§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ceremonial swords have been bought or repaired and at what cost during the last five years; and how many such swords are now in circulation in the armed forces.
§ Mr. SoamesThis is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency under the414W terms of his framework document. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Richard Kirby to Mr. Alan Milburn, dated 8 December 1994:
I have been asked by the Minister for Armed Forces to reply to your Parliamentary Question about ceremonial swords. Truly ceremonial swords are only issued to the most senior officers and are very few in number. In replying to your question I have assumed, therefore, that you required information on all swords.Our records indicate that, during the past 5 years 560 swords have been procured at a cost of £365,700 (including scabbards where appropriate). We have also had refurbished some 576 swords at a cost of £156,700. At present it is estimated that there are 415W approximately 2,500 swords in use or held in pools for use by the Armed Forces.These figures exclude the many swords which are procured privately by officers and regiments and for which we hold no records.