§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the productivity and performance at the School of Farriery at the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Melton Mowbray, in the latest 12-month period; and how it compares with evidence available to his Department about civilian training facilities.
§ Mr. Wiggin:During 1981–82 16 Service men successfully completed a training course at the School of 427W Farriery at the Royal Army Veterinary Corps training centre at Melton Mowbray. In the same period the staff and students at the School fully shod some 1,100 horses and partially shod or trimmed the hooves of a further 500.
Farriers are trained at the school to as high a standard as civilian farriers, but there is no similar course of farriery training at a civilian establishment—in terms of length and content—with which direct comparisons could usefully be drawn.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the acreage of land directly owned by the Army and used by the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Melton Mowbray, for training dogs and horses; and what is the additional acreage of private owned land known to be available to the corps for periodic use, following discussion and contact between the corps and local farmers.
§ Mr. Wiggin:The Royal Army Veterinary Corps uses 380 acres of Ministry of Defence owned land at Melton Mowbray for animal training. In addition, local farmers, who own some 40,000 acres, allow their land to be used periodically for dog training.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was (a) the number of dogs and (b) the number of handlers which have successfully completed courses at the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Melton Mowbray, in 1981–82; and how the output compares with other Armed Service units involved in this work.
§ Mr. Wiggin:343 dogs and 335 handlers were successfully trained at the Royal Army Veterinary Corps training centre at Melton Mowbray in 1981–82. The only other unit of the Armed Forces in the United Kingdom involved in the training of dogs and handlers is the Royal Air Force police school at RAF Newton, which trained 468 dogs and 347 handlers in the same period. Other Army units overseas trained 237 handlers and a small number of dogs in the period.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, in view of the importance of the work of trained Army dogs sniffing out mines, booby traps and explosives in the Falkland Islands and in Northern Ireland, he will now approve the scheme to rebuild the dog training unit at the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Melton Mowbray.
§ Mr. Wiggin:No. A decision on this scheme cannot be taken until studies on a number of related matters have been completed early next year.