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Column 896

Guyana

Hong Kong

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kenya

Kuwait

Lebanon

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Malawi

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal

Netherlands

Norway

New Zealand

Oman

Pakistan

Paraguay

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Singapore

Slovakia

Spain

Sri Lanka

Swaziland

Sweden

St. Vincent

Thailand

Trinidad and Tobago

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

United States of America

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

The details of training provided for overseas military personnel are not normally disclosed as they are confidental between Governments.

FH70 (Ammunition)

Sir Nicholas Bonsor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 1 December, Official Report, column 606, what were the outline terms of the trinational memorandum of understanding with Germany and Italy governing the procurement of 155 mm ammunition for the FH70 gun ; why primers manufactured in Germany were procured ; what proportion of the ammunition originally procured under the terms of this MOU remains in service ; whether ammunition for the AS90 is to be procured under the terms of the MOU ; and when he now expects to place orders in the United Kingdom for further 155 mm ammunition.

Mr. Aitken : The trinational MOU with Germany and Italy for FH70, which was signed in 1970, covers the development, evaluation and production of a towed 155 mm howitzer and its ammunition--comprising the L15 HE shell, charges and primers. The MOU allocates work between the three Governments, giving responsibility for

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production of primers to Germany. In fact, there is no alternative source of supply for these primers. Stocks of the same 155 mm ammunition were also purchased for use with the M109 gun and there is no differentiation in the current holdings of 155 mm ammunition between that originally procured for the FH70 and M109 guns. Therefore, it is not possible to state how much of the ammunition purchased for FH70 under the terms of the MOU remains in service. There have been no purchases of this 155 mm ammunition for several years. Ammunition for the AS90 howitzer will not be procured under the terms of this MOU, but under our normal procedures by competitive tender. Current purchases of 155 mm ammunition are limited to relatively small amounts for training ; no major order for 155 mm ammunition is imminent. The country of manufacture of this ammunition will be determined by whichever company wins the contract to provide it.

Combat-ready Aircrew

Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the requirement for all combat-ready RAF strike/attack/reconnaissance fast jet aircrew to be current in operational low flying down to 100 ft was introduced ; and if this requirement applies to (a) Buccaneer crews, (b) Canberra reconnaissance crews, (c) instructors on the Haw aircraft and (d) instructors in the Tornado, Harrier and Jaguar reserve squadrons.

Mr. Hanley : The requirement for all combat-ready RAF strike/attack/reconnaissance fast jet aircrew to be current in operational low flying came into effect on 1 May 1993 for aircrew of No. 1 Group RAF Strike Command and on 1 November 1993 for aircrew of No. 2 Group. Canberra reconnaissance crews, instructors on Hawk aircraft and instructors on Tornado, Harrier and Jaguar reserve squadrons are not required to be current in operational low flying. In keeping with their maritime role, however, Buccaneer crews are required to be current in operational low flying over the sea.

Low Flying

Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of authorised operational low-flying movements, broken down by tactical training areas and by aircraft type, (a) in each year since 1979 and (b) in each month between January 1982 and June 1982.

Mr. Hanley : My noble Friend the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

Lance Corporal Gary Fryer

Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now provide a copy of the police report and inquest reports on the death of Lance Corporal Gary Fryer No. 24792566 to his parents.

Mr. Hanley : I am not yet able to give the next of kin a summary of the report by the special investigation branch of the Royal Military Police. This is because the inquest cannot be held until an appeal by the driver responsible for the accident against the sentence on him from a German court has been completed. That appeal has yet to be heard.

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Once the inquest has been held, the next of kin of Lance Corporal Fryer will be sent a copy of the summary which would also cover the German police road traffic report.

Plutonium

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much plutonium has been used in United Kingdom nuclear warhead production since 1953 ; and what is the current total inventory of weapons plutonium at nuclear sites in the United Kingdom and overseas territories.

Mr. Hanley : In the interests of national security, this information cannot be made public, the harm test, as set out in paragraph 3.7 of the White Paper on open government--Cm 2290--being applicable.

Hercules

Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what stage the C130K Hercules fleet is at in its life cycle.

Mr. Hanley : The aircraft is now some 26-years-old, having entered service in 1967. At purchase, it was foreseen that the fleet would have a life of only 13 years. However, following major wing modifications in the 1970s, and ongoing fatigue monitoring, the majority of the fleet is expected to last until 2007.

Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what distinguishes the C130K Hercules, or similar military airlifter, from its civil counterparts in terms of operational capability and on-board equipment.

Mr. Hanley : The basic aircraft structure, systems and engines for both the civil and military variants of the Hercules transport aircraft are likely to be the same. Civil aircraft are not generally equipped for tactical tasks such as air dropping of troops, equipment or supplies, may not be capable of operating onto unprepared strips and are not equipped with the defensive aids necessary for operating in hostile airspace.

