Royal Naval Workshop, Almondbank (Hansard, 27 November 1991)

§ Mr. Bill Walker (Tayside, North)

The royal naval aircraft workshop at Almondbank in my constituency was established during the dark days of the second world war. The location of such an important aircraft repair workshop was determined by the military strategic need to locate vital establishments away from high-risk areas and by the need to spread the risk further by placing key military establishments in less densely populated areas of the country. The logic for placing high-risk naval and military essential maintenance facilities far from other high-risk naval and military establishments is as relevant today as it was at the time of the German air offensive in the 1940s.

Since 1945, Almondbank has witnessed many changes of military policy. Consequently, when the 400-plus work force were advised by the base commander that a review of the tri-service aircraft repair and maintenence units, which embraces Almondbank, Fleetlands and St. Athan, may result in the closure of Almondbank, the alarm bells began to ring.

I recognise that such concern, although understandable, could be premature, because the logic of retaining a relatively low-cost workshop, as well as a distribution and stores depot at Almondbank, could be reinforced by any review of tri-service facilities. I also recognise that Almondbank's stable and efficient work force could fare well in any review.

Why, then, am I concerned? Because my experience of management surveys—I have been involved in complex and highly technical inquiries into, for example, the takeover of substantial maintenance facilities—has frequently highlighted the vital need to ensure that all the information concerning the different establishments uses the same base line and criteria.

In simple language, the system of measurement at each establishment must be the same base line. The hours worked per direct worker, per year, must be calculated on the same statistics and should clearly show such variables as sickness leave. I seek an assurance from my right hon. Friend the Minister that there is no difference in the base line measurements between the establishments.

I seek an assurance from my right hon. Friend that all the units involved in the review of the tri-service aircraft maintenance facilities have historically used the same base criteria. I will not be surprised if my right hon. Friend cannot give me that assurance, because the services involved are historically unlikely to have done so. Different units in the Navy may not use the same base criteria.

Consequently, I hope that my right hon. Friend will write to me when he has had the opportunity to investigate the facts, especially those relating to historic base and cross-revenue criteria. The work force and I need to be reassured that decisions affecting Almondbank and other units will be based upon verifiable common measurements.

I should also remind my right hon. friend that, within the past two weeks, Almondbank has received an award for the efficient way in which its uses electricity. The Hydro Board efficiency award is much sought after. In addition to that award, Almondbank has a low-cost contract for the 1046 supply of the cheapest industrial electricity—electricity generated from hydro power. That is another reason for retaining the workshop at Almondbank.

My right hon. Friend will also be aware of the specialist plating carried out at Almondbank. He will be aware of the huge savings achieved by plating the worn parts of helicopter transmissions. For example, a £300 plating job can be measured against the cost of a new component worth anything up to £18,000. Parts can be plated again and again, thus saving the taxpayer many hundreds of thousands of pounds.

My right hon. Friend will also be aware of the substantial investment that has taken place at Almondbank. Consequently, the costs of moving may never be recovered fully via revenue expenditure elsewhere. I should want to see the evidence supporting real revenue savings were a decision taken to relocate the facilities from Almondbank. Relocation costs must be fully addressed and explained. My right hon. Friend should remember that Almondbank is in a low-cost local authority area and that substantial room still exists at the base for additional expansion, if required.

It would be most odd if the helicopter maintenance and stores unit were relocated in a high-cost area, such as southern England, or in Wales, particularly following recent decisions by the Royal Air Force to locate so many of its assets in Scotland. The Royal Marine and Royal Navy aviation assets are also based in Scotland.

The location of Almondbank in relation to Harrogate, where the main RAF stores facility is located, and to Lossiemouth, Kinloss, Leuchars, Condor and Prestwick makes it possible for the recently computerised stores unit at Almondbank to provide a by-return spares service to all those Scottish bases. Moreover, Almondbank has recently been geared up to handle the Chinook mark 2 and the new Merlin helicopters, which will soon come into service. Those are further good reasons for retaining Almondbank.

In the main, the work force at Almondbank live in the constituencies of Perth and Kinross and Tayside, North, with some people travelling to work from Stirling. Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the fact that those three constituencies are the most northern United Kingdom constituencies held by the Conservative party? Almondbank is the largest engineering employer in the Perth and Kinross district council area and the largest employer in my constituency. I draw attention to that because, if the review team's report can produce only marginal savings, the political cost would be too high and the decision to close the base should not be taken.

