§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will name the home defence exercise which is planned to take place in March or April to train Government staff in north-east England home defence region No. 2; what number and grades of officials from each Department will participate in the exercise; and which local government staff, public and private utility staff and staff from other agencies with designated war appointments will take part in the exercise.
§ Mr. John PattenA limited exercise, called REGEX, is due to take place within home defence region No. 2 in April 1988. Its aim is to test the procedures for the 723W operation of regional government headquarters in wartime. About 50 designated staff of various grades will be taking part, drawn from a number of Departments and public services, including the police and fire services and the armed forces.