---

Nuclear Co-operation

Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 1996, Official Report, column 220, if he will list the (a) dates,

23 Jan 1997 : Column: 686

(b) sites visited and (c) purpose of each of the visits made by (i) Delegation Generale pour l'Armement and (ii) Commisariat a l'Energie Atomique officials to the atomic weapons establishments indicating the department represented by the officials. [11517]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Details of visits are as follows. It is not possible to be more precise since details are not held centrally.

Date(s)	Aldermaston	Burghfield	Foulness
November 1992- March 1993	1	1	2
Financial year 1993-94	4	3	0
Financial year 1994-95	3	1	1
Financial year 1995-96	4	3	1
April 1996-October 1996	4	0	0

The other four visits referred to in the earlier response were to MOD headquarters. I have decided to withhold the information requested about the visits and those involved, under exemption 1 of the code of practice on access to Government information relating to defence, security and international relations.

Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of occasions in each of the last five financial years that personnel from the atomic weapons establishments have visited (a) CEA and (b) DGA facilities. [11483]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Details of visits are as follows:

	Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique	Delegation Generale pour l'Armement
1991-92	5	5
1992-93	10	6
1993-94	5	3
1994-95	15	--
1995-96	8	2

Trident

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the sums allocated to the Trident programme which are currently (a) committed but unspent and (b) uncommitted. [12416]

Mr. Arbuthnot: As at the end of September 1996, £550 million had been committed but not yet spent and approximately £860 million remained uncommitted.

Konver Scheme

Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful attempts have been made by his Department in the last four years to obtain funds from the EU's Konver scheme; and what funds have been allocated to the United Kingdom under this scheme. [12417]

Mr. Arbuthnot: My Department has made no bids for Konver funds as it is not eligible to do so. We have, however, supported a number of projects bidding for such

23 Jan 1997 : Column: 687

funds where it was appropriate to do so. Matters relating to the Konver scheme as a whole are for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

Trident Safety Facility, Devonport

Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if (a) the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and (b) the MOD nuclear safety authority have assessed the proposed design of the new Trident safety facility at Devonport to be safe; and if he will make a statement. [12087]

Mr. Arbuthnot: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Ships Support Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from R.V. Babington to Mr. Alan Simpson, dated 23 January 1997:

I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the safety of the proposed design of the Trident facilities at Devonport, as this project falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Ships Support Agency.

The Preliminary Safety Report for the Trident Facilities Project (D154) at Devonport was submitted by Devonport Management Limited (DML), the Dockyard operator, to both the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) and the MOD Nuclear Safety Authority in September 1994.

The NII and the MOD Nuclear Safety Authority both responded to DML on the Preliminary Safety Report. A number of technical matters were raised in their responses though these included no substantive issues of nuclear safety from either of the Regulatory Authorities.

Stabilisation Force

Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate he has made of the savings on the cost of flights to and from Italy and former Yugoslavia in support of the stabilisation force operation if such military flights were permitted to fly through Swiss airspace; [12387]

(2) if the Government of Switzerland have offered transit facilities for stabilisation force military traffic to and from UN-authorised operations in former Yugoslavia.[12386]

Mr. Soames: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Britannia

Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the proposed itinerary and engagements to be undertaken by the royal yacht Britannia up to the date set for its decommissioning. [12390]

Mr. Soames: On 20 January, HMY Britannia left Portsmouth for a seven-month deployment to the Arabian gulf, the Indian ocean and the far east. In the period up to July, it is hoped that HMY Britannia will conduct the following engagements:

23 Jan 1997 : Column: 688

Date	Location	Duty
27 January	Malta	Formal visit for High Commission event
1 February	Port Said	Routine visit
6 February	Hodeida	Formal visit for Embassy event
7-9 February	Aden	Formal visit for Embassy event
14-15 February	Dubai	Commercial events
16-18 February	Doha	Commercial events
19-22 February	Kuwait City	Royal visit by HRH The Prince of Wales
24 February	Bahrain	Royal visit by HRH The Prince of Wales
25-27 February	Doha	Royal visit by HRH The Prince of Wales
2-7 March	Karachi	Commercial events
9-14 March	Mumbai	Commercial events
19-25 March	Chennai	Commercial events
29 March- 3 April	Phuket	Informal visit/fuel
4-9 April	Penang	Informal visit/fuel
10-13 April	Klang	Formal visit for High Commission event
14-18 April	Singapore City	Formal visit for High Commission event
18 April- 6 May	Sembawang	Self Maintenance Period
9-14 May	Bangkok	Formal visit for Embassy event
19-20 May	Manila	Formal visit for Embassy event
26-31 May	Tokyo	Commercial events
1 June	Nagoya	Commercial event
2-6 June	Kobe	Commercial events
8-14 June	Inchon	Formal visit for Embassy event
16-20 June	Okinawa	Informal visit/fuel
23-30 June	Hong Kong	Royal visit by HRH The Prince of Wales, to attend the handover ceremonies

The programme for Britannia between July and her decommissioning in December has not yet been finalised.

Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days the royal yacht Britannia was at sea in 1996; what functions were carried out; what was the total cost to his Department of the royal yacht in 1995-96; and what estimate he has made of the costs up to the date of decommissioning. [12391]

Mr. Soames: In 1996, Britannia was at sea for 116 days during which she carried out the following duties:

Date	Location	Duty
27-28 February	Ponta Delgada	Routine visit/fuel
6-9 March	Bermuda	Informal visit/fuel
12-17 March	Palm Beach	Royal visit by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
18-20 March	Savannah	Commercial events
22-26 March	Baltimore	Commercial events
28 March- 8 April	Boston	Commercial events and self maintenance period
15-22 April	Toronto	Commercial events
26-27 April	Halifax	Routine visit/fuel
3 May	Ponta Delgada	Routine visit/fuel
22 June	Douglas	Royal visit by HRH The Prince of Wales
25 June	Belfast	Royal visit by HRH The Prince of Wales
26-27 June	Londonderry	Royal visit by HRH The Prince of Wales
5 July	Marchwood	Royal visit by HM The Queen Mother
6-7 July	Falmouth	Royal visit by HM The Queen Mother
11-14 July	Amsterdam	Royal visit by HRH The Duke of Kent
31 July- 7 August	Cowes	HRH The Duke of Edinburgh embarked
10 August	Stranraer	Royal visit by Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
17 August	Aberdeen	Royal visit by Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

23 Jan 1997 : Column: 689

Britannia's running costs for 1995-96 were £7.3 million. Costs for the period up to the royal yacht's decommissioning at the end of this year will depend on her programme, which has not yet been finalised.

Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for a replacement for the royal yacht Britannia; and what proportion of public finance they include. [12392]

Mr. Soames: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.

---