§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the current cost of transporting troops to the Falkland Islands; and under what section of the Government's White Paper on expenditure, Cmnd 9428, it is accounted for;
(2) what savings will accrue in the cost of transporting troops to the Falkland Islands from the completion of the runway at Mount Pleasant; and when such savings will begin.
§ Mr. Stanley[pursuant to his reply, 17 April 1985, c. 2111: The current cost of the movement of passengers and priority freight by air and sea to the Falkland Islands is, including defence contractors personnel, some £64 million a year. It is not possible to separate the cost of moving military personnel and freight from that of civilian personnel and freight. Such movement expenditure is reflected in table 3.1.1 in the Defence Chapter (3.1) of Cmnd 9428. This cost is currently estimated to fall by at least £25 million over the year beginning next month with the introduction of wide-bodied aircraft to Mount Pleasant airport, which will permit the withdrawal of the passenger ships operating between Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands and a reduction in the number of Hercules airbridge flights to Port Stanley airfield.