§ 69. Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Secretary of State for War how many married soldiers in the Cameronians in the British Army of the Rhine are without reasonable housing accommodation; and if he will arrange for those without such housing accommodation to be discharged and to return home if they so desire.
§ Mr. ProfumoThree officers and twenty other ranks of the Cameronians are not accompanied by their families in Germany; in addition there are 61 families in Germany occupying private accommodation or hotels. I cannot agree to the second part of the hon. Gentleman's question.
§ 72. Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of the lack of entertainment facilities for troops of the British Army of the Rhine in advanced stations, outside the barracks, after normal training facilities have been completed; and whether he will take some action to improve the situation.
§ Mr. ProfumoI am aware that facilities are lacking outside barracks in Germany for the sort of entertainment and off duty occupations which soldiers enjoy at home. But as well as the amenities provided by local towns, there are A.K.C. cinemas, and clubs sponsored by the Council of Voluntary Welfare Work. On half days, weekends and holidays such amenities as sailing, canoeing and cycling are available, and visits are arranged to places of interest in Germany, Holland, Belgium and Denmark. Skiing is available in the winter, and the Winterberg Leave Centre is open throughout the year. Travel concessions enable soldiers to enjoy these amenities at low cost.
§ 73. Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the num- 52W ber of live entertainment shows in the British Army of the Rhine, excluding those put on by the services themselves. during the past 12 months.
§ Mr. ProfumoNo War Office sponsored live entertainment shows have been sent from the United Kingdom to the British Army of the Rhine during the past twelve months. It was found in recent years that attendances did not justify their continuance. I am, however, reconsidering the question.
§ Mr. Haleasked the Secretary of State for War what is the present total annual cost to the National Exchequer of the British Army of the Rhine and of other armed forces, excluding air forces, stationed in Germany and of the maintenance and accommodation of their relatives living in Germany; and what is the total present contribution from German sources.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe cost in 1962–63 of maintaining British troops in the British Army of the Rhine is estimated at some £89 million. This figure covers the pay and allowances of troops and civilians; the cost of works services, hirings, travel and the local purchase of stores and supplies, etc., but does not include the value of stores and supplies provided from United Kingdom stocks, the value of which cannot readily be ascertained. The cost of maintaining and accommodating families cannot be separately identified but the £89 million includes about £4.4 million, for the hire and maintenance of married quarters. No direct contribution to these costs is made from German sources. The only other Armed Forces in Germany for which I am responsible are those in Berlin and in accordance with the Allied "Declaration on Berlin" of 26th May, 1952 (Cmnd. 8564), expenditure on supplies and services for the British Army in Berlin is met without charge to United Kingdom funds.
§ Mr. J. Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for War how many soldiers serving with the British Army of the Rhine were tried by court-martial during 1961 for offences which would have been tried in civil courts had the offences taken place in Great Britain.
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§ Mr. ProfumoIn Great Britain discretion is vested in the chief officers of police to decide, after consultation with the military authorities, by whom any particular offender should be tried for an offence of a civil nature. Certain broad principles are laid down and guidance thereon is set out in paragraph 734 of Queen's Regulations, 1961.
It is however, probable that a large proportion of the 512 charges of a civil nature dealt with, under the terms of the Bonn Convention, at courts martial in the British Army of the Rhine in 1961 and on which convictions were obtained would have been dealt with by the civil authorities in Great Britain had the offences been committed there.
§ Mr. J. Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for War what number of soldiers serving with the British Army of the Rhine have been convicted of offences after trial by court-martial during each of the first years preceding 1962.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe following is the information:
1957 … … … … 1037 1958 … … … … 900 1959 … … … … 780 1960 … … … … 828 1961 … … … … 803
§ Mr. J. Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for War, what were the nature of the offences committed by soldiers serving with the British Army of the Rhine who were convicted after trial by court-martial during the year 1961.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe following information is taken from courts-martial of 803 soldiers whose proceedings were received in the Judge Advocate General's office in 1961.
