§ Mr. Stanbrookasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated total cost of (a) the construction and conversion of buildings needed to accommodate the Royal Air Force Officers' and Aircrew Selection Centre at Bentley Priory and (b) the transfer of the Centre from Biggin Hill, respectively.
§ Mr. WellbelovedThe works services required to accommodate the Royal Air Force Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre at Bentley Priory are estimated to cost about £2 million. I cannot give an accurate estimate of the cost of the transfer of the centre from Biggin Hill at this stage. The amount will depend on the number of personal circumstances of the Service and civilian personnel who might be required to move to Bentley Priory and on the amount of redundancy payments to other civilians for whom alternative employment could not be found. However, the sum involved is not likely to be significant in comparison with the £900,000 saving in annual running costs which is expected to result from the redeployment.