I make no apology for reminding my right hon. Friend that the military is an essential and important part of the fabric of the Union. That the Scots provide a substantial proportion of armed forces personnel cannot be disputed. With less than 9 per cent. of the United Kingdom's population, Scotland regularly contributes more than 20 per cent. of naval, Army and Air Force personnel. To continue to recruit from Scotland at acceptable levels requires the location of military bases within Scotland. It is also tangible evidence of the Government's commitment to the Union, which the Opposition can never emulate.

Constituents of Tayside, North and their representative in this place have never failed to support the need for military bases in Scotland, which includes the nuclear force on the Clyde. We also support the need for the noisy, fast, low-flying jet aircraft, so we expect a Conservative 1047 Government to retain the royal naval workshop at Almondbank. Helicopters are the military hardware of today and tomorrow, and a substantial number of helicopters will be based in Scotland and northern England, which makes Almondbank an ideal location.

I suppose that one of the strongest arguments for the continuing existence of the royal naval aircraft workshop and stores is the low staff turnover and the relatively low-cost housing, coupled with the superb health service and education facilities in north Tayside. That makes it easy to recruit and retain staff at Almondbank. In addition, the technical training and the links with Perth college have, down the years, produced the sort of textbook local community involvement that is a credit to the management of the workshops and the staff at the college. Those factors would not be easily replaced were Almondbank to close.

I believe that I have clearly articulated why the base and workshops at Almondbank should be retained, for defence and political reasons. I hope that I have demonstrated that Tayside and Scotland need to retain the skills and the training that the combination of Perth college and Almondbank provides. For all those reasons, the Government would be well advised to retain the happy, efficient royal naval aircraft workshop and stores unit at Almondbank in my constituency.

§ The Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr. Archie Hamilton)

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) on having secured this Adjournment debate. He, together with my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Perth and Kinross (Sir N. Fairbairn), has taken a close interest in the royal naval aircraft workshop at Almondbank. I am glad to have the opportunity to pay tribute to its work in support of the Royal Navy and the other services, and to explain our thinking about its future.

The workshop is situated on the western outskirts of Perth, on a single site of about 25 acres. Its origins date back to the second world war. The original workshops were created in 1940 to support the royal naval stores depot which moved to Almondbank following bombing raids on the Coventry district that year. By 1946, the depot had expanded to a total of seven sites. From 1946 to 1973, the repair, maintenance, manufacture and storage of all types of naval air stores, for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, was carried out at Almondbank.

At the beginning of the 1970s, it was decided to rationalise some aircraft support work. The Royal Air Force became responsible for the repair and overhaul of fixed wing aircraft. The Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation—NARO—was established to undertake helicopter repair and overhaul for all three services. That coincided with the closure of the royal naval stores depot at Almondbank. Therefore, in June 1973, the royal naval aircraft workshop was created as part of NARO, with all remaining activities, including administration and stores, being concentrated on the workshop site.

NARO includes the royal naval aircraft yard at Fleetlands in Gosport, near Portsmouth, which is the main helicopter third-line repair facility, dealing with airframes and engines. There is also a small facility at Wroughton, 1048 near Swindon. Fixed-wing third-line repair is primarily conducted at RAF St. Athan in south Wales, while electronic component work for both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft is largely centralised at RAF Sealand near Chester.

The main task at Aldmondbank today may be summed up as component repair, accounting for some 85 per cent. of the total work load. My hon. Friend referred to some of the examples of that work currently in progress. Every year, RNAW Almondbank deals with about 15,000 components of 470 different types. As well as repair, the workshop undertakes complete reconditioning of components. In addition to supporting the tri-service helicopter fleet, the establishment continues to use existing facilities to support RAF Buccaneer and Phantom aircraft, but this work will decline as those aircraft are retired from service. The range of items dealt with includes helicopter transmission components, also hydraulic, avionic and general engineering components. A range of modern engineering techniques is used to deal with the varying requirements of the work and different materials.

The workshop is also equipped to salvage parts. The salvage of parts from transmission components is a major activity, offering a cost-effective alternative to buying new parts. RNAW Almondbank acts as the master tool centre for the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation. That requires expert appraisal of drawings to decide whether tools required at NARO establishments would best be manufactured in house, or purchased from industry. The current tooling task at Perth is the manufacture of small quantities of tools for Astazou, Gem and Lycoming T55 aero engines and for Olympus and Tyne marine gas turbines.

There is a wide range of special manufacturing tasks. These include the manufacture and repair of rescue equipment, the manufacture of modification sets, aircraft seats and covers, electrical cable looms, avionic test sets, engine stands and a range of ground support equipment. The repair of Lynx main rotor blades is also undertaken. The establishment is able to manufacture and carry out major repairs on glassfibre reinforced products.

