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UK-US Joint Strike Fighter Project

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if consideration of the continued participation in, and future purchase of, the United Kingdom/American joint strike fighter project will form part of the strategic defence review. [9517]

Mr. Spellar: Yes.

Nuclear Accidents

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the procedures for informing foreign Governments if an accident involving British-controlled nuclear weapons had happened on their soil, or within their territorial waters, before 26 September 1986. [10402]

29 Jul 1997 : Column: 178

Dr. Reid: If it had ever been necessary to inform a foreign Government of an accident involving a UK nuclear weapon we would have employed normal diplomatic procedures and bilateral defence contacts under the auspices of arrangements governing the stationing of UK forces. The ratification of the International Atomic Energy Agency convention on early notification of a nuclear accident on 26 September 1986 gave formal acknowledgement to the procedures which we would have adopted.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors led his Department to compile a central record of accidents involving nuclear weapons controlled by Britain or the USA on British territory in 1993.[10401]

Dr. Reid: The creation of such a record followed a specific recommendation contained in the report by Professor Sir Ronald Oxburgh on the safety of UK nuclear weapons, published in July, 1992. A copy of the report was placed in the Library of the House at the time.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which hospitals have been designated since 1967 to treat casualties following an accident involving British-controlled nuclear weapons (a) on Ministry of Defence land and (b) elsewhere. [10947]

Dr. Reid: There are and have been no hospitals specifically designated to receive casualties following a nuclear weapon accident. Decisions on the hospitals to be used would be a matter for the responding ambulance service in consultation with the hospitals.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances staff from the atomic weapons establishment, Aldermaston are sent to investigate an accident involving British-controlled nuclear weapons.[10945]

Mr. Spellar: The atomic weapons establishment would deploy a team of technical, scientific and other support specialists to the area of an accident involving a British nuclear weapon in response to a request from the Ministry of Defence's nuclear accident response organisation.

Armed Forces (Northern Ireland)

Sir George Young: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the current levels of armed forces personnel will be maintained in Northern Ireland following the announcement of the IRA ceasefire. [10559]

Dr. Reid: Force levels are kept under regular review to ensure that they are matched to the degree of support the Royal Ulster Constabulary needs. For the time being they are being maintained at current levels.

Services Museums

Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the services museums are housed in his Department's properties. [10752]

29 Jul 1997 : Column: 179

Dr. Reid: The following 33 regimental and corps museums are located on Ministry of Defence property:
Royal Dragoon Guards
King's Royal Hussars (Winchester)
Royal Armoured Corps and Royal Tank Regiment
Royal Regiment of Artillery
Corps of Royal Engineers
Royal Corps of Signals
Foot Guards
Royal Highland Fusiliers
Black Watch
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Winchester)
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Bury)
Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire
Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
Cheshire Regiment
Royal Regiment of Wales (Brecon)
Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (Gloucester)
Staffordshire Regiment
Light Infantry (Winchester and Bodmin)
Royal Irish Regiment (Ballymena and Armagh)
Royal Green Jackets
Parachute Regiment
Gurkhas
Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Dental Corps
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Royal Army Chaplains Department
Adjutant General's Corps (Royal Military Police)
Army Physical Training Corps
Household Cavalry
Royal Logistic Corps.

Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's continued funding for services museums. [10748]

Dr. Reid: My Department is acutely aware of the need to maintain a network of regimental and corps museums as instruments for projecting a positive image of the Army to the public and to underpin the Army's esprit de corps. An Army museums panel has recently been constituted whose responsibilities include reviewing the allocation of public funds that are applied to the operation of these museums.

Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which (a) scientific journals and (b) other open publications staff from the atomic weapons establishment at Aldermaston have published papers since 1992; and if he will list the dates on which the papers appeared in each of the journals and publications. [10948]

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Mr. Spellar: Since 1992 staff from the atomic weapons establishment at Aldermaston have published papers in the following scientific journals and other publications.

















































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