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Forces Personnel (Commercial Organisations)
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines govern the use of armed forces personnel by commercial organisations; and if he will publish them. [38687]
Mr. Soames: Service personnel are permitted to undertake employment during leave or off-duty hours with the approval of their commanding officer. Such approval may be given only if the activity in question does not contravene the relevant regulations which are to be found in Queen's regulations. Authority may be given provided that uniform is not worn, the service is not brought into disrepute and service knowledge is not used for the benefit of business. There are certain categories of employment in which service personnel are not permitted to undertake employment.
The regulations are contained in the Queen's regulations for all the three services, copies of which are held in the Library of the House. Copies are also available from HMSO.
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Dr. Godman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the inspection arrangements for the vessels to be transferred to Serco-Denholm by officials of the marine safety agency; what is the timetable for such inspection; if Serco-Denholm will be responsible for ensuring that those vessels judged to be in an unsatisfactory condition are brought up to MSA requirements; and if he will make a statement; [38895]
(3) if he will make a statement on the financial arrangements he has entered into in relation to the transfer of royal maritime auxiliary service vessels to Serco-Denholm; [38905]
(4) what guarantees have been sought by Serco-Denholm in relation to the seaworthiness of the RMSA vessels which are to be transferred to the consortium; and if he will make a statement; [38889]
(5) what financial arrangements he has entered into with Serco-Denholm concerning the construction of vessels needed to service the Ministry of Defence contract; and if he will make a statement. [38943]
Mr. Soames:
All RMAS vessels to be used by Serco-Denholm in fulfilment of its contract with my Department are being inspected by my officials and an independent Lloyd's surveyor as part of the process of ensuring that they comply with current Ministry of Defence safety standards.
Following contract effective date on 12 August, Serco-Denholm will, as the contract requires, be responsible for ensuring that the vessels meet the standards of safety and certification operating in the commercial shipping industry and regulated by the marine safety agency (MSA).
Initially the vessels will be supplied as Government furnished equipment but, after achievement of MSA certification, they will be chartered on normal commercial terms by Serco-Denholm. No financial arrangements have been entered into with Serco-Denholm concerning the construction of vessels. The vessels will remain Government-owned assets and the responsibility for procuring any replacements will rest with my Department.
Mrs. Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces worked as stewards at the 1996 Wimbledon lawn tennis championship; how they were selected; if they were recompensed for the work; what was the total cost of the service; and what proportion of this was borne (a) by the championship organisers and (b) from public funds. [38686]
Mr. Soames:
The total number of members of the armed forces who worked as stewards at the 1996 Wimbledon lawn tennis championship was 275.
Service personnel volunteer for duties at the Wimbledon tennis championships as part of a historical association stretching back to 1946. They are allowed to
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wear service uniform, but are required to take annual leave. They are not paid for their participation but are recompensed for their expenses by the championship organisers--the All England tennis club.
There is no cost to public funds.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's latest planning assumption for the outstanding number of Trident D5 missiles to be procured from the United States of America. [39178]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
Our current planning assumptions are that a further 21 Trident missiles will be purchased in three batches of seven in US fiscal years 1997, 1998 and 1999.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department last announced a major defence procurement order during a parliamentary recess; what is his Department's policy concerning the announcement of large procurement projects when Parliament is not sitting; and if he will make a statement. [39067]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
We make announcements on major defence procurement orders at the earliest convenient time after decisions have been made. In practice, we usually make such announcements when Parliament is sitting.
Dr. Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total Trident missile purchase (a) will be deployed operationally, (b) will act as a processing margin and (c) will be used for test firings. [39179]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
On the basis of present assumptions, some three quarters of our currently planned Trident missile purchase will be available for operational deployment; a fifth are planned to be used during post-build or post-refit firings; the remainder will act as a processing margin.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Martin) of 18 July, when he expects (a) HMS Albion and (b) HMS Bulwark to come into service. [39068]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are both expected to enter service early in the next decade.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military reasons underlying the requirement for an air-launched anti-armour missile capability. [39177]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
An advanced air-launched anti-armour weapon is needed to provide a capability against modern main battle tanks and other armoured vehicles that can be deployed rapidly to and around the battlefield; and which will enable us to attack enemy
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forces at long range and before contact with our own ground forces. It will thus complement the attack helicopter, which is designed to operate at shorter range. Its stand-off capability will keep our aircrew and aircraft losses to a minimum.
