Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential contribution of conscription to UK defence.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has no plans to reintroduce conscription. Since 1963, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces which are manned by volunteers.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use Overseas Patrol Squadron vessels to monitor hostile activity in the UK's fisheries and against vulnerable undersea assets in regions such as the North Sea.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence constantly monitors activity within UK waters and its Economic Exclusion Zone to counter and deter detected threats.
The Royal Navy's Batch 1 Offshore Patrol Vessels, of the Overseas Patrol Squadron, are frequently used on a high readiness basis in UK waters to undertake domestic security tasks, including escorting foreign warships through UK waters. This is in addition to the Fleet Ready Escort and other persistently available Royal Navy platforms.
The Government takes the security and resilience of undersea infrastructure, including cables, interconnectors, and pipelines, very seriously. These are critical to our national infrastructure, and we monitor the full range of threats and risks.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on strengthening the Armed Forces Covenant.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Armed Forces Covenant annual report, laid before the house on 16 December 2014, sets out the tremendous progress that was made during 2014. For a summary of the key points I refer the hon. Member to the written statement provided by my right hon Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Fallon) on 16 December 2014, (Official Report, columns 82-83WS).
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to promote service in the Reserves.
Answered by Julian Brazier
We make regular use of national and local media to increase public awareness of the contribution our Reserves make to Defence through both general marketing and highlighting Reserves activity. Recently, for example, we have publicised the support given by Reservists in the operation to counter the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. This helps to increase recognition of the contribution that Reservists make and to demonstrate to potential recruits the range of challenges and opportunities within the Reserves.
The Army Reserve's updated 'More Than Meets the Eye' campaign starts on 16 January 2015 with a PR launch at Waterloo Station, whilst the Royal Air Force has also developed a Reserves-specific advert.
Local units also play an important role in promoting Reserve service. For example, in your constituency, Work Place Recruiting Events were run by local Army and RAF personnel at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs in Malton in October and November 2014.