§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the agricultural research units making a contribution to the improvement of agriculture in the Falkland Islands.
§ Mr. RaisonThe information is as follows:
In the Falkland Islands:
- The Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre.
In the United Kingdom:
- The central veterinary laboratory.
- The hill farming research organisation.
- Rothamstead experimental station.
- Aberdeen university.
Professional expertise is also provided by the Overseas Development Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expertise in land purchase and land transfer law is available to the Falkland Islands Government.
§ Mr. RaisonExpertise on land purchase is available from the Development Officer, professional staff of the Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre and Falkland Islands' Councillors with appropriate background and experience. This local expertise is supplemented, as necessary, by professional advisory staff of the Overseas Development Administration. Expertise in land transfer law is provided by the Falkland Islands Government's Attorney-General and Registrar General.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to encourage the growth of new species of trees in the Falkland Islands.
§ Mr. RaisonThis is a matter for the Falkland Islands Government in considering the report prepared by a forestry consultant who visited the Islands last September.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what study he has made of the sea buckthorn as a species for introduction into the Falklands; and what estimate he has made of the height to which it will grow in Falklands conditions.
§ Mr. RaisonNone.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of the ecologist sent to the Falklands; and what is his job specification.
§ Mr. RaisonThe estimated cost of the visit by the ecologist was £6,900. His terms of reference were:
- 1. Discuss with the FID Corporation the up-dated views on:
- (a) the establishment of an Environmental and Resource Management Committee;
- (b) a requirement to have the responsibilities of the Development Officer supplemented on environmental issues.
- 2. Assess the extent of interest of the FIG in the appointment of an Environment Officer to carry out the duties detailed by the ODA Environmental Adviser.
- 3. Consider the need for a natural Resources inventory and especially a Vegetation Survey and a Survey of Birds in coastal wetlands.
- 4. Assess the extent to which flora and fauna require to be introduced to rehabilitate the ecology of selected areas and improve genetic characteristics.
- 5. Identify the areas requiring immediate attention on environmental grounds to alleviate serious pollution problems, and to promote sustainable development of land and water resources.
415 - 6. Consider ways of promoting environmental education which will ensure a better understanding by all inhabitants of the Islands of the importance of the natural resources and their sustainable development.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give a breakdown of the £46 million made available by Her Majesty's Government for economic and social development in the Falkland Islands.
§ Mr. Raison£15 million have been made available for civilian rehabilitation. The balance of £31 million is being provided for the economic development of the Islands.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will give a breakdown of the use of the £10 million announced in July 1982 for urgent rehabilitation and repair work following the cessation of hostilities in the Falklands;
(2) if he will give a breakdown of £12 million spent on rehabilitation in the Falklands;
(3) on what projects he hopes to spend £3 million for rehabilitation in the Falkland Islands before the end of the current financial year.
§ Mr. RaisonExpenditure of the £10 million announced in July 1982 is subsumed in the £12.5 million spent so far on rehabilitation. This is broken down as follows (figures are rounded):
£ Housing 5.7 Roads repairs 2.5 Fuel, plant, equipment and materials for PWD 2.1 Mobile homes 0.5 Housing repairs 0.3 Falkland Islands Government Service 1.1 Miscellaneous 0.3 12.5 Most of the balance of £2.5 million is expected to be spent on completing the housing project and meeting local costs associated with the rehabilitation work.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why he has made a grant of £5 million for rehabilitation and repair work in the Falklands in excess of the original £10 million.
§ Mr. RaisonThe initial allocation of £10 million made in July 1982 had been fully committed by November 1982. Further rehabilitation of essential services was necessary and my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced on 8 December 1982—[Vol. 33, c. 859]—that a further £5 million would be made available for that purpose.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the amount spent so far of the £31 million made available over six years for longer-term economic development of the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonExpenditure by the end of the present financial year from the £31 million grant is estimated to be around £2.5 million.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost of the restoration of the Falkland Islands Government air service.
§ Mr. Raison£1,098,532.56 were spent on the restoration of the Falkland Islands Government air service.
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§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost so far of the repair of roads in Port Stanley and the road to the Port Stanley airport.
§ Mr. RaisonThe cost to the end of December 1983 was £5,689,021.42.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost so far of the repair and replacement of damaged housing in Port Stanley.
§ Mr. RaisonThe cost of materials supplied so far is £347,580.34.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the cost to Her Majesty's Government of timber prefabricated houses from Sweden, erected in the Falkland Islands;
(2) what is the final cost of the construction of 54 furnished pre-fabricated houses in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonThe final cost of the project is not yet known. The latest estimate is under £7 million.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what cost Her Majesty's Government have provided fuel, plant, tools, building materials, and equipment to the Falkland Islands Government Public Works Department.
