Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review their decision to cut the number of armed forces personnel, in light of the conflict in Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The 2021 Integrated Review recognised the unprecedented challenges posed by geopolitical shifts, including intensifying competition between states, a widening range of security threats, and rapid technological change. To that end, the Armed Forces will become more agile and designed for permanent and persistent global engagement.
The Government is committed to strengthening the capabilities of the Armed Forces. This is underpinned by the decision to increase defence spending by over £24 billion over the next four years: the biggest investment in the UK’s Armed Forces since the end of the Cold War. We will continue to ensure we are threat-led and review our capabilities accordingly.
This commitment reinforces the UK’s position as the leading European NATO Ally and underlines our enduring commitment to the defence and security of Europe.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish unredacted the report of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority into the Ajax Armoured Vehicle programme.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
There are no plans to publish the IPA Assurance report of the Armoured Cavalry programme which contains commercially sensitive material. Such IPA reports are not intended for release. The current level of delivery confidence and the reasons behind such an assessment will shortly be published by the IPA in their Annual Report and accompanying transparency release.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances they have received from General Dynamics over (1) the overall cost of the Ajax Armoured Vehicle programme, and (2) the delivery of fully operational equipment under this programme.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The contract with GDLS-UK covering the 589 vehicles, training and support is a Firm Price contract. There are 5 Capability Drops as part of the incremental delivery of the programme, with Capability Drop 4 as the final build standard to which all vehicles will be retrofitted. Drop 1 commenced mid 2020 and Drop 4 is currently planned to complete by the end of 2024.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Royal Navy ships are currently undergoing repair; and how many were out of service for repairs in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
All Royal Navy (RN) ships rotate through planned operating cycles involving maintenance, repair, training, deployment, leave and upgrades. This results in individual ships being at various levels of readiness at any one time in accordance with the long-term operating schedule and operational needs; they remain in service during these periods. These periods are necessary for any highly complex system maintenance and are essential to ensure ships are fit for purpose in the most hostile of operational environments. In addition, the periods provide an opportunity to complete modifications and to fit essential upgrades to systems.
Repair work on individual ships and their systems takes place during both planned maintenance periods and operational deployments. It is our policy to not disclose the readiness state of individual ships as this would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. However, currently the following RN ships are undertaking routine docking or their deep refit period and are therefore unavailable for operational tasking:
HMS RICHMOND; HMS DAUNTLESS; HMS PEMBROKE; HMS LANCASTER; HMS SOMERSET; HMS PORTLAND; HMS MIDDLETON; HMS IRON DUKE; HMS DARING
Maintenance of Royal Navy warships is funded through an In Service Support allocation of Naval funds through a Maritime Support Delivery Framework contract.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of repairing Royal Navy ships currently unfit for action.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
All Royal Navy (RN) ships rotate through planned operating cycles involving maintenance, repair, training, deployment, leave and upgrades. This results in individual ships being at various levels of readiness at any one time in accordance with the long-term operating schedule and operational needs; they remain in service during these periods. These periods are necessary for any highly complex system maintenance and are essential to ensure ships are fit for purpose in the most hostile of operational environments. In addition, the periods provide an opportunity to complete modifications and to fit essential upgrades to systems.
Repair work on individual ships and their systems takes place during both planned maintenance periods and operational deployments. It is our policy to not disclose the readiness state of individual ships as this would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. However, currently the following RN ships are undertaking routine docking or their deep refit period and are therefore unavailable for operational tasking:
HMS RICHMOND; HMS DAUNTLESS; HMS PEMBROKE; HMS LANCASTER; HMS SOMERSET; HMS PORTLAND; HMS MIDDLETON; HMS IRON DUKE; HMS DARING
Maintenance of Royal Navy warships is funded through an In Service Support allocation of Naval funds through a Maritime Support Delivery Framework contract.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possibility of using St Helena Airport as a refuelling stop for flights to and from the Falkland Islands.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The distance between the UK and the Falkland Islands and the time spent over water necessitates the use of large aircraft which have the capability to operate the route. The runway length at St Helena Airport has been assessed by the Ministry of Defence as not sufficient to enable our large military aircraft to operate from it.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to revert to using Ascension Island as a refuelling stop after scheduled works have been completed; and when they expect flights using Ascension to resume.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Following the scheduled restructuring works to the Wideawake runway on Ascension Island, the Ministry of Defence fully intends on returning to Ascension Island to continue operation of the South Atlantic Airbridge to the Falklands.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the completion of scheduled works to the US Airbase Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island, the RAF will resume their use of that airfield.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Ascension Island remains strategically important in supporting the Ministry of Defence (MOD) mission in the South Atlantic. The MOD fully intends to return to Ascension Island following the full restructuring of the runway.