§ Mr. LazarowiczTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress the Meteorological Office has made with its programme of upgrades to radar sites. [110386]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Met Office has carried out all the upgrades that were announced in its Scientific and Technical review 2001–02. These have been implemented throughout the United Kingdom radar network sites and are already delivering the expected benefits in terms of operational reliability and efficiency.
In addition, the Met Office now has plans for some further improvements to follow on from the upgrades mentioned above. These include improving the data retrieval techniques and improved data handling. This will result in increased accuracy and reduction in false alarms. Multiple beam operations will be introduced, which will allow the Met Office to more reliably detect weather systems, despite the interruption caused by, for example, mountains blocking the path of the radar beam.
The Met Office are also working closely with the Environment Agency to determine the technology that might be employed for the next generation of weather
42W
Outward secondments financial year 1997–98 Band/Grade Parent company or organisation Secondment location (where known) Start date End date B2 Babtie Group Scotland April 1997 October 1998 SCS GEC Marine North West June 1997 June 1998 B1 AWE plc South November 1997 November 1999 C1 Centre for Defence Studies London May 1997 November 1999 B2 Northern Development Company North East July 1997 July 2000 C2 (IT) Bull Information Systems West September 1997 September 2000 CO2 Bull Information Systems West September 1997 September 2000 CO2 Bull Information Systems West September 1997 September 2000 C2(IT) Bull information Systems West September 1997 — CO3 Bull Information Systems West September 1997 — B2 Horizon IJVC Ltd./VSEL London September 1997 September 1999 SCS Thompson Marconi Sonar West November 1997 November 1999 B2 Northern Development Company North East September 1997 On-going D (Temp) Opps. for People with Disabilities West October 1997 April 1999 COS Bull Information Systems West October 1997 October 2000 D(IT) PSYBT Scotland October 1997 October 1999 B (Temp) Business in the Community (Opps2000) London October 1997 February 2000 C1 (IT) British Airways London December 1997 March 2000 C1 Thompson Marconi Sonar South December 1997 December 1999 B2 BAES South March 1998 May 2000 B1 Rolls Royce & Assoc West March 1998 March 2000 B2 Princes Youth Business Trust South November 1997 November 2000 C2 PSYBT Scotland November 1997 November 1997 radars. There are opportunities to employ new techniques that can potentially identify both the quantity and the type of precipitation, which will lead to further improvements in accuracy in forecasting potential floods and other consequences of severe weather.
§ Mr. LazarowiczTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Meteorological Office intends to establish a new weather radar station to serve the south-east of Scotland and north-west of Scotland areas. [110385]
§ Dr. MoonieCurrent weather radar coverage in Scotland is provided by three radars, one situated just south of Glasgow, one near Aberdeen and one on the Isle of Lewis.
The Met Office is in discussion with the Scottish Executive and a windfarm developer over plans to site a windfarm around the Glasgow radar. Were the windfarm to go ahead it would unacceptably compromise the performance of the radar and negate its contribution to the severe weather service for Scotland. A potential solution being considered includes removal of the current Glasgow radar installation and the construction of two new radar sites to maintain coverage of the south-east of Scotland area.