§ Mr. PageTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has yet made arrangements for the exchange of visits between the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down and the Soviet chemical warfare facility at Shikhany.
§ Mr. Ian StewartAn exchange of visits between the Chemical Defence Establishment (CDE) at Porton Down and the Soviet chemical warfare facility at Shikhany was originally suggested by the United Kingdom in 1986. At that time the Soviet Union had not yet acknowledged that it possessed chemical warfare (CW) stocks, but it did so in early 1987. It accepted the idea of an exchange of visits in principle towards the end of last year.
Arrangements have now been made for the Soviet Union to send an official team to visit Porton Down from 24 to 26 May, as the first part of the exchange of visits. In return, a United Kingdom team will visit Shikhany in July for an equivalent period. These visits are designed to improve confidence and understanding between Britain and the USSR in the context of the continuing negotiations of the conference on disarmament in Geneva for a comprehensive and global ban on chemical weapons, which is one of NATO's arms control priorities. They will involve the exchange of scientific, technical and military information on CW-related matters.
Since the United Kingdom abandoned its chemical weapons capability in the 1950s, the role of the CDE is 545W research into protective measures for United Kingdom armed forces for defensive purposes. The Soviet CW complex at Shikhany, on the other hand, is part of their substantial capability for the research, development and production of chemical weapons.
The programme at Porton Down will be designed to maximise the opportunities for the exchange of information and for building confidence between the two sides. In addition to the visit to CDE, it will include a tour of the other facilities and organisations at Porton Down, including the United Kingdom defence nuclear biological and chemical centre and the DHSS public health laboratory service centre for applied micro-biological research. At CDE the facilities to be visited will include research and trials units, and the recently constructed facility for the destruction of old CW agents. It is intended that the full range of CW-related issues should be discussed during the visit, including production, assessment of the CW hazard, storage, trials, detection, protection, monitoring, decontamination, medical countermeasures and disposal.
NHS directly employed staff Trent Regional Health Authority Whole-time equivalents1 District health authorities Ancillary Nursing2 and midwifery Medical3 and dental Administrative4 and clerical Others5 Total At 30 September 1982 North Derbyshire 722 1,875 84 293 320 3,294 South Derbyshire 1,672 3,939 202 891 1,216 7,920 Leicestershire (T) 2,803 6,176 574 1,479 1,573 12,604 North Lincolnshire 1,103 2,272 123 515 794 4,807 South Lincolnshire 813 1,803 96 384 334 3,431 Bassetlaw 219 591 35 139 124 1,107 Central Nottinghamshire 1,113 2,019 99 440 489 4,160 Nottingham (T) 2,702 5,181 557 1,510 1,938 11,887 Barnsley 623 1,445 109 389 329 2,896 Doncaster 778 2,311 126 457 392 4,063 Rotherham 712 1,563 87 361 344 3,068 Sheffield (T) 3,183 6,092 629 1,507 1,554 12,964 RHA HQ and HQ units 122 90 *780 656 830 2,477 Regional total 16,564 35,354 63,500 9,019 10,237 74,674 At 30 September 1983 North Derbyshire 729 1,913 83 315 342 3,383 South Derbyshire 1,619 3,860 208 839 1,249 7,774 Leicestershire (T) 2,727 6,065 596 1,411 1,619 12,419 North Lincolnshire 1,052 2,260 110 537 800 4,759 South Lincolnshire 809 1,874 98 401 354 3,536 Bassetlaw 219 597 35 144 126 1,120 Central Nottinghamshire 1,116 2,038 101 435 501 4,191 Nottingham (T) 2,590 5,168 564 1,412 1,949 11,684 Barnsley 604 1,454 111 373 328 2,869 Doncaster 766 2,318 125 444 409 4,061 Rotherham 708 1,532 93 348 352 3,033 Sheffield (T) 3,101 6,068 649 1,431 1,573 12,822 RHA HQ and HQ units 118 85 *815 930 826 2,774 Regional total 16,158 35,230 63,586 9,020 10,428 74,423 At 30 September 1984 North Derbyshire 788 1,964 91 356 404 3,602 South Derbyshire 1,479 3,867 214 860 1,325 7,744 Leicestershire (T) 2,580 6,017 592 1,488 1,765 12,442 North Lincolnshire 945 2,293 111 541 820 4,710 South Lincolnshire 744 1,905 95 422 380 3,546 Bassetlaw 207 624 32 149 152 1,163 Central Nottinghamshire 1,026 2,071 108 474 550 4,229