Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the performance, endurance and range of Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters by the introduction of (1) tactical data links, and (2) in-flight refuelling equipment.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The requirement for a Wildcat tactical data link, as well as options for extending fuel ranges, remain under review by the Royal Navy. I cannot comment further on matters relating to the future capability of our assets as it is likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made with initiatives to (1) encourage and enable serving members of the Royal Navy to purchase homes near to bases where they are serving, and (2) provide information about financial assistance that is available to those members.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As well as access to Forces Help to Buy and Government Help to Buy schemes the Royal Navy is leading on the tri-service pilot for the Future Accommodation Model which will commence at the end of September 2019. This will offer further incentive for home-ownership for Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the introduction, operation and effectiveness of the Future Accommodation Model for the accommodation of Royal Navy personnel and their families working and based at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, Faslane.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Accommodation for our Service personnel is essential to the delivery of military capability. Ministry of Defence officials are preparing to test the Future Accommodation Model (FAM) through a pilot which we expect to launch at the end of the year. The pilot will allow us to test and refine the FAM, ensuring we have the right accommodation policy in place for the needs of Service personnel.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the future manpower, equipment, potential and likely deployment strategy of 736 Naval Air Squadron.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
736 Naval Air Squadron, based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, provides a wide range of training at sea, including maritime aggressor training and air threat simulation, for the Royal Navy and international Defence allies.
While the Ministry of Defence aims, in the future, to take advantage of synthetic training environments, a requirement to support Defence training activities with live aircraft will remain. The future delivery of this training, including the overall equipment and manpower requirements, will be decided through the Air Support to Defence Operational Training programme
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the future of the Royal Navy Air Squadron.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
736 Naval Air Squadron, based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, provides a wide range of training at sea, including maritime aggressor training and air threat simulation, for the Royal Navy and international Defence allies.
While the Ministry of Defence aims, in the future, to take advantage of synthetic training environments, a requirement to support Defence training activities with live aircraft will remain. The future delivery of this training, including the overall equipment and manpower requirements, will be decided through the Air Support to Defence Operational Training programme