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Aircraft Requirements
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the competition for Tranche 2 of the Hercules Replacement Programme and the possibility of leasing C-17 aircraft. [23137]
Mr. Spellar:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 5 November 1997, Official Report, column 255. One of the aims of the Strategic Defence Review is to ensure that our Armed Forces are properly equipped to undertake the tasks asked of them. Our air transport requirement is therefore being scrutinised closely in the Strategic Defence Review.
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Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to issue the invitation to tender for the RAF's Tranche 2 airlift requirements to Lockheed Martin and Boeing/McDonnell Douglas for a full competition. [23140]
Mr. Spellar:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 5 November 1997, Official Report, column 255. We are still considering with partners how a competition involving other aircraft might be organised.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of discussion of C-17 leasing on efforts to integrate (a) European aerospace companies, and (b) the aerospace industry in general. [23143]
Mr. Spellar:
One of the aims of the Strategic Defence Review is to ensure that our Armed Forces are properly equipped to undertake the tasks asked of them. Our air transport requirement is therefore being scrutinised closely in the Strategic Defence Review. Where appropriate, industrial and other implications will be taken into account in reaching decisions on the way ahead.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the (a) cost, (b) viability and (c) acceptability to the Royal Air Force of the Royal Air Force operating three types of heavy-lift aircraft; [23136]
(3) when the Government will make a full public statement on his Department's requirement for an outsize cargo airlift capability within the SDR; [23141]
(4) what conclusions have so far been reached as part of the SDR in relation to the future of the FLA. [23139]
Mr. Spellar:
One of the aims of the Strategic Defence Review is to ensure that the Armed Forces are properly equipped to undertake the tasks asked of them. Our air transport requirement is therefore being scrutinised closely in the Review. We will announce our conclusions in the White Paper to be published at the end of the Review.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account will be taken of the importance of maintaining aerospace jobs in (a) Chorley and (b) other North-West Region constituencies in future airlift planning. [23142]
Mr. Spellar:
Any decision on our future airlift capability will take account of all industrial and employment issues, as well as all other relevant factors.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the criteria which Booker Foodservice are required to apply in meeting the best value for money terms under their contract to supply meat to the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [23974]
Mr. Spellar:
The Department's food supply contractor is bound to seek best market prices for meat. All purchasers are required to conform with quality
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specifications which, together with statutory requirements, ensure that only meat of an acceptable standard is supplied.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the contract terms which require Booker Foodservice to give full consideration to British products in procuring meat for the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [23973]
Mr. Spellar:
The Department has specifically asked Booker Foodservice to ensure that it gives full consideration to the supply of British meat where this would meet the contract specifications and provide best value for money.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if all meat and all meat products procured for the Armed Forces comply with (a) Council Directive 64/433/EEC, (b) the Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) (No. 2) Regulations 1996 and (c) the UK specified risk material controls; and if he will make a statement. [23976]
Mr. Spellar:
Yes. Meat and meat products for the Armed Forces are obtained from contractors who obtain their supplies on the open market and those suppliers are required to meet all the statutory regulations.
Mr. Laurence Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the United Kingdom is contributing to the total cost of the Eurofighter; what percentage this represents of the total; what percentage of the work on the building and maintenance of the Eurofighter is to be carried out in the United Kingdom; and how many jobs will be created in the United Kingdom as a result of the project. [23388]
Mr. George Robertson:
The latest estimated procurement cost of the Eurofighter programme is £42.8 billion, £15.9 billion of which is the estimated cost to the UK. This is some 37 per cent. of the total. For the Production phase, UK work share will be approximately 37.5 per cent. This is based on the number of aircraft we are buying in relation to the other nations. Present plans are for each nation to be responsible for the maintenance of their respective aircraft and we therefore expect the majority of maintenance work on the RAF's aircraft to be conducted in the UK. Currently, there are about 6,000 high technology jobs sustained by the development phase of the Eurofighter programme in the UK. This figure is expected to rise to about 14,000 at the peak of production.
Mr. Colman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research her Department has commissioned on the impact of minimum wages in Northern Ireland. [20780]
Mr. Ingram:
None. The Government have appointed the Low Pay Commission to gather evidence and make recommendations in relation to the national minimum wage. To that end, the Commission visited Northern
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Ireland on 31 October, and my Department is contributing fully to the evidence which the Government are soon to present to the Commission.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will publish the full tender for baton training referred to in the letter from the Home Office Minister of State to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley, dated 18 August. [20013]
Mr. Ingram:
No; publication of the tenders for the provision of equipment for training purposes for the RUC would not be in the interests of national security.
Mr. Wilshire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list all overseas visits made since 1 May 1997 on which she or any other Minister in her Department has been accompanied under Rule 83 of the Ministerial Code, indicating (a) who accompanied him or her and (b) the cost to public funds of each such visit. [23266]
Marjorie Mowlam
[holding answer 15 January 1998]: No overseas visits have taken place where Rule 83 of the Ministerial Code applies.
Mr. Maginnis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the circumstances relating to
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the arrest and preferring of charges against eight men in connection with a robbery at Holmes Cash and Carry at Boucher road, Belfast in February 1996; how many juries were selected and how many trials took place; what was the cost of the entire judicial process; for what reason this case was descheduled; and if she will make a statement regarding its conduct and outcome. [23385]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 16 January 1998]: On 12 February 1996, the RUC, acting on information received, went to the premises of Holmes Cash and Carry at Boucher road, Belfast and arrested seven men in the premises and one additional man a short distance away. All eight men were arrested under provisions of section 14(1)(b) of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1986 and conveyed to Castlereagh Holding Centre for interview. Charges were subsequently preferred for the offences of Armed Robbery and Unlawful Imprisonment.
During the following court proceedings six juries were involved. There were six trials, two of which reached conclusion.
The then Attorney-General certified that the charges in this case were not to be treated as scheduled offences. He has asked me to say that he did so because he formed the erroneous view that they were not connected with the emergency.
It is not possible to provide the cost of this entire judicial process without incurring disproportionate cost.
The Secretary of State does not intend to make a statement about the conduct and outcome of this case.
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(2) what plans his Department has for a near-term lease of C-17 aircraft; [23138]
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