§ 1. Mr. John Smith (Vale of Glamorgan)What discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the Ministry of Defence about Royal Air Force St. Athan. [44146]
§ The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Paul Murphy)I have regular discussions with my ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Defence. I very much welcome the recent announcement by the Minister for the Armed Forces that the Welsh Guards are to be relocated to RAF St. Athan, in my hon. Friend's constituency, from May 2003. I am also pleased that the Ministry of Defence and the Welsh Development Agency will be working together on proposals to develop the site facilities, including the possibility of establishing an aerospace park at St. Athan.
§ Mr. SmithI warmly thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. The development at RAF St. Athan, and especially the creation of a world-beating aerospace park, is indeed wonderful news. Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the news this week that there will be no need, in that multi-million pound development, to extend the runway at RAF St. Athan, which I know is a great concern for the local community?
Now that the Defence Aviation Repair Agency forms the central part of that development, will my right hon. Friend, when he next meets his ministerial colleagues, point out that as DARA has become a trading company, it must be allowed to trade fairly not only with the private sector but with other arms of the Ministry of Defence?
§ Mr. MurphyI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. He will of course welcome the fact that the Welsh Guards are to come to RAF St. Athan, because it means that some 600 personnel will come to his constituency, which will obviously be a big boost to the local economy. In addition, the working relationship between the Government and the National Assembly, through the Welsh Development Agency, means that the development will be of enormous significance to the Vale of Glamorgan and surrounding areas. I pay tribute in particular to my hon. Friend for all the work that he has put into the project.
§ Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire)We, too, welcome the fact that the Welsh Guards will be based at RAF 3 St. Athan, and that they will be based in Wales for the first time in the 83 years of their existence. However, does the Secretary of State agree with Welshman and Welsh Guardsman Simon Weston, who recently said that it would be pure folly for the Government not to mark the 20th anniversary of our great victory in the Falkland Islands? What does the right hon. Gentleman intend to do to make certain that the part played by the Welsh Guards in that victory is suitably marked?
§ Mr. MurphyI take the hon. Gentleman's point, and I am glad that he welcomes the Welsh Guards' return to Wales after nearly a century. I shall certainly take up his point with my colleagues in the Ministry of Defence and, of course, with the Assembly.
§ Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd)I welcome my right hon. Friend's efforts to preserve defence industry jobs at St. Athan. Is he aware that in the league table for defence spending in the UK, the north-east is top, with spending of over £700 per person, and Wales is bottom, with less than £120 per person? What efforts will he make to close that gap?
§ Mr. MurphyI have visited my hon. Friend's constituency on a number of occasions. The aerospace developments in north-east Wales are particularly significant for his constituents and others, but I am sure that he and others will welcome today's news in the Western Mail that 267 regional selective assistance projects have been approved in Wales, which is a record number; that manufacturing production figures are up for the first time since the summer; and that business confidence in Wales is better than it has been for many years.