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Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those sites within the United Kingdom where radioactive shells have been tested in the last 30 years.
Mr. Aitken : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to anti- armour kinetic energy penetrator rounds containing depleted uranium. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 14 June, Official Report, columns 474-75.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what year the testing of radioactive shells was first undertaken within the United Kingdom.
Mr. Aitken : I assume the hon. Member is referring to anti-armour kinetic energy penetrator rounds containing
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depleted uranium, DU. DU firings in the United Kingdom began with a small research programme at Eskmeals starting in 1963.Military Equipment Exports
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the United Kingdom's 20 principal military equipment customers in terms of descending money volume of purchases.
Mr. Aitken : It has been the policy of successive Governments not to reveal details of arms sales to individual countries. However, table 1.11 of "UK Defence Statistics 1993" gives information on the value of sales broken down by region.
Radiation-related Illness
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide a breakdown of the 126 claims for compensation from radiation- related illnesses, as outlined in A5, pages 39 to 40 of the Twelfth report of the Defence Committee, HC479, Session 1989-90, by establishment as well as by year and nature ; and if he will provide comparable information for periods since 1990.
Mr. Aitken : The tables give details of claims made--not necessarily followed up by the claimant or accepted--over the periods referred to in the Defence Committee report HC479, Session 1989-90 and the period from 1990.
Breakdown of claims by establishment
for the period January 1979
to December 1989
|Claims
----------------------------------------
AWE |101
ROF Radway Green |1
RNAY Fleetlands |1
RAF Whitney |1
RRE Malvern |2
RNAD Coulport |3
HNB Faslane |1
HNB Chatham |3
Devonport Dockyard |4
Rosyth Dockyard |2
Vickers-Barrow in Furness |1
HNB Portsmouth |1
Vulcan NRTE |1
HMS Dreadnought |1
HMS Battleaxe |1
Radar Site-Cyprus |1
British Rail Depot-Derby |1
For the period from January 1990 to July 1993, there have been 25 claims received so far.
Breakdown of claims by year and nature
for the period January 1990 to July 1993
Illness |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leukaemia |- |- |- |- |3
Acute Myeloid |- |- |- |1 |-
Acute Lymphoblastic |1 |- |- |- |-
Chronic Myeloid |- |1 |- |- |-
Cancer |- |- |- |- |10
(Unspecified) |1 |1 |1 |3 |-
Lung |1 |1 |- |- |-
Bladder |- |- |1 |- |-
Testicular |- |- |1 |- |-
Others
(Specified) |- |- |- |- |12
Hodgkins Disease
(Lymphoma) |- |1 |- |1 |-
Malignant Melanoma |1 |- |- |- |-
Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma |- |- |1 |- |-
Subarachnoid Haemorrhage |- |1 |- |- |-
Mental Anxiety |2 |2 |3 |- |-
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Sub Totals |6 |7 |8 |4 |25
Breakdown of claims by
establishment
for the period January 1990
to July 1993
|Number
-----------------------------
AWE |14
Rosyth |3
HNB Chatham |4
HMS Revenge |1
HMS Courage |1
RCC Amersham |1
RAF Waddington |1
Atomic Weapons Establishments
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) all laws, statutes and regulations which AWE Aldermaston could claim Crown immunity prior to 1 April and (b) all laws, statutes and regulations which Hunting BRAE, as managing contractors of AWE Aldermaston, can claim Crown immunity from ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : Prior to 1 April 1993, all AWE sites were owned and operated by the Crown. It is a well-established rule that the Crown is not bound by statute unless this is specifically stated, or it is clear that the Crown is to be bound by implication. To list all legislation from which AWE could have claimed Crown immunity prior to 1 April 1993 would therefore involve disproportionate effort and cost. However, even in circumstances where the Crown is not bound by legislation, it is Government policy that it should comply as though such requirements apply to it, wherever this is appropriate and practicable.
Special provisions relating to the operator of the AWE after contractorisation on 1 April 1993 are set out in the schedule to the AWE Act 1991.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions AWE Aldermaston is having with the nuclear installations inspectorate regarding the possibility of providing a site licence for the atomic weapons establishments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : In the studies leading up to the contractorisation of the atomic weapons establishment, my Department held discussions with the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate concerning the possible licensing of appropriate sites of the atomic weapons establishments. These discussions are planned to continue following the HSE review of health and safety at AWEs and in the light of the conclusions of that review.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provisions now govern the liability of contractors of the atomic weapons establishments, to prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive for any breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1976.
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Mr. Aitken : The contractor operating the atomic weapons establishment, Hunting BRAE Ltd., is subject to the full range of legal sanctions available to Health and Safety Executive inspectors under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Defence Commitments
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list the United Kingdom's overseas defence commitments by country in (a) 1980, (b) 1985 and (c) 1993 ; and what was the infantry manpower required to meet each of those commitments ; (2) if he will list the United Kingdom's domestic defence commitments in (a) 1980, (b) 1985 and (c) 1993 ; and what was the amount of infantry manpower required to meet each of those commitments.
Mr. Hanley : The United Kingdom's defence commitments worldwide are set out in the "Statement on the Defence Estimates" for 1980, 1985 and 1993 ; overall figures for deployments of each of the armed forces are set out in volume II of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates" for 1980 and 1985, and in "United Kingdom Defence Statistics 1993". Figures for infantry personnel stationed in the United Kingdom and overseas for 1980, 1985 and 1993 are as follows ;
Country |1980 |1985 |1993 ------------------------------------------------- United Kingdom |29,041 |26,147 |24,654 Germany |11,152 |9,921 |5,915 Cyprus |1,181 |1,162 |904 Gibraltar |581 |622 |18 Hong Kong |790 |801 |671 Caribbean |523 |574 |487 Falkland Islands |- |- |175 Others |541 |2,529 |1,548 Notes: 1. Separate figures are not available for the Falkland Islands for 1980 and 1985. Figures for those years are included under "Others". 2. Figures for Belize are included under "Caribbean".
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the sufficiency of United Kingdom Army personnel to meet (a) its domestic defence commitments and (b) its overseas defence commitments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : The size of the British Army matches its commitments at home and overseas.
Staff Numbers
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 19 July, Official Report, column 87-88, on the numbers of civilian and service staff in post, if he will publish the comparable figures for 1 January 1990.
Mr. Hanley : The information is as follows :