§ Lord Merrivaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will consider a longer transition period for closure of the Gibraltar Dockyard, bearing in mind that an open border with Spain coinciding with a dockyard closure would impose substantial administrative and infrastructure costs with an excessively high rate of economic change for the Gibraltar Government.
§ Viscount TrenchardThe Government's decision that the RN Dockyard, Gibraltar, should start to close in 1983, with preparatory action in 1982, took into account the possibility of the border with Spain being reopened. It is recognised that the closure of the dockyard will have a significant effect on Gibraltar's economy, and we are in consultation with the Gibraltar Government about possible alternative economic activities for the future, including the possibility of transforming the dockyard into a civil commercial enterprise. We believe it is important to the realisation of such possibilities not to delay the timescale for closure of the naval dockyard, and we have made clear to the Gibraltar Government our intention to look positively at ways of assisting them to overcome the difficult period of transition.