Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK’s participation in the European Sky Shield Initiative on the UK’s “Team Complex Weapons”.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) is proactively engaging in the European Sky Shield Initiative in support of its current Land Ground Based Air Defence programme. In so doing, the UK MOD is looking to identify opportunities with its European partners to build on and strengthen the UK's Team Complex Weapons portfolio.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of River-class patrol vessels.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
There are currently no plans to increase the number of River-class Offshore Patrol Vessels. The National Shipbuilding Strategy sets out the pipeline of future Royal Navy procurements.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of basing Royal Navy Lynx Wildcat helicopters on the east coast to reduce flight times to Critical National Infrastructure in the North Sea and environs.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Royal Navy assets are based at locations where they can be logistically supported and are at their most agile. The Wildcat Maritime Force, which is based at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, is one of a range of assets held at high readiness that could be deployed by the Royal Navy to respond to any threat in UK waters.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of enhancing River-Class Offshore Patrol Vessels to protect Critical National Infrastructure in the North Sea and environs.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Royal Navy constantly assess the optimal mix of platforms and capabilities required to deliver its outputs, including Homeland defence and underwater and seabed infrastructure protection. The Royal Navy's Offshore Patrol Vessels safeguard our territorial waters, protect fishing stocks and perform constabulary duties both in UK waters and overseas. They are not currently assessed as the optimal means of protecting our underwater and seabed infrastructure, but we keep this under constant review.
The Government have accelerated the acquisition of two Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ships in order to protect Critical National Infrastructure such as subsea cables and pipelines.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK's fleet of F35B jet fighters has been supplied with the software necessary to allow fully autonomous mission planning.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK Lightning Force is designed, operated and supported in a manner which provides full Sovereign freedom of action in all operational contexts, from mission planning through to execution.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to increase the (1) availability, and (2) use of, the British Army's Armoured Fighting Vehicles fleet.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
To meet the current and future threats, the Army is aiming to be "More Ready", which includes increasing the availability and readiness of our Armoured Fighting Vehicle fleet (AFVs).
In addition to increased activity across Europe in support of NATO, there has also been a significant increase in the Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) placed within units. This means the vehicles are maintained and utilised more by personnel, rather than being held in storage. Similarly, an enlarged training fleet of AFVs has allowed for increased AFV driver and commander training to be carried out.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) proportion, and (2) absolute value, of Ministry of Defence spend on procurement of goods and services that were denominated in dollars for 2021–22; and what is anticipated for 2022–23.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
For financial year (FY) 2021-22, the Departmental spend on the procurement of goods and services in dollars was around USD$5.3 billion, which is approximately 8.4% of the total £46 billion Defence budget. For FY 2022-23, the Department does not routinely release forecast spending figures.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which departmental budget funds the purchases of military equipment from third (1) nations, or (2) parties, for onward supply to Ukraine; and what is the current anticipated spend in 2022–23.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Her Majesty's Treasury are funding all Ukraine associated procurement. The Department does not routinely release forecast spending figures and all spend in the current financial year will be captured and published in the Department's Annual Reports and Accounts in due course.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they plan to invest in improving and replacing living accommodation in barracks and married quarters for Armed Forces personnel in 2022/23.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
£460.358 million of investment is planned to improve and replace Single Living Accommodation and Service Family Accommodation across the UK Defence Estate for Armed Forces personnel in Financial Year 2022-23.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they invested in improving and replacing living accommodation in barracks and married quarters for Armed Forces personnel in 2021/22.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
£284.875 million has been invested in improving and replacing Single Living Accommodation and Service Family Accommodation for Armed Forces personnel across the UK Defence Estate in Financial Year 2021-22.