| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Soames: The minimum authorised altitude of 50 ft. above ground or sea level was in keeping with No. 1 group support helicopter air staff orders, authorised by the Air Office Commanding.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the latitude and longitude of (a) the first and (b) the second planned turning points after leaving Aldergrove on the route of Chinook ZD576 to Fort George on 2 June 1994; and if they were known to the board of inquiry into the aircraft's accident. [31639]
Mr. Soames: The board of inquiry determined that the latitude and longitude of the planned turning points were (a) N55 18.5' WOO5 48' and (b) N56" 43' WOO5 14'.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the global positioning system equipment on board Chinook ZD576 was found to have been (a) serviceable and (b) in use at the time of the crash on 2 June 1994. [31627]
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many hours each of the two pilots of Chinook ZD576 on 2 June 1994 had flown (a) in total and (b) on Chinooks. [31633]
Mr. Soames: The information is as follows:
Captain of the flight: (a) 3,165 hours (b) 683 hours Co-pilot: (a) 2,867 hours (b) 1,492 hours
Column 267
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the height above sea level of the initial impact of Chinook ZD576 on 2 June 1994. [31625]
Mr. Soames: Eight hundred and ten feet above mean sea level.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the flight of Chinook ZD576 from Aldergrove to Fort George on 2 June 1994 was found to have been properly authorised (a) at station level and (b) by RAF West Drayton. [31636]
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the planned en route ground speed of Chinook ZD576 for its flight to Fort George on 2 June 1994; and what was the estimated speed of the aircraft at impact. [31624]
Mr. Soames: The planned ground speed was 120 knots and the estimated ground speed at impact was 150 knots. The weather indicated a tailwind component.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours had been flown by each of the two pilots killed in the Chinook crash on 2 June 1994 (a) on previous flights on the day of the accident and (b) during the 30 days up to 2 June 1994. [31640]
Mr. Soames: The information is as follows:
Captain of the flight: (a) 5 hours 40 minutes (b) 59 hours Co-pilot: (a) 5 hours 40 minutes (b) 20 hours
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if each of the two pilots of Chinook ZD576 on 2 June 1994 had been given special clearances to fly passengers of high security status. [31628]
Mr. Soames: No such clearances were required.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the crew of Chinook ZD576 were informed of the high security status of their passengers from Aldergrove to Fort George on 2 June 1994 prior to planning their route for the flight. [31634]
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Chinook ZD576 was equipped with any form of electronic map or route display for its flight on 2 June 1994. [31626]
Mr. Soames: RAF Chinooks carry automatic chart displays in the cabin to provide secondary information to the loadmasters on the position of the aircraft. The board of inquiry was unable to establish whether the automatic chart display was in use during the flight.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the sortie planning for the flight of Chinook ZD576 from Aldergrove to Fort George included, at any stage, consideration of a flight at medium altitude. [31630]
Mr. Soames: Yes, but this was rejected because of the poor weather forecast.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what magnetic compass heading the Chinook ZD576 was flying immediately prior to impact; 2 June 1994; and what evidence there was that the aircraft had altered its heading in its last few minutes of flight. [31638]
Column 268
Mr. Soames: The compass heading at impact is not known. The board of inquiry determined that the magnetic track, which indicates the actual direction flown across the ground, was 025 at impact. There was no evidence of any significant heading change prior to impact.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what revisions have been made to the syllabus for training of Royal Air Force Chinook aircrew as a result of lessons learned from the inquiry into the crash on 2 June 1994. [31338]
Mr. Soames: Existing poor weather abort instructions have been reinforced and issued to all helicopter aircrew to remind them of the procedures to follow in weather conditions where it is unsafe to continue flying under visual flight rules.
Helicopters
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes have been made to RAF procedures for authorising officers to scrutinise route plans for low level helicopter sorties since 2 June 1994. [31629]
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the regulations governing the lookout duties of loadmaster crew on RAF Chinooks during personnel transport flights at low level in bad weather. [31632]
Mr. Soames: Where their primary duties in the aircraft cabin permit, loadmasters on RAF Chinooks are required to maintain a look out in their field of view.
