§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to relocating the Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Unit or any other flying unit to Royal Air Force Chivenor; and what building work would be necessary. [22411]
§ Mr. SoamesConsideration was given to relocating the Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Unit to RAF Chivenor, but an alternative location was preferred on operational and cost grounds. No other suitable options for relocating flying activity to the station have been identified.
§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements have been made to bridge the gap between the cessation of the Hawk support flight at Royal Air Force Chivenor and the tactical armament facility—Hawk—detachment being ready at Royal Air Force St. Athan; what will be the cost of such interim arrangements; and why this work is not being continued at Royal Air Force Chivenor. [22416]
§ Mr. SoamesAs part of the plans for the longer-term enhancement of RAF St. Athan to accept Hawk detachments, some early work was identified as essential to provide sufficient initial capability for the weaponry requirements. The cost of this work was £290,000. The task is not being continued at RAF Chivenor because it is not compatible with the stations's future.
§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what impact the closure of Royal Air Force526W Finningley and transfer of navigation training to Royal Air Force Valley will have on the calculations about Royal Air Force Valley's capacity which were made when the decision was taken to close Royal Air Force Chivenor. [22417]
§ Mr. SoamesThe impact is minimal. The rationalisation of Hawk instructor training at RAF Valley has created spare capacity at the station, and this offsets the extra navigator training task transferring from RAF Finningley.