Aircraft (Hazardous Loads)

Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions apply to the carriage of live ordnance and other hazardous payloads on aircraft leased by the Ministry of Defence from civil contractors.

Mr. Hanley : The carriage of dangerous air cargo--DAC--by air is governed by the United Nations through the International Civil Aviation Organisation--ICAO--which issues technical instructions which regulate how cargoes should be packed and the restrictions to be applied with regard to their safe transport. With regard to the live ordnance and hazardous items of a similar nature, the ICAO regulations preclude their carriage on civil aircraft and these restrictions would be applied to any civil aircraft leased by the MOD.

Trident

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Her Majesty's Government have purchased any Trident missiles to replace those used by the United States for testing.

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Mr. Hanley : No.

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Polaris and (b) Trident submarines are assumed to be operational at any one time in calculating the level of operational explosive firepower of Britain's nuclear forces and their subsequent reduction.

Mr. Hanley : The anticipated reduction of more than 25 per cent. in the explosive power of the United Kingdom's operational nuclear inventory when Trident is fully in service compared with 1990 is based on the overall number of United Kingdom nuclear

weapons--excluding any awaiting final breakdown--irrespective of how many may be deployed at any one time on submarines.

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the transfer of Britain's sub-strategic nuclear capability to the Trident fleet requires any modification to the Trident missile purchase arrangements.

Mr. Hanley : No.

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the funds allocated for the purchase of Trident missiles is spent on administration surcharges.

Mr. Hanley : Three per cent.

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total number of Trident missiles being purchased by the United Kingdom are to be used in test firing.

Mr. Hanley : On current plans, about 20 per cent. of the total number of United Kingdom's Trident missiles will be test fired.

Nuclear Tests

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the 204 nuclear tests, the existence of which was made public by the United States Energy Secretary on 7 December, were jointly conducted with the United Kingdom.

Mr. Hanley : One. I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, Central (Sir P. Beresford) on 8 December, Official Report, column 298.

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Sir P. Beresford) of 8 December, Official Report, column 298, what was the code name of the nuclear test carried out at the Nevada test site on 25 September 1964 ; and with which United States laboratory this test was carried out.

Mr. Hanley : The test, codenamed Courser, was carried out in conjunction with the Los Alamos national laboratory.

WE177 Bombs

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the reduction in nuclear explosive firepower calculated by his Department assumes the stockpile of WE177 bombs to be deployed at (a) their highest yield, (b) their lowest yield or (c) a mixture of yields.

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Mr. Hanley : It is not our practice to discuss details of nuclear weapon design, but the anticipated reduction of more than 25 per cent. in the explosive power of the United Kingdom's operational nuclear inventory when Trident is fully in service compared with 1990 is based on the full yield of all the weapons in the United Kingdom's stockpile.

MOD Dwellings

Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many dwellings are currently owned by the MOD ; how many htary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many dwellings owned by his Ministry in Plymouth are currently unoccupied.

Mr. Hanley : As at 30 September 1993 the MOD owned 252 vacant dwellings in Plymouth, of which 245 were service married quarters and seven were MOD civilian houses. Of these properties, 107 were undergoing major maintenance work or modernisation and 63 were already allocated to service families who were due to move in shortly. In addition, some 47 vacant service married quarters were in the process of being sold.

Rapid Deployment Force Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the size and cost of the United Kingdom contribution to the rapid deployment force.

Mr. Hanley : In addition to the headquarters framwork, the United Kingdom is assigning to the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps-- ARRC--the 1st United Kingdom Armoured Division, 3rd (UK) Division, and combat service support for both these divisions. The United Kingdom is also assigning 24 Airmobile Brigade to the Multinational Division (Central)-- MND(C)--together with a contribution to the divisional HQ and communications elements and corps troops. I will write to the hon. Member about the costs of the United Kingdom contribution.

Press Releases

Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press releases his Department has issued in each year since 1979.

Mr. Hanley : Details of press releases issued by the Ministry of Defence before 1985 are not available. Since that year, the number of press releases issued centrally by the MOD have been as follows : 


       |Number       

---------------------

1985   |207          

1986   |190          

1987   |119          

1988   |149          

1989   |165          

1990   |263          

1991   |259          

1992   |307          

1993   |<1>181       

<1> to 14 December

Command and district offices and bases of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force are encouraged to issue press releases to their local media. Full records of these are not maintained.

Press Officers

Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers his Department has employed in each year since 1983.

Mr. Hanley : Reliable manning figures are not available for the period prior to 1987 and estimates based on complements are provided for these earlier years. On this basis, the numbers employed in the Ministry of Defence Press Office have been : 


        |Number       

----------------------

1983-85 |27           

1985-87 |23           

1987-92 |20           

1992    |13           

1993    |16

Military Airfields

Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the military airfields in respect of which payments have been made by his Department equivalent to injurious affection compensation under the Land Compensation Acts.

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