Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include (1) whole-life forecasts of nuclear weapons costs, and (2) the proportion of the defence budget spent on nuclear weapons, in future Defence Nuclear Enterprise annual updates.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan provides for £63.6 billion of investment in the Defence Nuclear Enterprise between 2026-27 and 2029-30.
The Government does not publish detailed spending figures or forecasts relating to nuclear weapons or wider defence nuclear capabilities for national security reasons. Accordingly, there are no plans to include such information in future DNE Annual Updates or other public reporting. High-level financial information will continue to be published through departmental financial reporting.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of public understanding of the nuclear deterrent; and what funding they have allocated to public engagement on nuclear policy in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence assesses public understanding of the UK's nuclear deterrent through polling and evaluation of its communications activity. While public support for the nuclear deterrent remains high, polling indicates there is scope to increase public awareness of the nuclear deterrent, including the programme to build new submarines and replace the UK's warheads. The Ministry of Defence engages the public through the National Endeavour communications campaign, which aims to improve understanding of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise and its contribution to national security and economic growth. As a Government Communication Service low/no-cost campaign, no specific funding has been allocated to it for public engagement on nuclear policy.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the annual report The UK's future nuclear deterrent: the 2022 update to Parliament will be published; and what is the reason for the delay in its publication.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The scheduled annual update to Parliament on the United Kingdom's future nuclear deterrent is undergoing final clearance procedures and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current annual cost of the Ministry of Defence's nuclear enterprise.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The forecast cost of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise for financial year 2021-22 is £6.5 billion, around 14 per cent of the £46 billion Defence budget.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Trident D5 missiles will be on each Dreadnaught class submarine when this class of submarine enters service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The last Trident D5 missile test took place as part of the Demonstration and Shakedown Operation with HMS Vengeance in 2016. The UK has sufficient Trident II D5 missiles for its needs.
The Dreadnought Class submarines will begin to enter service from the early 2030s. As announced in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy we will no longer give public figures for our deployed missile numbers.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the last Trident D5 missile test took place; and how many Trident D5 missiles the UK has.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The last Trident D5 missile test took place as part of the Demonstration and Shakedown Operation with HMS Vengeance in 2016. The UK has sufficient Trident II D5 missiles for its needs.
The Dreadnought Class submarines will begin to enter service from the early 2030s. As announced in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy we will no longer give public figures for our deployed missile numbers.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what studies they undertook to inform the decision to increase nuclear warhead numbers as announced in the policy paper, Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published on 16 March.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
While undertaking the Integrated Review, the Government engaged with a variety of stakeholders with an interest in our nation's security and prosperity, and the global challenges the UK will face over the coming years. These included allies, partners, civil society organisations and businesses.
We remain committed to maintaining the minimum destructive power needed to guarantee that the UK's nuclear deterrent remains credible and effective against the full range of state nuclear threats. This judgement includes an assessment of the decision-making processes of future potential aggressors, and an analysis of the defensive measures that they might employ. Therefore, in recognition of the developing range of technological and doctrinal threats the UK will increase the overall nuclear weapon stockpile ceiling from no more than 225 to no more than 260 warheads, an increase of 15 per cent.