HL Deb 18 May 1998 vol 589 cc149-50WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the South-West of England (LFA2) is more heavily used for military low flying training than the North of Scotland (LFA14), although it is much smaller and more densely populated; and whether they will establish a different balance of operations. [HL1781]

Lord Gilbert

The intensity of low flying activity varies from area to area because of a number of operational, geographical and climatic factors. These include: where aircraft are based and the location of military training areas; the prevailing weather conditions; the incidence of danger areas and restricted airspace around airfields and industrial hazards, within which military aircraft are not generally permitted to fly, and built-up areas, which they avoid; and the size of the area concerned. Helicopter activity makes up around two-thirds of low flying within LFA2. Helicopters are relatively short range aircraft and, because of this, a concentration of activity close to helicopter bases and military training areas is inevitable. The Royal Navy helicopter bases at Culdrose, Portland and Yeovilton, the Royal Marines barracks at Chivenor and Lympstone and the Army training area on Dartmoor are all in, or close to, LFA2. Nevertheless, Her Majesty's Government will continue to do all they can to ensure that low flying is distributed as equitably as practicable.

Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

To what extent Northern Ireland (LFA19) is currently used for military low flying training; and why no figures for this area were published in The Pattern of Military Low Flying Across the UK in 1997, published by the Ministry of Defence in March 1998. [HL1782]

Lord Gilbert

The scope for low flying training in Northern Ireland, LFA19, is limited because of the operational, mainly helicopter, activity which necessarily goes on there. Details are not included in the Ministry of Defence paper because low flying within Northern Ireland, most of which is carried out in support of operational tasks, is not comparable with low flying training in the rest of the United Kingdom.