HC Deb 16 November 2001 vol 374 c954W
Mr. John Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Defence Aviation Repair Agency requested the assistance of the Welsh Development Agency to facilitate the relocation of the fixed wing aircraft repair business from RAF St. Athan to Cardiff International Airport. [15156]

Mr. Ingram

Informal discussions initially took place between the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) and the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) during October and November 2000. DARA gave a formal presentation to the WDA on 12 December 2000 detailing the business development needs at DARA' s sites in Wales (St. Athan and Sealand).

Mr. John Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the cost of retaining four sites within the Defence Aviation Repair Agency. [15154]

Mr. Ingram

No formal assessment of the cost of retaining four sites within the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) has been carried out. I refer my hon. Friend to the letter by the then Minister of State for the armed forces, Mr. Spellar. dated 31 January 2001, which gives a breakdown of the actual cost for running the four sites in financial year 1999–2000, copies of which were placed in the Library of the House.

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