§ Mr. Canavanasked the Secretary of State for Defence what attempt his Department has made to measure the success of Operation Drake; and whether it is intended to participate in or support the similar venture called Operation Raleigh.
§ Mr. WigginIndividual Service men who participated in this private venture gained useful experience. Initial approaches have been made by the organisers of Operation Raleigh, and any specific requests for assistance which may be made will considered on their merits.
§ Mr. Canavanasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many military personnel were involved in Operation Drake, and of what rank; how many adult civilians were involved; how many young people were involved; what was the total cost to the taxpayer; whether military personnel were on full pay and allowances; and whether adult civilians contributed to the funding of the operation;
(2) how much the support given by his Department to Operation Drake cost; and under which Defence Vote the sum appears.
§ Mr. WigginOperation Drake was a privately organised venture and my Department therefore has no record of the number of adult civilians and young people involved, nor of their financial contribution to the operation. At the request of the organisers of Operation Drake, 128 Service personnel—including officers and other ranks—participated voluntarily for varying periods and in various capacities on tasks in which the training value that they derived justified their participation on full pay and with the appropriate allowances. Provision for this type of adventurous training is included under Vote 1 of the Defence Estimates.
In addition to participation by individual Service men, advice and expertise were offered by the Services when requested and where possible, and certain facilities were made available, generally on the basis of no cost to this Department. For further information I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short) on 14 January 1981—[Vol. 996, c. 595]—by my hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Mr. Speed).