§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions so far this year on which Royal Air Force aerodromes, when normally closed, have been opened up for the use of Ministers, or other VIPs outside the Services (a) in the South Yorkshire, North-East Midlands, Yorkshire-Humberside area, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) the rest of Great Britain; and whether he has considered a greater use of civil aerodromes in view of the added cost and inconvenience to personnel when it is decided to open up such stations.
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§ Mr. WellbelovedThe number of occasions in each case when Royal Air Force stations have been specially opened for the purposes described is (a) three, (b) one, (c) one and (d) three. In addition, stations have remained open beyond normal operating hours as follows (a) one and (d) nine; on the latter occasions the aircraft were returning to base. In deciding which airfield to use on a particular occasion careful consideration is given to all the relevant circumstances.