§ Lord Stoddart of Swindonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures they took to ensure that the public were adequately informed about the issues relating to the closure of defence establishments in Wiltshire; what measures of consultation were adopted; and why these did not include meeting with the Wiltshire Defence Working Party.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Henley)On the day of theFront Line First announcement, Defence Ministers wrote to Members of Parliament whose constituencies were potentially affected by the particular proposals, while officials in my department brought them to the notice of the trades unions and local authorities. The same arrangements have applied to the issue of formal consultative documents setting out the detailed rationale for individual proposals. In addition, my department has taken steps to ensure that national and regional media are aware of the outcome of Front Line First. As regards Wiltshire specifically, officials from the county and all local councils have been invited to liaison meetings with the Defence Lands Service to discuss the closure and disposal of defence sites. The first of these meetings will be held on 23 November.
My officials were unable to attend the meeting on 7th October of the Wiltshire Defence Working Party because they were only given four days' notice and the appropriate representatives had prior commitments. This was explained to the County Council, and they were invited before the meeting to seek any information they required.