Absence without leave and desertion 231 Assaults and kindred offences 159 Indecency offences 48 Offences against property (including larceny, damage, etc) 202 Fraud and kindred offences 20 Offences against the Road Traffic Acts 118 Miscellaneous military offences (including such offences as, disobedience, losing by neglect, escaping from arrest, insubordinate language, unlawful use of War Department vehicles) 356 Miscellaneous civil offences 18 NOTE.—The difference between the number of offences and number of courts-martial is due to the fact that a soldier can be convicted of more than one offence on the same occasion.
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§ Mr. Iremongerasked the Secretary of State for War what action he is taking to improve accommodation for wives and families of other ranks in the British Army of the Rhine for whom married quarters are not now available.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe problem of accommodation for families can only be solved by the intensive programme of building which is now in progress. This should work off existing waiting lists over the next two years or so. In the meantime I have taken a number of temporary measures to alleviate the shortfall. Special allowances have been made for up to 1,300 families to be accommodated in hotels. 200 specially constructed caravans have been provided at sites throughout the British Army of the Rhine. A number of barrack blocks are to be converted into temporary flats.
§ Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War, if he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures giving the numbers of other ranks and officers on the waiting list for housing accommodation in the British Army of the Rhine; how long, on average, each group have to wait before being accommodated; and what was the number of flats and houses allocated to officers and other ranks during the past 12 months.
§ Mr. Profumo294 officers and 5,019 other ranks are on the waiting list for housing accommodation in the British Army of the Rhine, of whom 220 officers and 2,869 other ranks already have their families in Germany. The period for which any officer or other rank has to wait varies greatly according to the circumstances of the individual family, since quarters are allocated on a system of points awarded for service, rank, separation, number of children and other factors. About 500 quarters were allocated to officers during the last twelve months and 2,000 to other ranks.
§ Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Secretary of State for war why the midnight curfew on the British Army of the Rhine applies only to unmarried men.
§ Mr. ProfumoThis instruction applies to unmarried private soldiers, and also to those who are married but who are not accompanied by their wives. It would be undesirable to apply it as a 55W general rule to soldiers who are accompanied by their wives at their duty stations and who do not therefore live in barracks.
§ Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will arrange for filmed television shows in the English language to be made available to troops in the British Army of the Rhine.
§ Mr. ProfumoI recognise the amenity value of a television service for our troops in the British Army of the Rhine, and the possibility of arranging one has from time to time been reviewed. I have recently been looking at the situation once again. There are many difficulties so I cannot commit myself as to the likely result.
§ Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that there are many types of jobs which could be undertaken by female labour in the British Army of the Rhine, thus reducing the number of military men for other services, reducing the number of officers and reducing costs to the British taxpayer; and whether he will take action along these lines.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe recent recruiting in the W.R.A.C. will, I hope, enable me to provide more work for them in the British Army of the Rhine, but as the majority of units in B.A.O.R. are operational, women cannot be employed. Civilians, both men and women, are already employed to the greatest possible extent.
§ Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War why the curfew in the British Army of the Rhine does not apply to officers: and whether he will ensure that all Service men, irrespective of rank, are treated alike so far as these matters are concerned.
§ Mr. ProfumoRegulations about attendance in barracks in off duty hours have never applied to officers.
§ Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War on how many occasions during the past two years the General Officer Commanding the British Army of the Rhine has held open meetings with the troops to discuss their welfare conditions and general grievances.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe Commander in Chief of the British Army of the Rhine56W frequently visits units to conduct inspections, supervise training, attend parades, and witness sporting and other activities. On these occasions he has had numerous informal meetings with both individual soldiers and groups.
§ Mr. A. Lewisasked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of the complaints of other ranks in the British Army of the Rhine of lack of facilities for enjoyment in the evenings when off duty, outside the barracks or camps; and whether he will arrange for British types of public houses to be made available for the troops in the British Army of the Rhine.
§ Mr. ProfumoAs regards the first part of the Question, I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to his Question No. 72 on today's Order Paper. I will certainly consider the proposal which the hon. Gentleman makes in the second part of his Question.