Sir Ivan Lawrence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about Defence agency status for defence communication services. [39548]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
Currently responsibilities for Defence wide-area communications systems and information transfer services are spread widely across my Department. Staff currently employed in these areas number approximately 2,200 located in about 150 sites throughout the UK and overseas. The UK elements of these are likely to reduce considerably as the transfer of most of the Defence fixed telecommunications systems to the private sector takes place.
Responsibility for the remainder of the Defence wide-area communications systems and information services is to be rationalised and considered as a candidate for Defence agency status--as the Defence Communications Services Agency--under the next steps initiative.
A study is being undertaken to establish whether agency status or other options would be appropriate. I would welcome comments from interested parties. These should be sent to:
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the review of the convention relating to the disclosure of information to Parliament on the export of defence equipment has been completed; and if he will make a statement. [39551]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
It has been the practice of Ministers in successive Administrations to decline, on grounds of public policy, to answer questions about arms sales, although some information is provided to Parliament, for example by placing the UK's submission to the UN Arms Register in the Library of the House. An examination of this convention was commissioned following the publication of Sir Richard Scott's report.
As explained in the background note placed in the Library of the House on 26 February by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Government's policy on defence sales is based on respect for the right of other countries, as sovereign states, to protect their independence and exercise their inherent right to self-defence as recognised by the UN charter. The Government also place considerable importance on the maintenance of a healthy defence industry which supports
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overall some 400,000 jobs, 80,000 of which are dependent on defence exports. Last year, British defence equipment manufacturers won contracts worth some £5 billion and the size of our export market is a major factor in protecting the security of supply and reducing the cost of the same equipment to our own forces. It therefore remains Government policy to support the sale of British defence equipment overseas wherever it is compatible with our political, strategic and security interests and to grant export licences on a case-by-case basis in the light of established criteria including internationally agreed guidelines and our treaty and other international commitments.
There are four main reasons why, on occasions, information about defence exports should not be publicly disclosed. First, our national security may be jeopardised if a third country obtains details of an importing ally's defence inventory. Secondly, importing nations have their own legitimate security concerns and therefore an interest in protecting information about the detail of their defence inventory or, even on occasion, its composition. Exporters not prepared to respect these considerations will be seriously disadvantaged. Thirdly, providing competitors with commercially sensitive information may weaken the competitive position of British exporters, leading to lost orders and serious industrial consequences, not necessarily limited to the export of defence equipment. Fourthly, our bilateral relations with other countries might be weakened, potentially resulting in the dilution of the UK's influence.
The Government share Sir Richard Scott's view that commercial confidentiality may, in many cases, continue to constitute a valid reason for withholding certain categories of information. The code of practice on access to Government information (Cm 2290) recognises the need to respect a third party's commercial confidences and other information given in confidence. It also recognises defence, security and international relations as reasons for withholding information. Nevertheless, these considerations need to be balanced against legitimate parliamentary and public interest in the provision of information about British defence exports, which are controlled strictly in accordance with our international obligations. We have therefore decided that we shall in future answer questions about defence exports as fully as the four constraints outlined above permit. Any exceptions will meet the test in the code of practice that the harm or prejudice which might arise from disclosure outweighs the public interest in making such information available.
A number of other countries provide annual reports on defence exports, containing varying degrees of detail. The Government propose in future to include as part of the annual statement on the Defence estimates a report about defence equipment exports to supplement the information already provided elsewhere.
(2) what assessment he has made of whether the royal maritime auxiliary service vessels which are to be handed over to Serco-Denholm comply with MSA regulations; and if he will make a statement; [38890]
Major General W. J. P. Robins
DGICS
Ministry of Defence
Room 1253
Main Building
Whitehall
London
SW1A 2HB
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