§ Mr. Pattieasked the Secretary of State for Defence what effect fire-fighting duties have had on the training programmes of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, respectively.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownFire-fighting duties have involved penalties on training in the three Services. For example, some operational training courses in the Royal Navy have been suspended. In the Army, recruit and employment training has been seriously disrupted and, in the RAF, training schools are encountering some difficulty in avoiding programmes falling behind schedule. The training and support organisations of the Services have had to bear the brunt of providing much of the manpower for assisting the fire authorities because of our aim of avoiding interference with operational readiness or important exercises.
§ Mr. Pattieasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what will be the net cost of making good the training programmes affected by fire fighting of the Royal
826WOffice of Information on behalf of the Ministry of Defence are as follows:
Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, respectively;
(2) which Vote will bear the cost of making good the training programmes of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, respectively, which are affected by fire fighting.
§ Mr. MulleyThe extra costs identified by the Ministry of Defence as arising out of the assistance given to the civil authorities during the firemen's strike will be recovered from the appropriate civil departments.