§ 14. Mr. Alexanderasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that all future Home Office publications giving general information and advice on civil defence to the public include detailed and comprehensive information on the properties and effects of chemical and biological weapons, their detection, warning systems and the protective measures to be taken.
§ 20. Mr. Harrisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means the public will be warned of the presence of lethal chemical substances in the event of chemical weapons being used against United Kingdom targets; and what signals will be used.
§ 27. Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means the presence of local concentrations of lethal chemical substances will be detected in the event of chemical weapons being used against the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HurdThe Government are a party to the 1972 convention banning biological weapons. We are playing a leading part at the conference on disarmament at Geneva to achieve a comprehensive verifiable ban on the production, stockpiling and use- of chemical weapons. In the absence of a chemical weapons ban, we are actively considering how the present warning arrangements could be used for the detection and warning of the danger presented by chemical weapons and what protective measures may be taken.
We shall keep the House informed of progress.
§ 15. Mr. McCuskerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that no local authority 209W will suffer Government financial penalty as a result of expenditure in fulfilment of its civil defence responsibilities.
§ Mr. HurdIncreased expenditure on civil defence in 1983–84 and 1984–85 will be disregarded when the liability of local authorities (in England and Wales) to grant holdback is calculated.
§ 18. Mr. Beaumont-Darkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of the additional civil defence responsibilities given to local authorities, he will revise the guidance given in circular ES1/1972 on the establishment of emergency planning officers.
§ 21. Mr. Patrick Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he expects compliance by local authorities with the new Civil Defence Regulations 1983 to result in an increase in the total civil defence grant-aid payable to local authorities.
§ Mr. HurdYes. We expect the grant to local authorities to increase from £9.4 million in 1983–84 to £11.1 million in 1984–85.
§ 22. Mr. Foxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will create a civil defence inspectorate to ensure that a minimum acceptable standard is achieved by all local authorities.
§ Mr. HurdWe do not intend at present to do so. The Department has issued a civil defence questionnaire on compliance to county councils and the Greater London council and is appointing a professional civil defence adviser to help us to assess responses.
§ 29. Mr. Traceyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will explain the reason for a fall of approximately £1 million in the civil defence grant paid to local authorities between 1983–84 and the estimated figure for 1984–85.
§ Mr. HurdNo fall in the payment of civil defence grant is expected. Grant paid to local authorities is budgeted to increase from £9.4 million in 1983–84 to an estimated £11.1 million in 1984–85.
§ 33. Sir Anthony Kershawasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase the number of visits by staff of F6 department of his Department to local authorities and to attend local authority civil defence training sessions and exercises.
§ Mr. HurdOfficials will continue to make these visits, and the appointment of the new civil defence adviser will help us to build up further our contacts with local authorities.
§ 35. Mr. Bill Walkerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has given to local authorities on the light rescue role of civil defence volunteers; and what training and equipment he has indicated they should receive.
§ Mr. HurdHome Office circular No. ES 1/1983 to local authorities on 30 November 1983 about the implementation of the new civil defence regulations drew attention to the function of planning for a wartime rescue210W service. It explained that such plans should involve the resources of, inter alia, civil defence volunteers. We shall continue to develop more detailed guidance for issue in due course.
§ 37. Mr. Gerald Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider extending the number of civil defence functions which are 100 per cent. funded from central funds.
§ Mr. HurdThe Civil Defence (Grant) (Amendment) Regulations 1983 extended complete reimbursement to communications, staff training and the expenses of volunteers. At present we have no further extensions in mind.
§ 42. Mr. Lyellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the findings of the Easingwold committee for co-ordination of training of civil defence volunteers.
§ Mr. HurdThe findings of the working party on the training of civil defence volunteers will be circulated to local authorities later this year; and placed in the Library of the House.
§ 47. Mr. Wattsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the minimum percentage requirement is for a static shelter policy for the general public in the event of a civil defence emergency.
§ Mr. HurdLocal authorities were asked in Home Office circular No. ES 1/1976 to earmark suitable premises to provide shelter for some 2 per cent of the resident population, solely in order to provide for people caught in transit at the time of an attack. Copies of the circular are in the Library of the House. Under the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983, local authorities are required to make plans for utilising such buildings, structures, excavations and other features of land in their area which might be suitable for use for the purpose of providing civil defence for the public. These shelters would be for people caught away from their homes or living in accommodation offering low protection against radiation. The number of places with these shelters could provide is not linked to any particular percentage of the population resident in a local authority area.
§ 52. Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will identify the two counties in which civil defence volunteers are organised.
§ Mr. HurdCivil defence volunteers, including scientific advisers, are recruited and trained throughout the country. How exactly they are organised is a matter for individual local authorities. So far only Devon and Surrey have formal, county-wide organisations.
§ 54. Dr. Michael Clarkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to be able to announce the name of the civil defence adviser at the Home Office.
§ Mr. HurdAs soon as possible on the completion of the Home Office open competition, probably before the end of July.
§ 57. Mr. Aspinwallasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what films and audio-visual programmes are available from Government sources for training community civil defence volunteers.
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§ Mr. HurdThe available films need updating. This need is to be examined by the Home Office working party on volunteer training as part of its work on training material.
§ 64. Mr. Squireasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is monitoring the effectiveness of grant-aided expenditure on civil defence by local authorities which have declared their areas to be nuclear-free zones.
§ Mr. HurdA questonnaire has already been issued to all county councils and the Greater London council.