§ 27. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of State for Defence if, in estimating the economies of closing the Royal Naval Spare Parts Distribution Centre at Eaglescliffe, he has allowed for the redundancy payments and social security payments to be made to staff made redundant in County Durham and Teesside and for the cost of moving the stores; and what is his estimate of this expenditure.
§ Mr. KirkThere will be no redundancy at Eaglescliffe for the next two to three years and any employee who wishes to do so will be able to transfer to Hartlebury when the time comes on public interest terms. As the hon. Member knows, my right hon. Friend and I met a deputation from Teesside local authorities and we shall be considering social costs as part of our examination of their alternative proposals to concentrate these storage facilities at Eaglescliff. The cost of stock transfers from Eaglescliffe to Hartlebury is estimated at £130,000 and this sum was included in the relevant costings.