Oral Answers to Questions — Defence – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 3 May 1983.
Mr George Foulkes
, Ayrshire South
12:00,
3 May 1983
asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are proposals for extending the Ministry of Defence activities at Prestwick airport.
Mr Jerry Wiggin
, Weston-Super-Mare
We are considering an extension to HMS Gannet, the Royal Navy helicopter unit at Prestwick to replace facilities which date from the second world war.
Mr George Foulkes
, Ayrshire South
Quite apart from that, how does the Minister explain the contradiction between his statement to me in a written answer that there had been no discussions with the Americans about the setting up of a strategic distribution centre at Prestwick, and the statement a week later by the Secretary of State for Scotland that there had been discussions but the proposals were abandoned? What guarantee do we have that such proposals will not be resurrected by Congress without any consultation with us?
Mr Jerry Wiggin
, Weston-Super-Mare
I understand that the United States Air Force had an internal plan to build a warehouse at Prestwick—
Mr George Foulkes
, Ayrshire South
Why did the hon. Gentleman not know that?
Mr Jerry Wiggin
, Weston-Super-Mare
The plan was not funded by Congress and therefore no formal application was put to the Government.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
, Edinburgh West
Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that there is a strong case for restoring a flying role to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force at Prestwick, in view of the excellent facilities there?
Mr Jerry Wiggin
, Weston-Super-Mare
As the white paper stated last year, that matter is under consideration. I cannot say whether such a flying unit will be based at Prestwick, but I shall bear my hon. Friend's remarks in mind.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
