HC Deb 14 July 1987 vol 119 cc957-8
1. Mr. Thurnham

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about proposals in the Queen's Speech for which he has responsibility; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. George Younger)

I believe that the Government's defence policy as set out in the Gracious Speech has received wide support.

Mr. Thurnham

Following the clear statement of support for Trident in the Queen's Speech and the placing of further contracts for the development of the Trident base, will my right hon. Friend tell us the value of those contracts and how many jobs can be expected to arise from them?

Mr. Younger

The contract to which my hon. Friend refers is worth £120 million and will bring 600 jobs to the west of Scotland. That will take the total value of contracts awarded to date for the development of Faslane and Coulport to £255 million. At its peak, this development programme will create 2,500 construction jobs in the west of Scotland. It is worth recording that had the Queen's Speech reflected the views of the Opposition parties, none of that investment would be taking place and Scotland would have been robbed of thousands of job opportunities.

Mr. Douglas

The Secretary of State will be aware of the launch of a type 23 frigate at Yarrows. Notwithstanding his comments on Trident, when does the right hon. Gentleman expect to place further orders for type 23 frigates and fulfil his commitment to order at least three frigates a year?

Mr. Younger

I note the hon. Gentleman's questions. We shall give further consideration to the ordering of type 23 frigates later this year, and we have given a clear undertaking to maintain the Royal Navy at about 50 frigates, at which it has been for some time.

Sir Antony Buck

My right hon. Friend is right to say that what was outlined in the Queen's Speech about defence caused considerable satisfaction to all Conservative Members and to many reasonable Members on the Opposition Benches, too. Does he agree that if the Opposition's defence policies were to be adopted there would be little chance of making progress with the mutual and balanced force reduction and strategic arms reduction talks and obtaining what we all want—disarmament on both sides of the iron curtain?

Mr. Younger

I entirely agree with my hon. and learned Friend. I understand that the official Opposition would have given away all our bargaining counters before they started negotiations.

Mr. Denzil Davies

The House will be intrigued by the Secretary of State's statement that there was wide support for the Government's defence policy. That certainly did not extend to the constituency of Ayr. However, we are pleased that after three recounts the Secretary of State was able to return to the House of Commons.

Why is the right hon. Gentleman postponing the debate on the defence White Paper until the end of the year? Clearly there must be a major defence review, which will leave our armed forces much weaker than they were a few years ago.

Mr. Younger

I warmly welcome the right hon. Gentleman back to his position in the House in his new role as the reluctant debutante on the Opposition Front Bench. I assure him that we shall do our best to make his stay there as pleasant as possible.

The right hon. Gentleman knows that the Gracious Speech clearly stated the Government's commitment to a strong defence policy. That is what we propose to proceed with in future.

The matter of a debate is for my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House.

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