§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current establishment for Royal Air Force Aston Down, near Stroud; what is the current work and purpose of the station; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAston Down ceased to be a Royal Air Force station in 1961 and is now a stores depot for the Ministry of Defence procurement executive. It has three roles—the storage of aircraft jigs and tools, the processing of used ammunition containers and, finally, the disposal, by auction, of vehicles and other equipment.
In addition, both the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have a small presence at the depot as lodger units. The depot has a strength of six Ministry of Defence civil servants, but the main part of the operation on the site is carried out under contract.