Civil Emergencies (Hansard, 4 December 1992)

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton

Details of military assistance during industrial disputes is given in the table. I also refer the hon. Member to table 6.3 in successive editions of the "Statement on the Defence Estates" volume 2 and to table 3.13 in the "Defence Statistics 1992".

Details of assistance during civil emergencies is not held in the form requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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Year and period	Event	Location	Military action
1977
August to 1 November	Air Traffic Control Assistant's strike	West Drayton, London	12 × 4,000 gallon military oil tankers driven by RAF personnel delivered fuel to RAF West Drayton
4 September to 7 November	Electricity workers' dispute	Nationwide	Contingency plan involving 6,000 Servicemen considered but not implemented
14 November to 16 January 1978	Fire Brigades' strike	Nationwide	20,750 Servicemen with over 1,000 Green Goddesses in Operation
1978
February	Oil tanker drivers' dispute	Nationwide	15,000 troops on standby
26 July to 14 August	Naval Dockyard workers dispute	Faslane (Scotland)	Royal Navy personnel replaced civilian workforce to load Polaris submarine HMS Revenge
3 to 10 November	Prison Officers Association dispute	Nationwide	1. In Great Britain: RVH Netley and Gordon Barracks, Guildford, reconnoitred as possible temporary prisons
			2. In Northern Ireland: WETC Magilligan converted to Her Majesty's Prison Foyle 118 soldiers provided the outer guard force and 20 cooks the catering facilities
18 December to 10 January 1979	Oil tanker drivers* overtime ban	Nationwide	1. In Great Britain: Soldiers on standby
			2. In Northern Ireland: 672 soldiers deployed
1979
Early to 12 January	Water workers' strike	North West England and South Yorkshire	Servicemen on standby
22 January to 9 April	Ambulance Service strikes	Nationwide	Over 2,000 Servicemen crewed Service ambulances
Mid May to late June	Civil Service dispute	Clyde, Devonport, Glascoed (Gwent)	Some Royal Navy personnel involved in naval work in Devonport
September	Industrial Civil Servants selective strikes	Naval Dockyards, Ordnance Factories, RAF stations, Aldermaston	Some Service personnel used to take over emergency tasks, e.g., a RAF fire-fighting crew was deployed to AWRE Aldermaston and RAF fitters replaced civilians at St. Athan
24 October to 3 December	Charing Cross Hospital engineers' strike	London	Assistance in providing oil considered but not implemented
1 to 17 December	Oil tanker drivers' overtime ban	Nationwide	Troops on standby
1980
17 January to 21 February	Water Workers' dispute	Nationwide	Services on standby
November to December	Fire Service dispute	Nationwide	472 Service crewed Green Goddesses on standby
6 October to 20 February 1981	Prison Officers Association dispute	Nationwide	1,000 Servicemen at Her Majesty's Prisons Frankland and Rollestone in Great Britain and Her Majesty's Prison Foyle in Northern Ireland
1981
7 to 14 January	Ambulance Service strike	South Yorkshire	Some crews on standby. Dispute ended before military assistance needed
16 February to 16 March	Water workers' strike	North East and North West England	Troops on standby
9 March to 3 August	Non-industrial Civil Servants' strike	Defence Establishments Nationwide	16 Royal Navy personnel used at Coulport to Re-arm Polaris submarine HMS Resolution

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Year and period	Event	Location	Military action
15 June to 3 August	Ambulance Service strike	Nationwide	Although military ambulances and crews were stoodby, only 9 RAF ambulances were actually involved in Wales
16 November to 2 December	Oil tanker drivers' strike	Nationwide	15,000 Servicemen on standby
1982
June to July	British Railways and London Transport strike	Nationwide	Sappers laid Somerfield and Class 30 Trackway in Hyde Park and Regents Park in London
May to September	Ambulance Service strike	Nationwide	Military ambulances and crews on standby. Only one recorded use in London. Dispute ended 16 December 1982
1983
24 January to 24 February	Water Workers' strike	Nationwide	Troops placed on standby
31 March to 8 April	Merchant Navy Crew dispute	Tyneside	55 Royal Navy personnel replaced civilian crew of the Keren
April	Fire Brigade dispute	Nationwide	13,000 Servicemen and 850 Green Goddesses on standby
1984–85
12 March 1984 to 5 March 1985	Miners' strike	Nationwide	Logistic assistance to police
1986
April to August	Prison Officers' Association dispute	Nationwide	6 Field Support Squadron Royal Engineers, with a troop of 3 Field Squadron, converted Rollestone Camp to a temporary prison. Troops earmarked to operate the prison not deployed
29 May to 4 June	Post Office dispute	West Yorkshire	Temporary Field Post Office set in York (4–6 June) to handle official mail. "Self-help' Plan not fully implemented
1987
June to November	Prison overcrowding	Nationwide	9 Paratroop Squadron Royal Engineers, converted Rollestone Camp to a temporary prison for civilian use. Handed back to Ministry of Defence 27 November
5 to 7 October	Fire Brigade strike	West Glamorgan	1 Royal Hampshire Battalion Group with 320 Servicemen (including 17 Royal Navy and 20 Royal Air Force) manned 15 Green Goddesses and 3 Fire Rescue Teams
1988
30 March to 2 December	Prison overcrowding	Nationwide	400 troops, mainly Royal Engineers, converted Rollestone and Alma-Dettingen Camps to temporary prisons. 500 tri-Service personnel operated the two prisons
8 to 23 September	Post Office dispute	Nationwide	21 British Forces Post Offices set up in United Kingdom to provide an emergency postal service for Ministry of Defence and Her Majesty's Forces at home and abroad
5 to 10 October	Fire Brigade dispute	Bedfordshire	One convoy 2 Green Goddesses with drivers from 27 Regiment Royal Corp Transport, to man a total of 5 Green Goddesses, plus 2 Royal Navy and 4 Royal Air Force FRTs. Troops were warned for the operation, but did not deploy
1988–89
8 November to 19 March	Ambulance Services strike	Nationwide	Over 1,200 Servicemen crewed Service ambulances
4 July to 25 August	British Railways and London Transport strike	London	Sappers laid Trackway in Hyde Park and Regents Park

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