§ 57. Mr. Dribergasked the Secretary of State for Air, in view of the expectation that other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries will benefit from the additional protection afforded by the ballistic missile warning station at Fylingdales, why the entire cost of this station is being borne by the United States of America and the United Kingdom alone.
Mr. WardThe main purpose of the system is to improve the effectiveness of the allied deterrent based in the United Kingdom and America. The United States are bearing some 97 per cent. of the capital cost of the system as a whole, including over 80 per cent. of the cost of the United Kingdom station. In these circumstances, 49W we thought it reasonable to meet the balance of the cost of this important contribution to Western security.
§ Mr. Dribergasked the Secretary of State for Air what topographical, geographical and operational criteria determined the choice of the Fylingdales site for a ballistic missile early warning station; what consultations he had with other Governments regarding the possibility of siting the station outside the United Kingdom; what consultations were held with the National Parks Commission, and other authorities and bodies concerned, before this decision was taken; and if he will publish a list of the other areas whose suitability for this purpose was considered before this site was chosen.
Mr. WardThe whole of the United Kingdom was considered before this site was chosen.
The factors we had to consider included the need to provide the best possible early warning cover for the stragetic deterrent cases, the need for an uninhabited area, and for ground with suitable geological and topographical characteristics. No site outside the United Kingdom would have given a comparable degree of early warning.
As I have told the House, we shall be consulting the National Parks Commission and the local authorities and amenity bodies about the actual siting and layout at Fylingdales.