§ Lord Craig of Radleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the report in the Daily Telegraph of Tuesday, 16th April 1996 concerning the scrapping of annual formal inspections and formal staff visits to RAF stations is true; and if so whether the 127WA intention to ignore Queen's Regulations for the Royal Air Force Section 1 para 52 was formally approved by Ministers and is a consequence of the large number of RAF personnel who have recently been made redundant.
Earl HoweAnnual formal inspections and formal staff visits to Royal Air Force stations have not been scrapped. The measures introduced to minimise the burden on RAF personnel during the current drawdown. include provision for the scaling down of annual formal inspections and staff visits between now and March 1997. The continuation and form of annual formal inspections during this period will be a matter for the relevant Air Officer Commanding. There will, however, be no formal station parades and the inspections will be functional rather than ceremonial. Formal staff visits concerned with mandatory requirements, for example, safety, security and accounting, will continue.