Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make any changes to the size and location of the Royal Marine garrisons in Plymouth.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As part of the Service's Structural Rebalancing Plan earlier this year, 200 Royal Marines positions will be reassigned to the wider Royal Navy by 2020.
As announced in November 2016, the Ministry of Defence intends to dispose of Royal Marines Stonehouse in 2023 and The Royal Citadel in 2024, and re-provide for Units from them in the Plymouth and Torpoint area. Exact locations are subject to on-going assessment. Parliament and staff within the impacted Units will be informed when a decision on reprovision has been made.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contributions of (1) HMS Albion, and (2) HMS Bulwark, to the UK’s overall amphibious capability; and whether they intend to decommission either vessel.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review stated that one of the Royal Navy's two Landing Platform Docks would in future be placed at low readiness while the other is held at very high readiness for operations. HMS ALBION and HMS BULWARK have, accordingly, alternated in the low and high readiness profile since 2010. HMS ALBION recently exited her five-year period of low readiness following a successful regeneration programme and is now undertaking operational sea training.
On current plans, the decommissioning dates for HMS ALBION and HMS BULWARK are 2033 and 2034 respectively. Speculation about the potential outcome of the National Security Capability Review is exactly that: speculation.