HC Deb 22 December 1988 vol 144 cc373-4W
Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of providing transportation and accommodation facilities for the observers invited to attend Exercise Keystone in October 1987 under the terms of the Stockholm conference on disarmament in Europe.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

The cost to the United Kingdom was some £16,000. Exercise Keystone was held in the Federal Republic of Germany, and under the terms of the 1986 Stockholm document the cost of transporting the observers from their point of arrival in the country to their accommodation was met by the Federal Republic.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of providing transportation and accommodation facilities for the foreign observers invited to attend Exercise Purple Warrior in November 1987 under the terms of the Stockholm conference on disarmament.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

The cost to the United Kingdom was some £21,000.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Warsaw pact exercises British military personnel have observed at the invitation of Warsaw pact countries; and what was the cost of sending observers to these exercises.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

Thirty British military personnel have observed 15 exercises at the invitation of Warsaw pact countries under the terms of the 1986 Stockholm document, at a cost to the United Kingdom of some £4,500.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of sending British military observers to the Soviet exercise in the German Democratic Republic in September 1987; whether those observers found that the exercise was not in breach of the agreement on confidence and security building measures reached at the Stockholm conference on disarmament in Europe in September 1986; and whether they reported difficulties with the arrangements for their inspection.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

The cost of sending a British military inspection team to the Soviet exercise in the German Democratic Republic in September 1987 was some £12,000. The British inspection team was satisfied that the exercise was not in breach of the agreement on confidence and security building measures reached at the Stockholm conference on disarmament in Europe in September 1986. Some minor technical problems excepted, they reported no difficulties with the arrangements for their inspection.