Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a definition of a war; and if so, what it is.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
UK Defence Doctrine (Joint Doctrine Publication 0-01, 5th Edition, November 2014) defines war as 'a state of armed conflict between different countries, or different groups within a country'.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to make any redundancies at the Royal Ulster Rifles Museum in Belfast; if so, why; and whether any new staff are being recruited.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Royal Ulster Rifles Museum receives Government funding through a grant-in-aid arrangement. The museum is responsible for the recruitment and retention of its employees, who are appointed directly by the Museum, rather than as Crown Servants.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the qualifying criteria for servicemen to be considered as mobilised, and how mobilisation is recognised.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Reserve Forces are a valuable and highly valued component of the Armed Forces. Under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 the Secretary of State for Defence can authorise the mobilisation of Reserve Forces if it appears to him that it is necessary or desirable to use them to contribute to the delivery of the nation's security. All reservists are liable for mobilisation. The maximum period for which a reservist may be mobilised is up to one year in a four year period.
We aim to provide at least 28 days notice of mobilisation. In selecting individuals for mobilisation we will, as far as practicable, take into account their personal circumstances, including employment. The flexibility in selecting individuals for mobilisation will depend on the scale, urgency and nature of the threat. Employers and reservists can appeal against a mobilisation.
When a reservist reports for military service, a medical inspection is carried out and their physical fitness is measured to ascertain their wellbeing and fitness to deploy. Training appropriate to the nature of the task will be given prior to deployment.
Once mobilised individuals are paid as regulars and receive relevant allowances. In addition, reservists and their employers are entitled to claim financial assistance which mitigates the financial impact of the mobilisation.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have compensated those members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who underwent target practice without ear muffs; and if not, why not.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Yes, although some claims remain under consideration.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what non-disclosure agreements the Ministry of Defence made in 2003–04, and on what date each agreement was made.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence does not hold a central record of non-disclosure agreements and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 July (HL852), why no representatives of the Northern Ireland Executive take part in the decision making process for the allocation of the £35 million fund.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the then Minister for Defence Personnel, Veterans and Welfare (Anna Soubry) to the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr Donaldson) on 26 January 2015 to Question 221491.
The invitation to join the Covenant Reference Group remains open and if the Northern Ireland Executive wishes to accept, an invitation will also be extended to sit on the decision panel for future Covenant funding.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 27 June (HL501) regarding the distribution of the armed forces covenant (Libor) fund, who selected the charities for funding; when; and on what basis.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
In 2013, the Government made £35 million available to deliver Armed Forces Covenant commitments from fines levied on banks for the attempted manipulation of Libor. The cross-Government Covenant Reference Group, which is chaired by the Cabinet Office and includes representatives from key Government Departments, the Devolved Administrations, the Service charity sector, and the three Service Families Federations, set the priorities for the fund. The first two tranches focused on mental health and support for Service families, while the third tranche was open to any project meeting the principles of the Covenant.
In 2014, a further £40 million of Libor funds were made available specifically to support veterans with a housing need via the Veterans Accommodation Fund (VAF). The criteria and application process for both schemes were published on gov.uk.
Both funds were administered by the Armed Forces Covenant team. Against the agreed priorities, applicants had to demonstrate evidence of need, experience of providing a service and value for money. A decision panel was convened to agree the final allocation of funding.
The panel for the £35 million fund sat three times between 2012 and 2014 and included representatives from the Ministry of Defence Covenant and Financial Governance teams, H M Treasury, COBSEO, the three Service Families Federations, and the Welsh and Scottish Governments.
The panel for the VAF sat on 7 July 2014 and included representatives from the Ministry of Defence Covenant and Financial Governance teams, H M Treasury, the Welsh and Scottish Governments, the Army Families Federation, The Royal British Legion and COBSEO Housing Cluster.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why Northern Ireland only received a grant of £50,000 from the armed forces covenant (Libor) fund of £35 million which was shared amongst 96 armed forces charities and causes across the United Kingdom.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I am very pleased that, as a result of the Chancellor's decision in 2012 to transfer £35 million of Libor money to support the Armed Forces community, the fund has supported 96 charities and good causes in a variety of ways across the UK.
While it is correct that only one of the successful grant applications is designed to solely benefit the Northern Irish Armed Forces community, we anticipate that this community will benefit from a number of UK-wide projects which have received funding.
This year sees the implementation of a permanent commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant through a £10 million per annum Covenant Fund, which will be open to applications from across the whole of the UK. Details about the scheme will be announced later this year and I hope that we will see strong applications which will benefit the Armed Forces community in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, as a percentage of the total population in each area, how many former United Kingdom soldiers live in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence does not collect or hold information on all veterans, the majority of whom are the World War II and National Service generations. The latest estimate, taken from The Royal British Legion UK Household Survey of the Ex-Service Community 2014 published on 17 November 2014, is that there are some 2.83 million UK veterans.
The survey does not provide estimates of the number of veterans in England and the Devolved Administrations - there are estimates of numbers of the Armed Forces Community, but these include spouses, dependants and children.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, since it began, how much armed forces covenant funding has been allocated to projects in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Mark Lancaster), in the House of Commons on 2 June 2015 to Question number 428 from the hon. Member for St. Helens North (Conor McGinn).