Low Flying
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the minimum permitted altitude for air defence aircraft carrying out interceptions of ground attack aircraft flying at 100 ft above ground level in tactical training areas. [31334]
Mr. Soames: Two hundred and fifty feet minimum separation distance subject to prior approval by headquarters military air traffic operations.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the mandatory westward flow control for low-flying military aircraft in Glencoe includes the area between Glencoe village and the Ballachulish bridge. [31341]
Tartan Warrior
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sorties were flown during the recent exercise Tartan Warrior; how many of these were by ground attack aircraft; and what was the minimum permitted altitude for the ground attack aircraft involved in the exercise. [31336]
Mr. Soames: A total of 289 sorties were flown during the exercise, of which 200 were by ground attack aircraft. The minimum permitted altitude for the majority of the low-level sorties flown by ground attack aircraft was 250 ft minimum separation distance with a small proportion of sorties permitted down to 100 ft minimum separation distance.
Column 269
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advance information was given to the media concerning Exercise Tartan Warrior; and if he will list those media organisations to whom the information was sent. [31340]
Mr. Soames: Exercise Tartan Warrior was a small-scale squadron training exercise and in the circumstances advance information was not given to the media about all of the activity involved. Details of the use of Tain air weapons range were provided to Moray Firth Radio and to Aberdeen Journals Ltd.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the ground attack sorties during exercise Tartan Warrior involved carriage of live weapons. [31339]
Mr. Soames: Five sorties involved carriage of live weapons for practice ground attacks on Garvie Island weapons range.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the aim of the recent Tartan Warrior exercise; how many aircraft and of what types took part; and what plans he has for further exercises in this series. [31335]
Mr. Soames: The aim of the exercise was to provide both routine squadron training, and work-up prior to Exercise Air Warrior in the USA, for No. 41 Sqn RAF Coltishall. The following aircraft took part:
Ten Jaguar GR1As
Six Tornado GR1s
Eight Tornado F3s
Eight USAF F15s
A further exercise in the headquarters No. 1 group Tartan series involving No. 6 Sqn RAF Coltishall is planned for October 1995.
Uists and Benbecula (Military Personnel)
Mr. Macdonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the connection between the presence of military personnel on the Uists and Benbecula and the planned disposal of the Brent Spar. [32377]
Mr. Macdonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military personnel were present on the Uists and Benbecula on 20 June; and if any were members of the special forces. [32372]
Mr. Soames: The only military personnel present on the Uists and Benbecula on 20 June were those permanently attached to the Royal Artillery Range Hebrides and RAF Benbecula, and a unit of the RAF Regiment which was participating in a two-week training exercise on Benbecula. This exercise had been arranged some time in advance.
Dartmouth Royal Regatta
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the French Government which resulted in sending a French naval warship to the Dartmouth royal regatta; and what plans he has for informing hon. Members of the proposals. [32597]
Column 270
Mr. Soames: I understand that a French Navy navigational training ship will be visiting Dartmouth at the time of the Dartmouth royal regatta. This has been arranged through the usual naval channels which apply for visits of ships from other NATO navies. I am pleased to say that, due to changed operational requirements, it will be possible for HMS Orwell, a River class minesweeper which is the Dartmouth navigational training ship, to visit Dartmouth during the royal regatta.
Welfare Grants
Ms Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many voluntary sector organisations his Department has (a) paid grants to or (b) entered into contracts with in (i) 1993 94 and (ii) 1994 95; and what was the total value of these grants and
contracts. [31315]
Mr. Freeman: In 1993 94, my Department paid approximately £19 million to 34 voluntary sector organisations or bodies through grants for services related to welfare work for the armed forces and their families, and in the area of education and training. In addition to this it paid approximately £900,000 towards the cost of running organisations such as help, information, volunteer exchanges HIVES and homestart bureaux at numerous armed forces' bases in the United Kingdom and abroad.
For 1994 95, the figures were approximately £18 million to 34 organisations and £1 million to bureaux.
Defence Research Agency
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries for which work has been carried out in each of the last three years by Defence Research Agency. [31366]
Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency I have therefore asked him to reply.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 5 July 1995: In today's written answer the Secretary of State for Defence advised you that I would respond to your question about which countries for which the Defence Research Agency (DRA) has carried out work in each of the last three years since I am the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), which now includes the DRA.
