§ Rear-Admiral Morgan Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what claims have been received from Mr. A. J. Davies of Woodmancote, Micheldever, a constituent of the hon. Member for Winchester, concerning the loss of egg production owing to low-flying aircraft over his farm; what reply he has sent; how many similar claims have been received by his Department during the latest 12 months for which information is conveniently available; and what has been the result of these claims.
§ Mr. ReynoldsOn 28th January, 1968, Mr. Davies claimed that increased activity by low-flying aircraft in the area of his farm since June, 1967, had resulted in a drop of egg production. This claim was repudiated on 17th July, 1968.
The Ministry of Defence had been unable to conduct a professional examination as the flock had been dispersed shortly before the claim was submitted. An expert opinion, however, on various graphs and production figures supplied by Mr. Davies revealed no indication of any loss of production that could be attributed to the increased scale of low flying in the area, which had indeed taken place.
In November, 1968, Mr. Davies made further representations on the basis of revised figures; these in turn were given expert examination. As a result Mr. Davies was informed on 19th December, 1968, that for the reasons previously given no compensation could be paid to him.
During 1968, eight similar claims were intimated. Of these, three were met, and 318W one was repudiated; the remaining four have not so far been pursued.