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Trafalgar Class Submarine
24. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the procurement of the second batch of Trafalgar class submarine; and if he will make a statement. [18058]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Negotiations continue with GEC-Marconi. Subject to a satisfactory conclusion, I hope to make an announcement around Easter.
Challenger 2 Tanks
25. Mr. Riddick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Challenger 2 tanks he expects will be delivered to the Army in the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [18059]
Mr. Arbuthnot: An order for a further 259 Challenger 2 main battle tanks was placed with Vickers plc in July 1994, bringing the total ordered to 386. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence informed the House on 24 October 1996, Official Report, columns 7-8, that the in-service date for Challenger 2 would be June 1998. Thirty-six tanks have already been delivered and I expect the remainder to have been delivered to the Army by February 2002.
Front-line Infantry
26. Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many front-line infantry there are currently; and what estimate he has made of the number required to fulfil the Army's existing responsibilities. [18060]
Mr. Soames: As at 1 February 1997, the strength of the front line infantry, including the Gurkhas and Royal Irish Regiment, general service, was 24,200 officers and soldiers against a corresponding establishment of 26,200.
Horizon Frigate
28. Mr. Eric Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Horizon frigate will come into operational service. [18062]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The common new generation frigate will have major operational importance. It remains our intention to bring the vessel into service as soon as practicable, which is planned to be 2004.
Defence Industries (Employment)
29. Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of people employed in the United Kingdom defence industries. [18063]
11 Mar 1997 : Column: 186
Mr. Arbuthnot:
We estimate that in 1994-95--the latest year for which figures are available--my Department's contracts for equipment and other goods and services sustained some 270,000 jobs in the United Kingdom. We estimate that a further 90,000 United Kingdom jobs depended on defence exports.
30. Mr. Batiste:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what upgrades are planned in the Army's fighting capabilities over the next two years. [18064]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
Over the next two years we plan to bring into service with the Army a number of major new equipments, including the Challenger 2 main battle tank, additional Rapier Field Standard C fire units, the Phoenix unmanned air vehicle, the Bridging for the Nineties family of bridges, the Shielder vehicle-launched scatterable anti-tank mine system and the truck utility light/truck utility medium. The Army's deployability and manoeuvrability will be improved by the acquisition of a second ro-ro transport for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and new C130J transport aircraft and additional Chinook helicopters for the Royal Air Force. At the same time, as announced last month, we are planning to improve Army manning, including through a new Army Foundation college, and to strengthen key units at the higher end of the readiness spectrum.
Mr. Sweeney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's claim for compensation for damage caused to Tornado F3 aircraft by Airwork Ltd. [20069]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
A negotiated settlement has been reached in respect of my Department's claim for structural damage to Tornado F3 aircraft while being modified by Airwork Ltd. during 1992-93. I am pleased to report that, of the 16 aircraft involved, 11 have been repaired and delivered back to the RAF and the remainder will be delivered progressively over the next few weeks, with the last due for delivery in May this year. One aircraft was lost in the crash off Blackpool in September 1996, the cause of which was not related to the modification programme on which Airwork had been engaged. The F3 aircraft were repaired by replacing the damaged centre fuselages with those from surplus F2 aircraft which had been earmarked for disposal. This was to ensure that the aircraft were returned to operational service as soon as possible.
In choosing to replace the centre fuselage, the aircraft have been given valuable additional fatigue life. The overall cost of this work has been around £20 million. Taking this improvement into account, together with the costs which might have been incurred had arbitration been pursued, we have agreed that the Bricom Group, which owned Airwork at the time of the damage, will pay £5 million to the Ministry of Defence in settlement of our claim.
Mr. Callaghan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the expenditure on equipment in each of the last five years for each of the armed services. [19679]
11 Mar 1997 : Column: 187
Mr. Arbuthnot:
I refer to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 28 November 1996, Official Report, column 386.
Mr. Harry Greenway :
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops are expected to be stationed in Gibraltar over the next five years; at what cost; and if he will make a statement. [18596]
Mr. Soames:
Current UK force levels in Gibraltar were determined in the Review of the Gibraltar Garrison and announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Barnes (Mr. Henley) when Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 7 July 1994, Official Report, columns 262-63. The review identified the core activities central to our defence responsibilities there. At present, there are some 660 service personnel stationed in Gibraltar, including about 160 members of the Gibraltar Regiment. On current plans, there will be about 50 fewer personnel stationed in Gibraltar in five years' time. These projected force levels enable us fully to carry out our core tasks. They are a clear manifestation of Her Majesty's Government's continuing commitment to the people of Gibraltar.
Over the same period, the cost of the Gibraltar garrison will reduce to less than £50 million per annum, compared with expected costs of some £63 million for the current financial year.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost to his Department of producing the document, "British Defence Doctrine"; who will receive the receipts from the sale of the publication; what factors determined the pricing of the book; how many copies were produced; what is the role of the Royal United Services Institute in the publication; and if he will make a statement. [19628]
Mr. Soames:
"British Defence Doctrine" was produced at a direct cost to my Department's budget of £134,801. This includes the cost of the dedicated team set up to write the document. A total of 35,000 copies of the book have been produced, 33,000 of which are for internal MOD use. The other 2,000 are for sale to the public. We have agreed with the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies that it will sell these additional copies through its existing book option scheme, its Whitehall series of publications and other marketing avenues. It is involved solely in the marketing of the book and has had no involvement with the editorial content. Receipts from those copies available for sale to the public will be split equally between my Department, to offset the cost of producing the additional copies for public sale, and the Royal United Services Institute, to offset its costs of marketing and selling the book. In determining the price for the book an assumption on likely sales was based on sales to date of "The Fundamentals of British Maritime Doctrine" and a price set that was assessed as being reasonable and in line with similar publications.
11 Mar 1997 : Column: 188
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of merchant vessels chartered for use in military exercises or operations involving United Kingdom forces, indicating the flag nationality of those vessels and the total cost of these charters, for each of the last seven years. [19619]
Mr. Soames:
Total figures for the period before 1992 could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. The number of merchant vessels chartered for use in military exercises/operations involving United Kingdom forces over the period 1992-1997 are as follows:
1992
Thirty five vessels were chartered--20 Danish, seven German, two Norwegian, two Swedish, one Dutch, one Luxembourg, one Bahamian, one Italian--at a total cost of £12,067,580.
1993
Twenty six vessels were chartered--nine Swedish, nine Danish, three Norwegian, two German, one French, one Luxembourg, one Spanish--at a total cost of £5,495,841.
1994
Ten vessels were chartered--seven Danish, one Norwegian, one German, one Spanish--at a total cost of £2,369,569.
1995
Thirty five vessels were chartered--nine Danish, four Spanish, four German, three Maltese, three Norwegian, two Swiss, two Greek, two Ukrainian, one British, one Polish, one Panamanian, one Italian, one Finnish, one Dutch--at a total cost of £9,779,266.
1996
Forty three vessels were chartered--seven Norwegian, seven Ukrainian, four Danish, four German, four Bahamian, four Swiss, two Panamanian, two maltese, two Finnish, two Polish, one Swedish, one Liberian, one Italian, one Cypriot, one Spanish--at a total cost of £15,569,937.
1997 (up to 28 February)
Three vessels have been chartered so far--two Danish and one Swiss--at a total cost of £631,966.
Note:
Some vessels may have been chartered on more than one occasion.
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