I have listed below the countries with which the DRA has had contracts in the last three years. The excludes countries or organisations with which we have collaborative agreements on scientific and technical work and with which we may have cooperated in the period.
1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denmark |Australia |Australia
France |Bahrain |Bahrain
Germany |Brunei |Brunei
Italy |Canada |Canada
Japan |Denmark |Republic of China
Netherlands |France |Denmark
Portugal |Germany |France
Saudi Arabia |Italy |Germany
Spain |India |Hong Kong
Sweden |Japan |Hungary
Switzerland |Netherlands |India
USA |New Zealand |Italy
|Norway |Japan
|Pakistan |Malta
|Peru |Netherlands
|Portugal |Norway
|Republic of Ireland |Pakistan
|Saudi Arabia |Portugal
|Singapore |Saudi Arabia
|Spain |Singapore
|Sweden |Spain
|Switzerland |Sweden
|USA |Switzerland
|USA
Kenya
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military advice source support has been given to the Government of Kenya during each of the last three years. [31370]
Mr. Soames: It is not normally our practice to disclose precise details of military assistance given to any particular country as these are regarded as confidential between Governments. Over the past three years, military assistance to Kenya has mainly taken the form of places for Kenyan military personnel on training courses in the United Kingdom.
Atlantic Conveyor
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he made of the importance of the former Atlantic Conveyor to the Falklands campaign. [31720]
Mr. Soames: The Atlantic Conveyor played an important role in the Falklands conflict. The ship ferried vital naval Sea Harrier and RAF Harrier aircraft to the aircraft carriers. Her subsequent loss, with that of a number of naval and RAF helicopters and much urgently required stores still embarked, was a severe blow.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions have taken place between his Department and Cunard Steamship Company concerning the defence implications of the company's intention to sell the Atlantic Conveyor. [31732]
Mr. Soames: No discussions have taken place between my Department and the Cunard Steamship Company.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements were made for the availability to his Department of the Atlantic Conveyor since 1982. [31719]
Mr. Soames: The agreement between the Cunard Steamship Company and my Department covering the availability of the Atlantic Conveyor for defence purposes expired in January 1995. It is not my Department's policy to release the details of such agreements.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department was first notified by Cunard Steamship Company about its intention to sell the Atlantic Conveyor to a foreign owner. [31731]
Mr. Soames: The Cunard Steamship Company formally notified my Department of its intention to sell the Atlantic Conveyor in a letter dated 2 June 1995.
Column 272
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the financial contribution made by his Department towards the building of a replacement for the Atlantic Conveyor lost in the Falklands War. [31733]
Mr. Soames: The financial contribution made by my Department is commercially confidential.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements his Department has made to ensure the continued availability of the Atlantic Conveyor for Britain's armed forces following her intended sale to a foreign bidder. [31718]
Market Testing
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each of the last three financial years (a) those activities which have been subject to market testing and (b) those activities where an in- house bid has not been allowed. [32183]
Mr. Freeman: The following table lists, for each of the last three reporting periods, (a) those activities which have been subject to market testing that included a bid from the respective in-house organisation; and (b) those activities where an in-house bid was not allowed, that is, where the activity was strategically contracted out.
Winning bid by In-House Bid Team
1992 93
Gardening, Royal Marines, COMMACHIO Group
Gardening, Royal Marines, Lympstone
Gardening, Royal Marines Units, Poole
RAOC Print Section, Northern Ireland
Air Weapon Range, RAF Cowden
Support services, Gateway House, RAF Brize Norton
Aircraft Support Services, Boscombe Down
Elements of Experimental Flying Programme, Bedford/Boscombe Down 1993 94
Mechanical Handling Equipment, (repaid and maintenance), Devonport
18 Base Workshop, Army Base Repair Organisation, Bovington 1994 95
Financial Accounting, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency Activity contractorised following a Market Test with In-House Bid
1992 93
Tailoring, Northern Ireland
Ration delivery service, Northern Ireland
Air Weapon Range, RAF Holbeach
Flight checking, 115 Squadron, RAF Benson
Inspectorate of Recruitment Exhibition Production Flight, RAF Henlow
IT Processing DIGITS Operators West, Devizes
Property Management, Central London
Mess catering, Boscombe Down
TRIDENT in-service support
| Next Section
| Home Page |