§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men and women on active service in(a) Bosnia and (b) elsewhere are working 60 hours per week or more.
§ Mr. SoamesWe do not maintain detailed records of the hours worked by service personnel on operational duty in Bosnia. The information that is available, however, indicates that last year some 20 per cent. of other ranks worked in excess of 60 hours per week.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on current policy over British armed forces serving in Bosnia.
§ Mr. SoamesBritish troops continue to make a major contribution to the United Nations operation in the former Yugoslavia which has helped to save hundreds of thousands of lives. We intend to maintain this contribution so long as our forces can continue to carry out the UN mandate at an acceptable level of risk.
§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what commitment the United States has given to deploy ground troops in Bosnia.
§ Mr. SoamesThe President of the United States has recently indicated his willingness, in principle, to contribute ground forces to any NATO-led operation to support a withdrawal of UNPROFOR, should that become necessary.