§ 14. Mr. Juddasked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make arrangements to pay an official visit to Service establishments in Portsmouth.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourI have no plans, at present, for such a visit.
§ Mr. JuddThe Minister will be very welcome if he comes to the city. If he does, will he give priority to comparing the amount of land still occupied by the Services on Portsea Island with the desperate shortage of land for urgent social priorities for the people of the island? Will he particularly look at the firing range of Tipner and the need to utilise it for a strategic lorry park if there must be one on Portsea Island? Will he also look at the heart of Portsea and the need to move the dockyard wall to give the neighbouring flats some breathing space? More widely, in the country as a whole, will he give more encouragement to the Services to share their recreational, social, sporting and other amenities with neighbouring communities?
§ Mr. GilmourI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his prospective welcome. He will not expect me to give a detailed answer to each of the land questions he has raised, but I will look into them and write to him. In general, the Services do what they can to cooperate in recreational and other matters with the civilian population. I will see whether anything more can be done.