Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of transferring RAF Scampton to the Home Department on the preservation of defence heritage.

The MInistry of Defence has had to make some difficult decisions to dispose of sites that have become surplus to military requirements in accordance with HM Treasury guidance on the management of surplus government land. Full consideration was given to the history and heritage of the site ahead of the decision to dispose, and plans to protect the heritage for future generations were put in place ahead of closure. These included relocating a number of heritage assets where appropriate, and ensuring the future owners are aware of their responsibilities in the preservation of all listed assets as is standard for all disposals. The responsibility of Scampton has now been officially transferred from the RAF to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, where the final processes will be completed before the site ownership is transferred to the Home Office, where it has been selected to temporarily house asylum seekers.