11 Feb 1997 : Column: 85
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 11 February 1997
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Unisex Hairdresser
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee what plans he has to provide a unisex hairdresser in the House of Commons. [15184]
Mr. Michael J. Martin: At its meeting on 28 January, the Committee recommended that the existing barber's shop become a unisex operation. The Serjeant at Arms has been instructed to consult all interested parties, with a view to implementing the Committee's recommendation at the earliest opportunity.
DEFENCE
Army Manpower
1. Mr. Stott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has introduced to reduce the manpower shortfall in the Army. [13713]
Mr. Soames: We have introduced a range of measures to improve recruitment and retention in the Army. These are already having an effect, with recruitment significantly improved on last year's performance.
Defence-related Equipment Exports
14. Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is Britain's share of the world market for exports of defence-related equipment. [13728]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Provisional figures show that exporters of British defence equipment achieved around 25 per cent. of the world market in 1996, on all-time best for British industry.
Cadet Corps
15. Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to encourage cadet corps in (a) schools and (b) elsewhere. [13729]
Mr. Soames: The Government are considering ways of increasing the scope of the cadet forces to allow even more young people to benefit from voluntary membership. A thorough examination of where resources can be most effectively applied is currently under way.
16. Sir Colin Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current strength of the sea cadet, Army cadet and the Air Force cadet units. [13730]
Mr. Soames:
The current strengths of these cadet forces total 22,375 adults, and 88,780 cadets. I have placed a breakdown of these figures in the Library of the House.
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17. Mrs. Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on a replacement for the royal yacht. [13731]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
A number of representations have been received concerning the future royal yacht, including several inquiries from industry and a substantial volume of letters from members of the public.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts valued at over £1 million have been signed on the royal yacht Britannia in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [14635]
Mr. Soames
[holding answer 6 February 1997]: This information is not held centrally but, as an illustrative example, during Britannia's visit to Bombay in November 1993, contracts worth £1.2 billion were signed on board.
I should explain that while other contracts have certainly been completed aboard Britannia, the primary purpose of her export promotion activities is in initiating and fostering commercial contracts rather than providing a venue for the formal signature of contracts.
Mr. Hanson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whom he consulted prior to the announcement on the replacement for the royal yacht. [13721]
Mr. Portillo:
There were widespread consultations within Government, both at official and ministerial level, prior to the announcement on 22 January.
Mr. Kirkwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the commercial functions which took place on the royal yacht Britannia in each of the last three years and the companies involved; and if he will make a statement. [15010]
Mr. Soames:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) on 10 February, Official Report, columns 2-4.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which United Kingdom companies made use of visits by HMY Britannia in 1996 to promote their business. [15204]
Mr. Soames:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) on 10 February, Official Report, columns 2-4.
18. Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's estimate of the manpower of the Royal Navy on 1 April 1999.[13732]
Mr. Soames:
It is estimated that the strength of the Royal Navy, including the Royal Marines, will be 44,000 on 1 April 1999.
19. Mr. Norman Hogg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the withdrawal of his Department's booklet in respect of the use by ramblers of the MOD estate. [13733]
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Mr. Soames:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 December 1996, Official Report, column 347
20. Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the benefits resulting from the establishment of a joint rapid deployment force. [13734]
Mr. Soames:
The establishment of the joint rapid deployment force has enhanced dramatically our fighting capability by creating a joint force trained and equipped to respond effectively and speedily to future crises.
21. Dr. Spink:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to enhance the fighting capability of the Royal Navy. [13735]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 January, Official Report, column 223.
22. Mr. Dover:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Eurofighter will be ready for service.[13736]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
Our intention is that the first Eurofighter will be delivered to the RAF in December 2001.
23. Mr. Clifton-Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action his Department is taking to ensure that service men remain in the armed forces after marriage. [13737]
Mr. Soames:
We fully recognise the importance of retaining married service personnel within the armed forces. Consequently, a wide range of incentives exists to retain and support service personnel who are married and who may have families. One of the most important is the provision of subsidised family accommodation that is located close to the service person's place of duty. These are usually in the form of married quarter estates, which allow service personnel and their families to live together in a safe and convenient community that is supported by voluntary welfare services. The armed forces also support home ownership by offering beneficial loans to service personnel and, in association with industry, a savings scheme and preferential mortgage package.
Various allowances are also targeted at married service personnel and their families. These range from assistance with boarding school education for families who are most affected by frequent moves to allowances which provide financial recompense for the disturbance caused by moving and those which compensate for the extra cost of living when serving abroad.
24. Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of Chinese military strength; and if he will make a statement. [13738]
Mr. Soames:
The Chinese armed forces are the largest in the world, with a strength of about 3 million. These are being reduced in size as part of a wider modernisation
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plan which aims to create better equipped and more mobile conventional forces and to update China's missile forces and strategic nuclear arsenal. The size of the People's Liberation Army and of the Chinese military-industrial complex none the less means that modernisation will be a selective and gradual process.
25. Sir Jim Spicer:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the role of cruise and Pershing missiles in the defence of NATO in 1983-84. [13739]
Mr. Soames:
The introduction of cruise and Pershing missiles played an essential part in maintaining NATO's deterrent posture at a time when the Soviet Union was modernising and increasing its nuclear forces. Deployment of these systems paved the way for the successful conclusions of the intermediate nuclear forces treaty in 1987.
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