HC Deb 05 May 1998 vol 311 c283W
Mr. Key

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sea-going posts were available, by ship, to Royal Naval reservists in(a) 1993 and (b) 1998. [39629]

Dr. Reid

In 1993, the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) had its own dedicated squadron of nine River Class minesweepers, supporting a sea-training programme totalling 25,480 man-days per year.

As a result of the restructuring of the RNR during 1994, this squadron of vessels was disbanded. Instead, it was decided to provide training opportunities to RNR personnel throughout the Fleet and alongside Regular RN personnel, thus providing them with exposure to a wider range of vessels and operations. This resulted in 33,284 man-days training at sea being available during 1997–98. Not all of these available days were taken up by Reserve personnel. It should be noted that the flexibility provided by the Reserve Forces Act 1996 permits greater deployment of RNR personnel in other capacities, shorebased as well as seagoing.

Dates Submarine Project Collective dose
December 1966-January 1967 Valiant Docking/survey 1
June 1967-August 1967 Valiant DDED 1
March 1968-June 1968 Warspite DDED 1
July 1968-September 1968 Valiant DDED 1
December 1968-February 1969 Valiant DDED 1
May 1969-July 1969 Warspite DDED 1
August 1969-September 1969 Valiant DDED 1
April 1970-May 1972 Valiant Refit/refuel 12
October 1970-December 1970 Warspite DDED 1
June 1971-October 1973 Warspite Refit/refuel 18
October 1972-January 1973 Dreadnought DDED 1
April 1973-June 1973 Churchill DDED 1
July 1973-October 1973 Conqueror DDED 1
February 1974 Warspite Docking 1
December 1973-October 1975 Churchill Refit/refuel 8
May 1974-October 1976 Dreadnought Refit/refuel 17
October 1975-June 1977 Conqueror Refit/refuel 8
November 1976-July 1978 Courageous Refit/refuel 8
April 1977-January 1978 Sovereign Special docking 1.5
January 1978-February 1980 Valiant Refit/refuel 12
February 1979-May 1979 Dreadnought DDED 1
August 1979-March 1982 Warspite Refit/refuel 13
January 1980-June 1980 Conqueror DDED 1
May 1980-September 1980 Couragous DDED 1
October 1980-May 1983 Churchill Refit/refuel 6
March 1982-March 1983 Dreadnought Decommissioning 1
1The dosage for Dockings and Docking and Essential Defects (DDED) was very small, at approximately 0.1 man sieverts.

In addition, decontamination and closure of the refit facility contributed a further 0.085 man-sieverts.

Mr. Shaw

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made with the reconstruction of dosage records for ex-Chatham Dockyard workers announced in June 1997. [38786]

Mr. Spellar

Circumstances requiring dose reconstruction have not yet arisen in any cases considered under the Nuclear Industry Compensation Scheme.