Written Question

Indo-pacific Region: Armed Forces

Friday 5th November 2021

Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for a future UK military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

The plan for the UK's future military presence in the Indo-Pacific region was outlined in the Defence Command Paper in March and remains on track. Following the success of the Carrier Strike Group's deployment to the region, we are now delivering on the commitments set out in the Defence Command Paper. HMS Spey and Tamar are now operating in the Pacific Ocean where they will work with allies and partners in the region for the foreseeable future, building on the UK’s existing presence in the Indo Pacific, including in Brunei and Singapore.

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Written Question

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

Tuesday 13th November 2018

Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a policy towards the recruitment of Fijians into the British Armed Forces.

Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords

To be eligible to join the British Armed Forces an individual must be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen, either as a sole or dual national. As Fiji is a member of the Commonwealth, its citizens are eligible to apply to join. There is no recruitment process specifically for Fijian nationals. All British, Irish and Commonwealth nationals are required to make an online application and, if successful, will then go through the recruitment and selection assessment process in the UK for the Service they are applying to join.

Information held by the Ministry of Defence on the numbers of Regular personnel who reported a Fijian nationality on joining the British Armed Forces in each Financial Year (FY) since 1998-99 is provided in the following table.

Number of Regular personnel reporting a Fijian nationality on intake to the British Armed Forces (FYs 1998-99 to 2017-18)

FY	Royal Navy/Royal Marines	Army	Royal Air Force (RAF)	Total
2017-18	~	160	~	160
2016-17	-	70	~	70
2015-16	-	10	~	10
2014-15	~	10	-	10
2013-14	10	20	-	20
2012-13	~	50	-	50
2011-12	~	60	~	70
2010-11	10	30	-	40
2009-10	20	30	-	50
2008-09	30	140	~	170
2007-08	20	220	-	240
2006-07	..	20	~	20
2005-06	..	110	..	110
2004-05	..	220	..	220
2003-04	..	280	..	280
2002-03	..	470	..	470
2001-02	..	490	..	490
2000-01	..	260	..	260
1999-00	..	320	..	320
1998-99	..	20	..	20
Total	110	2,980	10	3,100

Notes:

1. Nationality is not part of the Royal Navy/Royal Marines and RAF legacy datasets (data held prior to the introduction of the Joint Personnel Administration System) and as such figures for these Services are included only from 2007-08 for Royal Navy/Royal Marines and 2006-07 for RAF.

2. The declaration rate for nationality on intake for FY 2017-18 is 99.1%. Some personnel will declare their nationality after intake; figures in this table show nationality declared at intake.

3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. ‘~’ indicates a number less than 5. ‘-‘ indicates zero.

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Written Question

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

Tuesday 13th November 2018

Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Fijians have joined the British Armed Forces in each of the last 20 years.

Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords

To be eligible to join the British Armed Forces an individual must be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen, either as a sole or dual national. As Fiji is a member of the Commonwealth, its citizens are eligible to apply to join. There is no recruitment process specifically for Fijian nationals. All British, Irish and Commonwealth nationals are required to make an online application and, if successful, will then go through the recruitment and selection assessment process in the UK for the Service they are applying to join.

Information held by the Ministry of Defence on the numbers of Regular personnel who reported a Fijian nationality on joining the British Armed Forces in each Financial Year (FY) since 1998-99 is provided in the following table.

Number of Regular personnel reporting a Fijian nationality on intake to the British Armed Forces (FYs 1998-99 to 2017-18)

FY	Royal Navy/Royal Marines	Army	Royal Air Force (RAF)	Total
2017-18	~	160	~	160
2016-17	-	70	~	70
2015-16	-	10	~	10
2014-15	~	10	-	10
2013-14	10	20	-	20
2012-13	~	50	-	50
2011-12	~	60	~	70
2010-11	10	30	-	40
2009-10	20	30	-	50
2008-09	30	140	~	170
2007-08	20	220	-	240
2006-07	..	20	~	20
2005-06	..	110	..	110
2004-05	..	220	..	220
2003-04	..	280	..	280
2002-03	..	470	..	470
2001-02	..	490	..	490
2000-01	..	260	..	260
1999-00	..	320	..	320
1998-99	..	20	..	20
Total	110	2,980	10	3,100

Notes:

1. Nationality is not part of the Royal Navy/Royal Marines and RAF legacy datasets (data held prior to the introduction of the Joint Personnel Administration System) and as such figures for these Services are included only from 2007-08 for Royal Navy/Royal Marines and 2006-07 for RAF.

2. The declaration rate for nationality on intake for FY 2017-18 is 99.1%. Some personnel will declare their nationality after intake; figures in this table show nationality declared at intake.

3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. ‘~’ indicates a number less than 5. ‘-‘ indicates zero.

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 23 May 2016
Queen’s Speech

"My Lords, I welcome most warmly the contents of the gracious Speech, and I congratulate the Government. I was glad to see the commitment to secure the long-term future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent and to invest in Britain’s Armed Forces. In my view, our military capabilities have been reduced to …..."
Lord Goodlad - View Speech

View all Lord Goodlad (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Queen’s Speech

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