§ Mr. RaisonThe cost of providing these items was £2,133,230.50.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what cost Her Majesty's Government have provided 20 mobile homes in Port Stanley for temporary accommodation.
§ Mr. RaisonIn all 30 mobile homes have been supplied at a cost of £516,376.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the cost of his proposal to expand the grassland trial unit, now known as the Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre;
(2) what expansion he plans of the Falkland Islands agricultural research centre;
(3) how much Her Majesty's Government spend and intend to spend on identifying research, and developing and refining methods for the greater production of wool by developing new sheep farming systems in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonWork on increasing wool production is one of the principal activities of the Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre to which Her Majesty's Government are contributing an estimated £320,000 this financial year. A proposal is currently under consideration to expand the Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre along the general lines recommended by Lord Shackleton and his team in their 1982 economic study of the Islands. I hope to be able to take a decision on this shortly.
The cost of the proposal will depend on the extent to which it is agreed the Centre should be expanded.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of the feasibility study on an improved harbour complex in the Falklands, including a new deep water jetty.
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§ Mr. RaisonThe cost of the study is not expected to exceed £140,000
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken to improve water and power supplies in the Falklands, and at what cost.
§ Mr. RaisonFeasibility studies of future long-term power and water requirements have been undertaken by consultants. Their reports are being considered. In order to meet immediate requirements in those sectors orders have been placed for a range of equipment. Total estimated costs to date amount to £388,000.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of plans to improve telecommunications in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonThe cost of improving telecommunications cannot be assessed until Consultants have studied the existing system and made recommendations on what those improvements might be. I hope to appoint consultants, shortly, to undertake such a study.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to receive the final report from consultants recommending the establishment of a pilot plant for salmon ranching in the Falklands; what is the cost estimate; and what is his estimate of the migratory range of the salmon.
§ Mr. RaisonThe final report was sent to the Falkland Islands Government in December 1983 for their consideration. The estimated cost of establishing and running a pilot plant over 8 years is £494,000. The consultants estimate the migratory range of the salmon at between 50 and 400 miles.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what loans have been proposed to encourage small scale development projects or agricultural improvements in the Falklands;
(2) what loan he has made for the wool mill at Fox Bay East in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonI have received one request to date from the FIG to draw on the £31 million development grant so as to provide loan assistance to encourage small scale development projects. Under this arrangement I have agreed to £130,000 being made available for the wool mill project at Fox Bay East. No such proposals have been received in respect of agricultural improvements.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what report he has received from the agricultural mission, under the auspices of the Overseas Development Administration, which visited the Falklands in December 1983, to evaluate the results of fanning land subdivided before April 1982; and what was the cost to public funds of the mission.
§ Mr. RaisonA detailed report covering evaluation of the results of subdivision of land prior to April 1982, as well as other agricultural issues addressed by the mission, is currently under consideration.
The estimated cost of the mission, which included an ecologist, was £10,000.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost to public funds of a visit to the Falklands by a forestry consultant; 418W what study is being made of his report; and what estimate has been made of the economic return for 10 acres of forest in this area.
§ Mr. Raison£3,700 approximately. The report is now being considered by the Falkland Islands Government. There were insufficient data on which to make an estimate of the economic rate of return on 10 acres of forest.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what grant he is giving for a small scale industrial estate in Port Stanley.
§ Mr. RaisonI have agreed to make £127,500 available.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many entrepreneurs have expressed a wish to Her Majesty's Government to set up ventures in Port Stanley.
§ Mr. RaisonAll such inquiries are referred to the Falkland Islands Government office in London. At present it has 40 applications from persons wishing to set up businesses in the Islands. I understand that a number of other inquiries have been sent direct to Port Stanley.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of providing permanent boarding school facilities for secondary school children in Port Stanley.
§ Mr. RaisonI cannot give a figure at present, pending further information from the Falkland Islands Government about their plans for the establishment of permanent boarding school facilities.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are made for the teaching of Spanish language to pupils in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonSpanish lessons are available as an extra-curricular subject on a voluntary basis during the evenings for senior school students. At present 10 pupils attend. Spanish is taught for six periods a week in the junior school.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost of official visits to provide guidance to the Falkland Islands Government as to how they might develop educational and medical centres.
§ Mr. RaisonThe estimated cost is £17,500.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of the 50 expatriate officers in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonFifty six expatriate officers, on varying lengths of contract, are currently serving in the Falkland Islands, at an estimated cost of £870,000 for the financial year 1983–84.