§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost to date 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 since late 1982 to date is about £24,000.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the latest figure for the cost of his proposal to expand the grassland trial unit, now known as the Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre;
(2) 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;
(3) what decision has been made on the proposal to expand the Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre.
§ Mr. RaisonAs explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 23 July last, at column477, £2.5 million has been allocated for the expansion and operation of the agricultural research centre, formerly known as the Falkland Islands agricultural research and development centre, over the next five years. The primary objective of 431W the ARC is to identify and develop methods aimed at an increased production of wool through improved nutrition, animal health, husbandry and management.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what loans have now been proposed to encourage small-scale development projects for agricultural improvements in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonThe Falkland Islands Development Corporation has approved loans for equipment for the bakery in Stanley, the establishment of a dairy, a snack bar, and an electrical contracting business. Proposals for the establishment of a dry-cleaning business, market gardening, tannery and skin processing and the development of tourism are under consideration.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what amount of loan he has now been paid for the wool mill at Fox Bay East in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonThe full amount of £130,000 has now been made available.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment is made of the visit to the Falklands by a forestry consultant; and what study is being made of his report;
(2) what consideration Her Majesty's Government have given to the report of the forestry consultant who visited the Falkland Islands in September 1983.
§ Mr. RaisonThe report has been considered carefully by the Falkland Islands Government, who have decided that implementation of the proposals should be deferred for the time being on the grounds of cost and the uncertain benefits compared with other priorities for spending in the agricultural sector. The recommendations will be kept under review by the agricultural research centre and the Falkland Islands Development Corporation.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated cost to date for 1984–85 of the expatriate officers in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonThe estimated cost to end December 1984 is £720,000.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his latest estimate of the cost of plans to improve telecommunications in the Falklands; and if he will make a statement on the consultant's report on this matter.
§ Mr. RaisonThe estimated capital cost of implementing the recommendations made by the consultants is £785,000. This includes the provision of a new automatic telephone exchange and distribution network in Stanley and improved communication links with outlying settlements.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what action is being taken to improve water and power supplies in the Falklands; and at what cost;
(2) what consideration he is giving to the reports of feasibility studies on future long-term power and water requirements in the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonConsultants have reported on the long-term power and water requirements in Stanley. A project432W to improve power supplies, including additional generating capacity and an improved distribution system, is being undertaken at an estimated cost of £2.9 million. A project to improve the water supply is in preparation. The cost is likely to be about £3 million.
§ 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. RaisonCumulative expenditure at the end of December was £3.8 million.
§ 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 now the completion cost of Brewster houses in Port Stanley; and how much in excess of the tender this is;
(3) what is the latest cost estimate of the 54 Brewster homes on the Falklands.
§ Mr. RaisonI have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member on 14 January at column19.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what total cost to date 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 £2.146 million.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost of the feasibility study on an improved harbour complex in the Falklands, including a new deep water jetty.
§ Mr. RaisonThe final cost is not yet known as the study is still in progress. Expenditure to date is £53,942.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many kilometres of road have now been completed in Port Stanley town and at what cost, broken down into plant, materials, contractors' camp, freight, insurance, management, local costs, and other items;
(2) what has been the cost so far of the repair of roads in Port Stanley and the road to the Port Stanley airport.
§ Mr. RaisonAs explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 23 July 1984, at column475,11.1 km of roads have been repaired or reconstructed—4.8 km Stanley town roads and 6.3 km airport road. A total of £6.8 million was allocated, including provision for a stone crusher which was not, in the event, used on this project but transferred elsewhere. Estimated expenditure is £6.3 million made up as follows:
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£ thousand Capital items, plant and spares 1,377 Materials 301 Camp accommodation and equipment 532 Procurement, shipping and insurance 929 Labour and messing 2,348 Management fee 391
£ thousand Local costs 389 6,267 Of this, £3.2 million was for Stanley town roads, £2.9 million for the airport road and £200,000 for minor tasks on behalf of, or materials handed over to, the Public Works Department.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what has been the availability of the hostel for school children in Port Stanley;
(2) what is the cost in 1984–85 of providing permanent boarding school facilities for secondary school children in Port Stanley.
§ Mr. RaisonAt present 18 girls are accommodated in Stanley House and 24 boys in mobile homes in its grounds at an estimated cost to the Falkland Islands Government of £94,280 in 1984–85. Two dormitory blocks are now being erected in the grounds of Stanley House which when completed, will accommodate a total of 84, meeting all the expected demand for boarding facilities. The present estimated cost of the new dormitories is £925,000.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what grants have now been paid for a small scale industrial estate in Port Stanley.
§ Mr. RaisonExpenditure to date is £26,222.
§ 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. RaisonAs explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 23 July 1984, at column476, it is not possible to give a precise figure because the information available cannot be broken down in sufficient detail. Excluding the cost of the prefabricated housing project, part of which was to replace housing destroyed during the conflict in 1982, £360,000 has been spent on repairs to housing.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the payment to James Brewster Associates in relation to their claims for extra costs for Brewster houses in Port Stanley caused by delays in shipping and port handling.
§ Mr. RaisonDelay claims settled to date total £370,194.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the current rate of occupation for Brewster houses in Port Stanley;
(2) how many Brewster houses on the Falklands are currently unoccupied;
(3) when he hopes to complete sewerage, water and electrical services to make all the Brewster houses in Port Stanley habitable.
§ Mr. RaisonI have nothing to add to the reply which I gave the hon. Member on 14 January at column19.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what safety inspection has been undertaken of Stanley House schoolboys' hostel and its electric wiring.
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§ Mr. RaisonAs explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 23 July last, at column476, Stanley House was rewired in 1981 and, in accordance with the standard procedure of the Institute of Elctrical Engineers, it would not be due for a complete inspection for five years. However, the kitchem was rewired in March 1983 when new equipment was installed and regular examination of wiring is carried out.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there are now fire hydrants at Stanley House schoolboys' hostel.
§ Mr. RaisonThere is little to add to my reply to the hon. Member on 23 July last, at column476. There are no fire hydrants in or immediately adjacent to the building, but there are hydrants in streets bordering the plot. There are five extinguishers in Stanley House itself and in every mobile home in the grounds, as well as automatic smoke detectors. There are fire alarm hand bells in Stanley House and in the area adjacent to the mobile homes and fire drills are practised regularly.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of Port Stanley's central roads still need repair.
§ Mr. RaisonAs explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 23 July last at column43, it is estimated that within Stanley town boundaries 3.25 km of surfaced roads require reconstruction or less major patch and fill repairs; and that a further 3.85 km of unsurfaced roads require surfacing.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he is satisfied with concrete surfaces on Port Stanley roads.
§ Mr. RaisonAs explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 2 July last, at column43, 2.285 km of roads in Stanley have been reconstructed in concrete. The surfaces are, I believe, considered satisfactory.