HC Deb 18 March 1996 vol 274 cc64-5W
Mrs. Mahon

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which US National Security Agency bases in Britain have RAF status. [20644]

Mr. Soames

All bases made available by the Ministry of Defence for the use of United States visiting forces have RAF status.

Mrs. Mahon

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which RAF bases in the United Kingdom have no(a) runways, (b) jets and (c) other aeroplanes; how many United States personnel are stationed at each; and how much each base cost in the last year for which figures are available. [20642]

Mr. Soames

The information given in the following table covers all RAF bases in the UK where US personnel are present and which do not have an operational runway or aircraft:

RAF base Approximate number of US personnel
RAF Croughton/RAF Barford St. John 580
RAF Daws Hill/RAF High Wycombe/RAF West Ruislip 570
RAF Digby 12
RAF Edzell 530
RAF Hythe 5
RAF Menwith Hill 1,200
RAF Molesworth/RAF Alconbury 1,100
RAF Northwood 30
RAF Oakhangar 30
RAF Spadeadam 5
RAF Uxbridge 70

Arrangements that exist between the UK and US Governments provide for the reimbursement to the UK of most of the support costs associated with the US visiting forces. The exception is certain administrative and personnel costs. These are not separately recorded for each of the bases listed above but the total cost incurred in supporting the US visiting forces during 1994–95 was approximately £10.7 million.

Mrs. Mahon

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what basis and by whom it is decided that a base is to be designated as an Army, Navy or Air Force base; and what guidelines are available to inform that decision. [20643]

Mr. Soames

There is no specific definition of the term "base". The decision as to which service is responsible for a particular Ministry of Defence site is made on the basis of who is the major occupier and who has responsibility for matters such as security and maintenance. Sites used by US visiting forces are designated as RAF stations.