§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is estimated to be the annual saving arising from the proposed closure of the REME detachment at Killingworth; how these figures are arrived at; and what is expected to be the total cost in redundancy pay to the staff dismissed at as a result.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownAn estimate of the annual saving which will result from the closure of the REME Workshop Detchment at Killingworth will not be available until further progress has been made in the detailed implementation planning. However, it is anticipated that considerable savings will be made, because the bulk of the work currently undertaken at Killingworth will be absorbed at Catterick and Strensall without an increase in staff. It will not be possible to estimate the extent of redundancy arising from the closure, however, until much nearer the closure date because it is impossible to forecast the extent to which the staff at Killingworth may be found suitable alternative employment elsewhere in the Ministry of Defence or other Government Departments.