§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for the last convenient 12-month period for which figures are available the number of occasions on which helicopters 533W from the Services were used in mountain rescues for each of the main mountain areas of the United Kingdom; what was the cost of the action; and what part, if any, of that cost was recovered.
§ Mr. WellbelovedDuring 1977, Service helicopters were called out on rescue work in the main mountain areas of the United Kingdom on 137 occasions. Details are as follows:
Area Number of helicopter sorties Scottish Highlands … 70 North Wales … 50 English mountain areas … 17 No charge is made for search and rescue missions and no detailed records of costs are kept.