Below is the response to the petition.
We welcome the preservation of the Vulcan XH558 and applaud the commitment by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.
The Government is committed to obtaining best value for money from the Defence budget. This involves balancing the many and varied calls for funding.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has seconded RAF engineers to the project to restore Vulcan XH558. Normally we would have charged the full costs of this support. In this case, the Vulcan Trust has paid significantly less. The MOD has also agreed to reduce the charges for basing the Vulcan at RAF Waddington, should the Vulcan Trust wish to proceed with that option. For the flight out of RAF Cottesmore on 16th April, the Vulcan Trust also benefited from a waiver of landing fees. Funding is also provided to the Service museums through grants in aid and an Avro Vulcan is already preserved at the RAF Museum.
We are pleased to see that this project to restore the Avro Vulcan XH558 aircraft and allow it to be displayed across the country has been recognised by the £2,734,000 that the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded to the Vulcan to the Sky Trust in 2004.
The MOD continues to support military heritage across the three Services through a variety of initiatives. Care needs to be taken to ensure that a balance is struck within the resources available.
The link is: - http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page15351.asp
Graham
Vulcan
Moderators: Guru's, The Ministry
