Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of the Port Talbot steelworks on the UK’s ability to defend itself and to support the defence of its allies.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Tata Steel's plans to cease UK primary steel production at its Port Talbot steelworks are not anticipated to adversely impact defence. Specialist steels that are unavailable from UK sources are already sourced by our prime contractors from overseas suppliers. Other grades of steel are likely to remain available from UK sources or are widely available on world markets.
Ministers across Government, including the Minister for Defence Procurement, continue to work closely with our suppliers to ensure that we have the capability to procure the steel required for the UK's national security and defence programmes.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the remarks by the new Chief of the British Army that "there is now a burning imperative to forge an Army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle" represents Government policy.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The 2021 Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper set out a year ago that Russia poses “the greatest nuclear, conventional military and sub-threshold threat to European security”.
Warfighting capability remains the cornerstone of deterrence and the bedrock of a world-class British Army. The ability and willingness to commit hard capability to fighting wars is a fundamental foundation of our influence and deterrence.
Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, therefore confirms why the UK must be ready to defend and deter threats emanating from our adversaries in a deteriorating global security environment.
We continue to review our capabilities and readiness levels as we deliver the transformation of the Army under Future Soldier.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the remarks by the new Chief of the British Army on 16 June regarding "fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle", (2) the potential for more fatalities as a result of the UK's involvement in the war against Russia; and what estimate they have made, if any, of the number of fatalities that would result from UK involvement in the conflict.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The ability and willingness to commit hard capability to fighting wars is a fundamental foundation of our influence and deterrence. As outlined in the Integrated Review, we will continue to work with our Allies and partners to increase our interoperability and burden sharing, ensuring a united response to threats to global security, combining our military, diplomatic and intelligence assets in support of collective security.
We conduct a rigorous assessment of the risks associated with providing defensive capabilities to Ukraine. However, Ukraine is not a NATO member and Ministers have been clear that UK troops will not fight alongside the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We do not comment on hypothetical situations.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to remarks by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 15 November (HL Deb, col 16), what assessment they have made of the international arbitration tribunal’s rulings on the £400 million payment to be made to Iran; whether they intend to pay it; if so, when they will do so; and what assessment they have made of the example this case may set to other governments.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I refer the noble. Lord to the answer I gave to the Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford on 29 November 2021 to Question HL3988.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the event that the military is used to support the enforcement of new COVID-19 restrictions, whether military personnel will be empowered to issue fines for breaches.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
There are no plans for military personnel to be empowered to issue fines.