HC Deb 01 August 1984 vol 65 c281W
Mr. Jessel

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the main purpose of providing a tri-service defence school of music in a single location.

Mr. Lee

The Defence school of music will be cheaper to run than the present system of separate service schools. It will provide better musical facilities than those currently available thus enhancing the services' high standards of musicianship, while retaining their individual musical and ceremonial traditions.

Mr. Jessel

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out in the Official Report a list of all locations which, within the last two years, have been under consideration for an inter-service music school; and if he will provide in respect of each such location all the principal relevant financial figures taken into account before choosing a location, including total capital savings, and expenditure, including the capital costs of living quarters and of repairs and modernisation, and revenue costs, including both civilian and military manpower; and if he will provide figures for his estimates of the number of civilians who would be, or would have been, employed at each location.

Mr. Lee

Following a trawl of the defence estate the locations listed below were considered as possible sites for a Defence school of music:

  • Eastney
  • Deal
  • Twickenham
  • Edinburgh (2 sites)
  • Bawtry
  • Woolwich

In addition, we examined one further location the future of which has not yet been decided.

All relevant factors were taken into consideration, including the ones referred to in the question, but it is not our practice to disclose such details which may be commercially or militarily sensitive and are prepared for internal use only.

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