Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Ministry of Defence's Review of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations 2019, published on 24 March 2020, what plans they have to increase volunteer support for the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets Associations under the proposed formation of a Non-Departmental Public Body.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The 2019 Review of the Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations (RFCAs) recognises that a key strength of the RFCAs is their extensive volunteer membership, which brings with it a breadth of expertise and community links.
Through the establishment of a Non-Departmental Public Body, The Ministry of Defence will look to both preserve and enhance the volunteer ethos, establishing a diverse and inclusive organisation representative of the communities in which they serve, enabled by a vibrant and active volunteer cohort.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the organisation Justice 4 Troops, established on 5 June to address military grievances.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
There is a well-established Service Complaints process for those personnel who wish to raise grievances about any aspect of their Service life. This is underpinned by legislation and independently overseen by the Service Complaints Ombudsman (SCO) for the Armed Forces. Justice 4 Troops is a community interest company incorporated in July 2019. Justice4Troops has no official mandate to intervene in grievances or their handling; this is a role it has self-appointed. Accordingly, no assessment has been made, nor is one appropriate. Representations received from this organisation are not afforded any particular status within the Ministry of Defence, but we do remain concerned to ensure that the individuals who engage with Justice4Troops are provided with unbiased advice to ensure that they do not miss the opportunity to raise any grievance through the official channels.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the reasons for decommissioning the Vigilant T1 aircraft.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Vigilant T1 originally had an Out-of-Service Date of 2019; this was brought forward to May 2018 in order to refocus resource for the benefit of the Cadets, extending the life of the Viking conventional glider and investing in the wider Air Cadet Aerospace Offer.
The glider recovery programme from 2014-2018 covering both Viking Conventional glider and Vigilant motor-glider was subject to routine investment appraisal processes. This showed that substantial operational, technical and commercial negotiations with a range of aerospace leaders in this field had failed to find a value for money approach to successfully repair and recover or replace all the gliders. Therefore, in line with the available technical and commercial capacity the value for money was in restructuring the Aerospace Offer for cadets.
The recovery programme of both glider types was resourced within wider support contracts which also supported the operation of the active fleets with Volunteer Gliding Squadrons. Consequently, we cannot separately identify the resource used for the recovery of the six Vigilant airframes which were successfully recovered prior to the Out-of-Service date.
The Vigilant fleet was disposed of to Aerobility. I am withholding the value of the disposal sale as it would prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what the proposed costs were of works to bring the Vigilant T1 aircraft back online for training RAF Air Cadets.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Vigilant T1 originally had an Out-of-Service Date of 2019; this was brought forward to May 2018 in order to refocus resource for the benefit of the Cadets, extending the life of the Viking conventional glider and investing in the wider Air Cadet Aerospace Offer.
The glider recovery programme from 2014-2018 covering both Viking Conventional glider and Vigilant motor-glider was subject to routine investment appraisal processes. This showed that substantial operational, technical and commercial negotiations with a range of aerospace leaders in this field had failed to find a value for money approach to successfully repair and recover or replace all the gliders. Therefore, in line with the available technical and commercial capacity the value for money was in restructuring the Aerospace Offer for cadets.
The recovery programme of both glider types was resourced within wider support contracts which also supported the operation of the active fleets with Volunteer Gliding Squadrons. Consequently, we cannot separately identify the resource used for the recovery of the six Vigilant airframes which were successfully recovered prior to the Out-of-Service date.
The Vigilant fleet was disposed of to Aerobility. I am withholding the value of the disposal sale as it would prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Vigilant T1 aircraft sold for.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Vigilant T1 originally had an Out-of-Service Date of 2019; this was brought forward to May 2018 in order to refocus resource for the benefit of the Cadets, extending the life of the Viking conventional glider and investing in the wider Air Cadet Aerospace Offer.
The glider recovery programme from 2014-2018 covering both Viking Conventional glider and Vigilant motor-glider was subject to routine investment appraisal processes. This showed that substantial operational, technical and commercial negotiations with a range of aerospace leaders in this field had failed to find a value for money approach to successfully repair and recover or replace all the gliders. Therefore, in line with the available technical and commercial capacity the value for money was in restructuring the Aerospace Offer for cadets.
The recovery programme of both glider types was resourced within wider support contracts which also supported the operation of the active fleets with Volunteer Gliding Squadrons. Consequently, we cannot separately identify the resource used for the recovery of the six Vigilant airframes which were successfully recovered prior to the Out-of-Service date.
The Vigilant fleet was disposed of to Aerobility. I am withholding the value of the disposal sale as it would prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, was given to (1) replacing, or (2) refurbishing, the Vigilant airframes; and if any such consideration was given, why were both options rejected.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Vigilant T1 originally had an Out-of-Service Date of 2019; this was brought forward to May 2018 in order to refocus resource for the benefit of the Cadets, extending the life of the Viking conventional glider and investing in the wider Air Cadet Aerospace Offer.
The glider recovery programme from 2014-2018 covering both Viking Conventional glider and Vigilant motor-glider was subject to routine investment appraisal processes. This showed that substantial operational, technical and commercial negotiations with a range of aerospace leaders in this field had failed to find a value for money approach to successfully repair and recover or replace all the gliders. Therefore, in line with the available technical and commercial capacity the value for money was in restructuring the Aerospace Offer for cadets.
The recovery programme of both glider types was resourced within wider support contracts which also supported the operation of the active fleets with Volunteer Gliding Squadrons. Consequently, we cannot separately identify the resource used for the recovery of the six Vigilant airframes which were successfully recovered prior to the Out-of-Service date.
The Vigilant fleet was disposed of to Aerobility. I am withholding the value of the disposal sale as it would prejudice commercial interests.