Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what expenditure was incurred between 2007 and 2021 on (1) security, and (2) maintenance, at St Lucia Barracks in Omagh, County Tyrone.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The cost of security provision for St Lucia Barracks prior to 2015 is not held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD); security costs were managed by the Department for Education.
The cost of security provision incurred by the MOD for St Lucia Barracks for the period Financial Year (FY) 2015-16 to FY 2020-21 was £442,331. This is 60% of total costs; the remaining 40% is met by the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure.
Information on maintenance expenditure for St Lucia Barracks from FY 2006-07 to 2009-10 is not held.
Maintenance expenditure for St Lucia Barracks from FY 2010-11 to FY 2020-21 was £570,100.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reliance on one dry dock facility in the UK by the Royal Navy given the susceptibility (1) to enemy attack, and (2) to occupation by other vessels.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has adequate plans to deal with urgent dry docking requirements for all class of ships operated by the Royal Navy. Where there is not a sovereign dock capability, there are arrangements to use commercial facilities and there is no reliance on a single facility to undertake dry dock maintenance.
Maintenance and dry docking requirements, outside of an urgent requirement, are carefully planned in order to maintain the availability of Royal Navy ships.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure there are adequate dry docking facilities available within the UK to guarantee that the Royal Navy has access for urgent repairs.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has adequate plans to deal with urgent dry docking requirements for all class of ships operated by the Royal Navy. Where there is not a sovereign dock capability, there are arrangements to use commercial facilities and there is no reliance on a single facility to undertake dry dock maintenance.
Maintenance and dry docking requirements, outside of an urgent requirement, are carefully planned in order to maintain the availability of Royal Navy ships.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the provision of urgent short-term dry docking requirements for the Royal Navy, given the break down of HMS Prince of Wales.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has adequate plans to deal with urgent dry docking requirements for all class of ships operated by the Royal Navy. Where there is not a sovereign dock capability, there are arrangements to use commercial facilities and there is no reliance on a single facility to undertake dry dock maintenance.
Maintenance and dry docking requirements, outside of an urgent requirement, are carefully planned in order to maintain the availability of Royal Navy ships.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers to have a full complement of aircraft.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The composition and size of an embarked air group in a deploying Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) carrier will be specifically tailored to meet the operational requirement.
The QEC carriers have been designed to be able to embark 40 aircraft, a mix of fixed wing and rotary wing, with both currently cleared to operate a spectrum of Ministry of Defence aircraft.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers can be reconfigured with catapult launch capability.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Both Queen Elizabeth Class carriers could be reconfigured to operate a catapult launch system. They were built to allow for capability changes over the lifespan of the ships.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, what plans they have to accelerate the Propulsion Improvement Programme for the Type 45 Destroyers to ensure that the fleet is fully operational before 2028 as currently scheduled.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
We continually review optimal delivery within the Complex Warship Support Plan. The Type 45 ships remain available for operational tasking when not undergoing maintenance activity or their PIP conversion.
HMS DAUNTLESS, the first ship to undergo the PIP conversion, has commenced a harbour trials programme and is due to return to sea later this year for sea trials. HMS DARING is currently at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, with conversion work to be carried out during 2022. The Ministry of Defence will take into account the lessons learned from HMS DAUNTLESS and apply them to HMS DARING's conversion.
The programme is dependent on the availability of ships to undertake the upgrade, balanced against the Royal Navy's current and future operational commitments. PIP conversions are planned to take account of the regular Upkeep cycle to maximise overall class availability and meet the readiness profile required to meet Defence outputs.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, whether they will review the amount of national resources devoted to defence spending.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Government is clear that Defence should be led by our understanding of the threats it needs to counter. The Government's Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published last year, sets out how the Department will respond to the threats to the UK and recognises that the 'bulk of the UK's security focus will remain' on the Euro-Atlantic region. This was supported by the Spending Review 2020 settlement of an additional £16.5 billion for Defence which will support modernisation of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long term security implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine; and what amendments they assess are required to the UK's defence posture and capabilities as a consequence.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Through his reckless actions, President Putin has severely damaged Russia's international reputation for many years to come. The UK's defence posture, deployments, and capabilities will continue to evolve, building on the work already set out in the 2021 Integrated Review. Alongside Allies and partners, we will ensure that we meet the challenges posed by President Putin.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the costs that will be incurred as a result of the decision to renew and expand nuclear warhead production.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Replacement Warhead programme is in its early preliminary phases and it is therefore too early to provide a cost estimate at this stage.