§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which vehicles returning from Bosnia were loaded on to trains at Marchwood on 28 December for transportation to Ashworth; when they were unloaded at Ashworth; what facilities exist for unloading heavy vehicles at Ashworth; and if he will make a statement. [20750]
§ Mr. Soames[holding answer 14 March 1996]: This is a matter for the Defence Transport and Movements Executive under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Hodson to Dr. David Clark, dated 18 March 1996:
I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence, about vehicle movements from Marchwood, as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Defence Transport and Movements Executive Agency.First, I must apologise for the delay in answering your question but some considerable investigation was necessary, as we could not identify the movement you refer to as taking place on 28 December. Furthermore, I believe you were intending to quote Ashchurch, instead of Ashworth.The nearest instance that we can identify is the return of some light "A" vehicles which arrived in Marchwood Military Port (MMP) on 4 January. These included vehicles which could not be driven under their own power. They were loaded to rail to remove70W
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Arrangements were then made with Railfreight Distribution (RfD) to move the train from Marchwood to Ashchurch in early January. Carrying out the "can consignee accept" procedure with Ashchurch, RfD/MMP were informed that the facilities at Ashchurch were not suitable. The only alternative was to move the vehicles by road and this was arranged.
You will appreciate that in a very busy port, identifying specific vehicles and movements, in retrospect, is not easy. I hope that we have managed to pin down the one to which you were referring.