HC Deb 14 March 1968 vol 760 cc1613-4
Q4. Sir T. Beamish

asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Minister with specific responsibility for all matters relating to civil defence and national emergencies; and if he will instruct such Minister to obtain from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation a report on civil defence organisation in member countries and to publish all the findings as a White Paper before the nation's civil defences are disbanded.

The Prime Minister

No, Sir.

Sir T. Beamish

Since this country presumably subscribed to the N.A.T.O. Ministerial communiqué last December, stressing the vital importance of civil emergency planning and civil defence, what is the explanation of the fact that barely a month later the Prime Minister decided to put civil defence and the Territorials on a care and maintenance basis without any further consultation with N.A.T.O.?

The Prime Minister

We are, of course, in general touch with N.A.T.O. on these questions, and various inquiries have been carried out and papers presented. Not all N.A.T.O. countries have the same degree of civil defence as we have had or even the same arrangements as we now have it. On the general issue, the hon. and gallant Gentleman will be aware that we debated these points last week and that all these matters were therefore fully discussed then.

Mr. Crawshaw

Would my right hon. Friend agree that while the main emphasis has been placed on the use of these forces in a nuclear emergency, there is a continuing and important rôle for them at times of local and national disaster? Is he prepared to ask the relevant Ministers to consider how these forces may be integrated with the existing forces—for example, the Auxiliary Fire Service with the Fire Service—so that we may continue to have these forces at our disposal without added expense?

The Prime Minister

My right hon. Friends have paid tribute to the work of these forces in dealing with civil disasters, of which there have been a number in recent years. To answer my hon. Friend's second question, I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend said in the debate on these matters last week.