§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his intention to make the services of Royal Navy clearance divers available to assist civil authorities following the disbandment of the Royal Naval Reserve port diving branch.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonRoyal Navy clearance diving teams can provide assistance to the civil authorities on a repayment basis when this can be done without detriment to their operational tasks. There are no plans to change this policy.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list the requests for assistance made by civil authorities to the Royal Navy Reserve port diving branch in each of the last seven years; giving the occasions on which such services were rendered;
(2) what payments have been received by his Department in each of the last seven years from civil authorities for services rendered by the Royal Naval Reserve port divers branch;
(3) under what arrangements the services were rendered to civil authorities by Royal Naval Reserve port divers for (a) the search in the Thames following the sinking of the Marchioness, (b) the search of the berth of the Queen Elizabeth II in Southampton, (c) the survey of Her Majesty's customs vessel in Newcastle, (d) inspections following hurricane damage in Dover harbour and (e) the search of Glencorse reservoir in Midlothian to assist a police murder inquiry.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonMy noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.