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National Savings

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reduce the minimum deposit sum for national savings investment accounts to encourage savings; and if he will make a statement. [29878]

Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 17 May 1996]: None. The minimum deposit was increased to £20 in February 1993. National savings has an important role in encouraging savings, and has a wide range of schemes to promote this, but its costs are borne by the taxpayer and large numbers of very low value transactions are administratively costly.

DEFENCE

Exports (Crown Status)

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the value of defence exports having Crown status in each of the last 10 years. [29870]

Mr. Arbuthnot: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Army Legal Aid Scheme

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are used to determine eligibility for the Army legal aid scheme. [29759]

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Mr. Soames: The general principles to be followed in deciding whether the case justifies the provision of legal aid are that:

(a) Legal aid would have been provided if the case had been brought in the criminal courts of the United Kingdom. This principle is designed to ensure that Army personnel are not placed at a disadvantage because they are posted aborad.


(b) The accused is being brought to trial by court martial for a service offence which is serious or involves points of legal difficulty, or the expert examination of witnesses is required.

Infra-red Technology

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 511, how much his Department has spent in the last 10 years on the development of infra-red technology.[29818]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The information is not available in the form requested.

Polaris

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what temperature the Polaris missile propellant is burned when it is disposed of; and what containment measures are taken to prevent leakage of unburnt propellant. [29872]

Mr. Soames: Polaris rocket motors contain solid propellant. Disposal is achieved by using explosive charges which cut open the casing and then ignite the propellant. No record is held of the temperatures reached on burning, but a debris check of the disposal site is carefully carried out to ensure that the motors and propellant have been totally destroyed.

Performance Bonds

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's policy on the use of performance bonds; in what circumstances they are used; what was the total sum paid by bond in each of the last five years; and if his Department requires bonds from businesses with fewer than (a) 100, (b) 50 and (c) 20 employees. [29416]

Mr. Arbuthnot: My Department's policy is that any request for a bond should be based on a judgment of the capabilities and financial resources of the bidder to fulfil the requirements of a particular contract. It is not related to the size of the company concerned. Such a bond would be called upon only in the event that the contractor defaulted or failed to perform against the contract in question.

A central record of parent company and bank indemnities and guarantees provided to cover contracts is held, but details of the values required and those relating to businesses under the three categories could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Western European Union

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the availability of NATO intelligence information to the Western European Union. [29893]

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Mr. Soames: The recent conclusion of a security agreement between NATO and the WEU will improve the exchange of classified information, including intelligence, between the two organisations.

Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the establishment of a Western European Union political and military situation centre. [29892]

Mr. Soames: At their meeting in Lisbon in May 1995, WEU Ministers approved a decision to provide WEU with new decision-making mechanisms and structures, including the establishment of a situation centre to monitor and report on developing crises and act as a communication channel during operations. The UK's current Presidency of WEU has ensured that the situation centre will be operational by the second phase of Exercise WEU Crisex 95-96 in June this year.

Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy concerning the Western European Union's use of NATO military assets. [29894]

Mr. Soames: In accordance with the NATO summit declaration of 1994, our policy is that collective assets of the alliance should be available, on the basis of consultation in the North Atlantic Council, for operations that may be conducted by the WEU. This will include the possibility of making available combined joint task force headquarters.

Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the measures adopted by his Department to enhance the operational capabilities of the Western European Union. [29891]

Mr. Soames: Details of the defence initiatives undertaken during the UK Presidency of WEU, which runs from 1 January to 30 June 1996, can be found in chapter 1 of the 1996 "Statement on the Defence Estimates", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. As well as securing agreement to our proposals on WEU exercises and strategic mobility, we have offered sea training facilities to other WEU nations and have given impetus to the work to set up a situation centre. We have worked, and will continue to work, to improve links between WEU and NATO. As Presidency, we were instrumental in arranging for the signature on 6 May of the NATO--WEU security agreement, clearing the way for the exchange of classified information between two organisations.

Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list Western European Union joint exercises planned for the next five years. [29895]

Mr. Soames: Exercise WEU Crisex 95-96 is the only WEU-led exercise currently planned. Phases 2 and 3 of this exercise, which take place in June and December 1996, will test operational procedures for a WEU humanitarian mission. WEU nations have also invited the organisation to participate in a number of nationally led exercises. At the WEU Council of Ministers in Birmingham on 7 May, Ministers agreed the establishment of an exercise planning conference which will set out a future programme of WEU exercises. We expect that the first conference will be held this year.

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Sea King Helicopters

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total number of Sea King helicopters in the possession of the Royal Navy; how many of them have been identified as having cracks in the lift frame; what is the average cost of repairing such cracks; and how many Sea Kings are currently unserviceable as a result of lift frame or other cracks. [29920]

Mr. Soames: The Royal Navy owns 119 Sea King helicopters and the RAF owns a further 25. Over the life of the combined fleets, 170 lift frames have cracked. The average cost of a repair is £58,000. Eight RN Sea Kings and one RAF Sea King are currently unserviceable for lift frame or similar cracks.

Equipment Procurement

Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the value of equipment procured from single prime contractors has been directed supply in the last five years; and which United Kingdom technologies have been protected and enhanced as a result. [29863]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Information of this nature is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on directed supply of systems and sub-systems when equipment is procured from a single prime contractor. [29862]

Mr. Arbuthnot: My Department's policy is that, wherever possible, requirement specifications are written in such a way that prime contractors are given the freedom to nominate and select the sub-contractors of their choice. There will, however, from time to time, be situations where suitable equipment is available only from a single source. Obviously, in this case, only that supplier will be able to meet the requirement but the prime contractor will still be responsible for managing the sub-contract.

Combined Joint Task Force

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency planning he has carried out concerning Britain's participation in NATO's combined joint task force initiative. [29890]

Mr. Soames: The UK has participated fully in the development of the combined joint task force concept since it was announced at the January 1994 NATO summit. The concept will provide NATO with a capability to form deployable headquarters, from within existing fixed headquarters, to provide the command and control of multinational and multi-service forces deployed on contingency operations. We expect to play a full part in implementation of the concept, through our participation in NATO headquarters affected by the initiative.

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