§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of ground training in the Royal Air Force. [25563]
§ Mr. SoamesFollowing issue of the consultative document on 22 March 1995 recommending the closure of RAF Locking and the transfer of its training task to RAF Cosford, representations have been made by the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Sir J. Wiggin), and local authorities. My Department has consulted thoroughly with the trade unions and relevant local authorities, and full and careful consideration has been given to all of the representations that we have received.
Following this work I am satisfied that no issues have been raised which call into question the viability of the proposals, which satisfactorily meet our future ground training needs and save £6,000,000 per annum. I have therefore decided that RAF Locking should close by 1 April 1998.
We will, of course, continue to consult the trade unions about the detailed implementation of the closure and transfer of work to RAF Cosford.