non-self-destructing. We intend to destroy almost half our current stockpile as soon as practicable. Until a world-wide ban on all anti-personnel mines is agreed, we shall also pursue current procurement plans to replace our existing mines with self-destructing ones.
We shall also pursue, as an interim step, early international agreement on the elimination of all non-self-destructing anti-personnel mines, which pose the greatest danger to civilians.
The UK's armed forces do not currently use anti-personnel mines operationally, anywhere in the world. Nor will they use our current stocks of non-self-destructing anti-personnel mines in future operations unless, in exceptional circumstances, Ministers are satisfied that their use is essential to ensure that British troops are properly protected and there are no alternative ways of achieving that end.
In such exceptional circumstances, we would use non-self-destructing anti-personnel mines only in marked, fenced or monitored areas; would clear them as soon as feasible; and any use would be strictly in accordance with the laws of armed conflict, including the strengthened protocol II to the UN weaponry convention which we hope will be agreed shortly.
We shall also, as a matter of priority, pursue the development of alternatives to anti-personnel mines. Should viable alternatives emerge--none has yet--we would cease to use all anti-personnel mines, of any type, and would destroy all our stocks.
In addition, we shall with immediate effect extend the scope of our export moratorium, to prohibit the export of all types of anti-personnel mines to all destinations.
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