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Summer Recess

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Lord President of the Council what consideration he has given to sittings of the House in September; and if he will make a statement. [30634]

Mr. Newton: I cannot yet give the House the proposed dates for the summer adjournment, but I have no plans to make any radical departure from recent practice.

Parliamentary Procedures.

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Lord President of the Council what changes he proposes to simplify parliamentary procedures. [30636]

Mr. Newton: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the oral answer I gave him on 22 April, Official Report, column 18.

DEFENCE

Private Investigators

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what use his Department has made of private detective agencies or investigators during 1995-96 and 1994-95; what agencies have been employed; for what purpose; and at what cost to his Department. [30567]

Mr. Soames: I am aware of only one case where my Department made direct use of the services of a private detective agency or investigator during 1994-95 and 1995-96. This was in respect of a claim for compensation, at a cost of less than £2,000. I understand that solicitors, and an insurance company working for my Department, may sometimes employ inquiry agents when pursuing debtors and in connection with cases involving claims for compensation. While such services are not paid for directly, they may be included in final costs submitted to my Department.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 25 March, Official Report, column 441, how much his Department estimated it would have to cost to provide the information requested. [31463]

Mr. Soames: More than £450, the current threshold above which answers are deemed to incur disproportionate cost.

Unidentified Objects (Rendlesham Forest)

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 May, Official Report, columns 19-20, if he will list the titles of the papers held by his Department in respect of unidentified objects seen in Rendlesham forest, Suffolk; and if he will make a statement. [31490]

Mr. Soames: Apart from a report of the events written at the time by the United States air force deputy base commander at RAF Woodbridge, which has been in the public domain for a number of years, the documents held by my Department are internal staffing papers and correspondence from members of the public relating to the alleged events.

10 Jun 1996 : Column: 43

Bourlon Barracks, Catterick

Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of the structure and fixed equipment of building 36 at Bourlon barracks, Catterick, for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers light aid detachment; and if the final payment for that building has been made by his Department. [31612]

Mr. Soames: The total cost of the structure and fixed equipment of building 36, Bourlon barracks, REME LAD, was £524,179. The final payment for this building--that is, the release of retention--has not been made.

Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the cost of modifications to the crane, doors and exhaust ventilation system in the LAD building (No. 36) at Bourlon barracks, Catterick, to facilitate maintenance work on Warrior armoured personnel carriers. [31614]

Mr. Soames: The estimated cost for the modification of the crane from a single to a two-speed motor is £5,500. There are no plans to modify any of the doors in building 36. The exhaust extraction system was modified in January 1996 at an approximate cost of £2,500.

Sea Training

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which operational sea training facilities the United Kingdom will make available to the Western European Union, following the Birmingham declaration of 7 May. [31746]

Mr. Soames: We will make available, for national or collective participation by WEU nations, the Royal Navy's operational sea training facility at Plymouth, and the joint maritime courses which are run off the coast of Scotland.

Western European Union

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to develop further the Western European Union's intelligence section. [31750]

Mr. Soames: The intelligence section agreed by Ministers in 1995 is not operational. Any further development of its capabilities would be undertaken by WEU in the light of experience.

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the Western European Union mobility study following the Western European Union Ministerial Council meeting in Birmingham and the meeting of Western European Union Chiefs of Defence Staff in London. [31752]

Mr. Soames: Following endorsement of the strategic mobility concept by Chiefs of Defence Staff and by Ministers, a special WEU working group has begun examining the most effective means by which the concept might be implemented.

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made as to when the Western European Union will be in a position to conduct a full-scale Petersberg-type operation. [31747]

10 Jun 1996 : Column: 44

Mr. Soames: Our target is for the WEU to be capable of conducting a small-scale crisis management mission by the end of 1996. Achievement of this goal depends on the WEU making further progress on the operational improvements we have initiated during our presidency.

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries have not to date offered to provide intelligence data to the Western European Union's intelligence section. [31751]

Mr. Soames: This is a matter for the nations concerned.

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures will be taken to increase the involvement of the associate partner members in Western European Union's work on operational development with particular reference to Africa peacekeeping, exercise policy and humanitarian task force operations. [31749]

Mr. Soames: WEU associate partners have already taken part in discussions on the specific issues referred to by the hon. Member. They have also been invited to provide information on the forces that they might make available for WEU operations. We look forward to their further involvement in discussions on other operational matters.

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will encourage the Western European Union to add a public relations element to its current crisis exercises, Crisex 96. [31753]

Mr. Soames: The WEU intends to use this exercise to promote its operational role to the media, and plans a press visit to the exercise. The WEU will also be testing internally new procedures for operational public information policy, developed as a UK initiative.

Sea Harrier Aircraft

Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Sea Harrier aircraft have been lost in the last year; how many new aircraft from the attrition batch whose procurement was announced in January 1994 have now been deployed in squadron service as replacements; and what navigation system was fitted to those replacement aircraft when they were delivered by British Aerospace. [31758]

Mr. Soames: In the year since 1 June 1995, there have been two major accidents involving Royal Navy Sea Harrier FA2 aircraft. The first was on 20 October, when an aircraft caught fire while preparing to take off from Royal Naval Auxiliary Service, Yeovilton; and the second on 13 February when an aircraft ditched into the Adriatic. Additionally, a Royal Navy Harrier T4 crashed near Wellington, Somerset on 23 February, tragically killing the two personnel on board.

Four Sea Harrier aircraft from the attrition batch whose procurement was announced in January 1994 have been deployed in squadron service. A further aircraft is currently in the maintenance group and will be delivered to a front-line squadron shortly. The replacement aircraft delivered by British Aerospace were fitted with the Navigation heading and attitudes reference system.

10 Jun 1996 : Column: 45

Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the cost to his Department of procuring new navigation systems for Sea Harrier aircraft; and what share of the value of that contract will be passed on to British Aerospace. [31757]

Mr. Arbuthnot: The total cost to my Department of procuring new navigation systems for the Sea Harrier aircraft is estimated to be in the order of £35 million at current prices inclusive of VAT. This includes the costs of equipment, its integration into the aircraft and flight trials to ensure system safety and airworthiness. It is not possible at this stage to quantify the precise value of the British Aerospace element of the programme because contract negotiations have not yet been concluded. Contract price values are, in any case, usually commercially confidential.

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