House of Commons Hansard Debates for 23 Nov 1993

Shipbuilding and Refitting

Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the dialogue over an industrial policy for shipbuilding and ship refitting will commence.

Mr. Aitken : The Government believe that industry is best placed to take the decisions necessary for its own success. My Department is, however, seeking to promote greater awareness of our likely future requirements through regular and continuing dialogue with industry.

MV Belvaux

Sir Nicholas Bonsor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date, for what purpose and for how many days MV Belvaux was chartered by his Department ; what nature of cargo the vessel was intended to carry ; for how many of the days chartered the vessel was employed on other tasks for his Department ; when the charter was cancelled ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : The MV Belvaux was taken up on time charter on 26 January 1993 against a contingency of transporting artillery units at short notice to reinforce the troops deployed by Bosnia. The charter lasted for 117 days and was relinquished on 22 May 1993 once developments in the former republic of Yugoslavia justified its termination. During the period of the time charter it was possible to make 23 days' use of the vessel for other purposes without compromising availability for the primary contingency task.

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Small Arms Nitro Compound

Sir Nicholas Bonsor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the facilities available in the United Kingdom for the manufacture of small arms nitro compound ; from which foreign countries it is imported ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Aitken : My Department does not purchase small arms ammunition propellant separately but procures the complete ammunition round from a prime contractor. It is for the prime contractor to decide on the source of the propellant used in his ammunition and to ensure that it meets the appropriate technical and performance standards. The capability to produce nitro-cellulose and nitro-glycerine for small arms ammunition does exist in the United Kingdom.

Channel Islands

Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement over remaining documents in his Department relating to the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands ; and if such documents have now been seen by the German authorities.

Mr. Hanley : There are very few closed documents relating to the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands. The German authorities' investigations are proceeding with MOD giving every assistance, including sight of the relevant files. The closed documents will be released on completion of the German inquiries.

Royal Tournament and Edinburgh Tattoo

Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current level of support from the services and from civilian staff of his Department for (a) the royal tournament, (b) the Edinburgh tattoo and (c) other similar scale events, showing the additional attributable cost ; what plans he has to reduce that level of support ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : The 1992 royal tournament, the most recent for which detailed figures are readily available, required support of about 19, 500 man days of effort from service personnel, excluding participants. The 1993 tournament was reduced in length from 29 to 20 performances, with a consequent reduction in effort. There are no MOD civilian staff directly employed on royal tournament tasks. The additional attributable costs--that is, costs which would not otherwise have been incurred, amounted to approximately £350,000 in 1992.

The 1993 Edinburgh tattoo required support of a little over 5,000 man days of effort from service personnel, excluding participants. Some MOD civilian staff worked overtime in support of the tattoo and a number of casual cleaners were hired for its duration. The total attributable costs were some £60,000.

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There are no other events comparable to the royal tournament and the Edinburgh tattoo.

There are no plans at present for further reductions in support to these events.

Nuclear Warheads

Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the number of nuclear warheads which have been destroyed by the Russian Government under the provisions of the START 2 treaty.

Mr. Hanley : The START 2 treaty has not yet come into effect and cannot legally do so until START 1 enters into force. Therefore, no nuclear warheads have been destroyed by the Russian Government as a result of the terms of the START 2 treaty.

Mr. David Hart

Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of Mr. David Hart's visit to RAF Strike Command on 27 May ; how long the visit lasted ; and whom he met.

Mr. Hanley : Mr. David Hart was invited by the Chief of the Air Staff to receive a briefing on the role and organisation of RAF Strike Command in the context of an article written by Mr. Hart in The Spectator magazine published in February 1993. During a half-day visit, Mr. Hart met the Commander in Chief and a number of his senior staff.

Search and Rescue

Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the search-and-rescue services at RAF Chivenor ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : The Wessex search-and-rescue (SAR) flight at RAF Chivenor is planned to be replaced by the Sea King SAR flight from RAF Brawdy in April 1994. This decision will be looked at again in light of the decision which I announced on 11 November, to move a battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers into temporary accommodation at RAF Brawdy from August 1994, and once the outcome of the review into the rationalisation of RAF flying training stations is known. partment's market-testing programme ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Aitken : We intend to market test, in the four years to March 1996, activities currently costing £1.2 billion each year to undertake in-house and employing over 40,000 people.

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