HC Deb 28 February 1992 vol 204 cc671-2W
Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide the statistical results of the monitoring of low flying by(a) covert deployments of RAF police and (b) Skyguard radars by year, for the last five years.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

Covert deployments of RAF police, including those using the Skyguard radar system, have shown the consistent respect of aircrew for the low-flying regulations. It is not our practice to comment on the detailed findings of these surveys.

Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of the 22 January,Official Report, columns 236–37, if he can yet give the figures for the month of December 1991 in respect of listing the numbers of low-flying sorties by aircraft type.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

The number of low-flying sorties by aircraft type carried out in the United Kingdom for December 1991 is:

Low-flying sorties by aircraft type
Aircraft type December 1991
Buccaneer 59
F-4 33
Harrier 383
Hawk 819
Jaguar 251
Jet Provost 213
Tornado 1,170
Tucano 181
A-10 300
F-111 375
Other aircraft (including helicopters) 2,624
Total sorties 6,408

Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the instances of breaches of low-flying regulations since 1988 which led to formal disciplinary action or courts martial under the terms of the Army Act 1955, Air Force Act 1955 or Naval Discipline Act 1957; and if he will list, for each case, the date, location and circumstances of the offence, the type of aircraft involved, the nature of the charge and the outcome of the proceedings.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

Breaches of low-flying regulations that lead to proceedingss under the services disciplinary Acts are not recorded centrally.

Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the baseline year from which the expected reduction of 30 per cent. in jet low-flying over the United Kingdom, announced last October, was calculated.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

1988.

Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on the maintenance of a fixed list of simulated targets for toss-and-dive attack in the United Kingdom low-flying system.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

A review of the usefulness of the simulated toss and dive attack target list concluded that although of limited value, the list continues to meet certain needs of a number of flying training units. It has therefore been retained, but will remain under review as part of the continuing monitoring of the United Kingdom low-flying system.