In addition to these repair and manufacturing tasks, the establishment also contains an element of the Royal Naval Stores and Transport Service, RNSTS. This primarily provides stores and logistic support for RNAW, but also carries out transhipment tasks for the naval stores organisation and for the RAF priority freight network.

To carry out this very wide range of tasks, RNAW Almondbank has a work force of some 400, as my hon. Friend said. Twenty-five contractors' staff also work at Almondbank. The superintendent is a Royal Navy commander, responsible to the Director General Aircraft (Navy). He is the only service man at Almondbank, the remainder of the staff being civilian. Some 50 of these are from the RNSTS. Recruitment and, just as important, retention of staff are good. The average length of service is over 11 years, and many employees have over 20 years' service.

The nature of the work is reflected in the high proportion of skilled craftsmen, of which there are some 175. There are also 23 apprentice craftsmen training under a standards-based scheme. Air service training at Scone, RNAY Fleetlands and Perth technical college provide appropriate training modules. This year Almondbank apprentices won a first and a second prize in the MoD's national Tom Nevard competition, an achievement of 1049 which the establishment is justly proud. I reiterate what my hon. Friend said about Almondbank's success in energy conservation which won for it an energy efficiency award from the Hydro Board.

In addition to apprentice training, many personnel, at all levels, devote some of their own time to studying for a range of qualifications to improve their skills and develop their careers. The majority of specialist training is carried out by local colleges, with which the establishment enjoys an excellent relationship.

The skills arid versatility of the work force were tested to the full during the Falklands and Gulf conflicts. The ability to produce, at short notice, equipment and manufacture spares not readily available from commercial sources proved of great value. On each occasion, the establishment worked round the clock to meet high priority requirements. Perth may be proud of the establishment's achievements in peace and war.

The Statement on the Defence Estimates, "Britain's Defence for the 90s", set out our strategy for smaller, but flexible and mobile, forces. Helicopters will continue to play an important part in all three services in the next decade and beyond. There is no doubt that there will be a substantial continuing need for the type of work currently undertaken at Almondbank.

However, we must make sure that every aspect of support is carried out as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Failure to do so would be to the detriment of the front line. It is for that reason that we are currently conducting, under the auspices of the Cabinet Office, an efficiency scrutiny into the arrangements for third-line helicopter repair. The terms of reference are broad. The scrutiny team is required to look at the effectiveness of the current arrangements. It is asked to assess the future capacity required for fixed and rotary wing aircraft repair in the light of planned force levels, and to compare that with the capabilities currently planned.

The team is also asked to consider whether there is a scope for rationalisation of facilities and to consider the possible merits of a single defence support agency, extending work already undertaken on the possibility of transforming NARO into an agency. While the scrutiny team has been asked to consider rationalisation, there is no presumption that this is the likely or preferred outcome.

1050 My hon. Friend has eloquently voiced the concerns felt by many of the Almondbank work force. I assure him and his constituents that Almondbank has not in any way been singled out for potential closure. All the establishments presently, or potentially, concerned with this important work come within the study's remit.

I emphasise to my hon. Friend that the playing field is even. The calculations being made by the efficiency scrutiny team will be based on like information for all the different sites. Whether that means the team's historical information is on an identical basis is another matter, but it will make absolutely certain that any information that it uses directly compares like with like.

The scrutiny team is not due to report until early next year. Its recommendations, whatever they may be, will be carefully considered and, if necessary, further work commissioned. Ministers will consider the extent and timescale of implementation of the report in the light of all the relevant factors. In addition to possible savings from any transfer of work whatever establishments it might involve, we would need to consider the costs involved. We would need to consider, too, the availability of skilled workpeople and the economic impact of any proposal. This point was made by my hon. Friend. Any proposal with a significant impact on civilian staff would be the subject of formal consultation with unions and work force before any decision was taken.

I cannot give my hon. Friend any absolute assurance about the future of the royal naval aircraft workshop Almondbank. It would be wrong to constrain the scrutiny team in such a way. I know that uncertainty is unsettling, and have no wish to prolong it more than necessary. I am well aware of the valuable work carried out at Almondbank, but in the long term, it is in everyone's interest that all defence activities are reviewed from time to time, and that studies are carried through and assessed before any decisions are taken. The present position is that no proposal to close Almondbank has been put forward, let alone decided. No decision will be taken until the spring. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity to make this clear.