§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department expects to receive from the salvage of the U-boats sunk to the north of Ireland in Operation Deadlight in 1945; if the proceeds will benefit wartime Royal Navy and Merchant Navy crews and their families who survived; and if he will make a statement. [37123]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThis is a matter for the chief executive of the Disposal Sales Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Keith Ellender to Mr. David Atkinson, dated 15 July 1996:
I am responding to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about receipts from the salvage of the World War II U-boats scuppered in Operation Deadlight in 1945, as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Disposal Sales Agency.With the agreement of the Russian and US authorities, joint signatories with the UK to the 1945 Tripartite Agreement on the disposal of all ex-German shipping, my Agency let a licence for the scrapping of a number of surrendered U-boats sunk to the north of Ireland. In addition to a licence fee, the contract allows for a proportion of the proceeds from the scrapping operation to be paid to the Ministry of Defence by the Contractor. Both amounts, the latter being necessarily estimates at this stage, are commercially confidential and, in line with the Department's policy, are not disclosed publicly.359WIt has been the policy of successive Governments that any compensation paid to the victims of hostilities should be broadly similar for all. It follows that it would not be fair to the majority if money from an unexpected small windfall was to be used by a Government department to pay additional compensation, whether directly or through related charities, to particular groups of survivors or their families.