Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when decisions will be made about replacements for the forward repair vessel RFA Diligence and the aviation training casualty receiving ship RFA Argus.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence is considering a range of options in the Strategic Defence and Security Review; this will include an assessment of the out of service dates of RFA Diligence and RFA Argus.
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the age of each of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships currently in service.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The year of launch of each Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship currently in service is shown below:
Ship | Launched |
RFA BLACK ROVER | 1973 |
RFA GOLD ROVER | 1973 |
RFA FORT ROSALIE | 1976 |
RFA FORT AUSTIN | 1978 |
RFA ARGUS | 1981 |
RFA DILIGENCE | 1981 |
RFA FORT VICTORIA | 1990 |
RFA WAVE KNIGHT | 2000 |
RFA WAVE RULER | 2001 |
RFA MOUNTS BAY | 2004 |
RFA CARDIGAN BAY | 2005 |
RFA LYME BAY | 2005 |
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average age of officers serving in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in the rank of (1) Chief Officer, and (2) Captain.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested is provided below.
Rank | Average Age in Years |
Captain | 55 |
Chief Officer | 53 |
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to bring the remuneration package for officers serving with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary into line with market rates in the commercial shipping industry.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence is currently conducting a study that will provide a model and methodology to enable comparisons of remuneration packages against Industry.
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are laid up awaiting disposal.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The normal operating cycle of every ship includes periods of low readiness, and a number of ships will enter periods of 'low' or 'very low' readiness depending on their programmes and departmental planning requirements. It remains Ministry of Defence policy not to publish details of the readiness states of individual Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels for reasons of national security. I can confirm that the RFA continues to meet its operational commitments.
With regard to RFA ships awaiting disposal, RFA ORANGELEAF will be withdrawn from service later this year, in accordance with the Navy Plan.
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (1) are laid up, (2) are placed in extended readiness, or (3) are otherwise unable to proceed to sea as a consequence of shortage of officers or ratings.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The normal operating cycle of every ship includes periods of low readiness, and a number of ships will enter periods of 'low' or 'very low' readiness depending on their programmes and departmental planning requirements. It remains Ministry of Defence policy not to publish details of the readiness states of individual Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels for reasons of national security. I can confirm that the RFA continues to meet its operational commitments.
With regard to RFA ships awaiting disposal, RFA ORANGELEAF will be withdrawn from service later this year, in accordance with the Navy Plan.
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) engineer officers, and (2) systems engineer officers, at the rank of (a) Third Officer, (b) Second Officer, (c) First Officer, and (d) Chief Officer, have resigned from the service of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 to date.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Under Civil Service policy, civil servants, including those in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), are required to resign at the point of retirement. The information below, given by financial years, therefore includes personnel who have retired as well as those who have left the RFA early:
Marine Engineer
2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014 (April – November) | |
3rd Officer | <10 | <10 | 10 | <10 |
2nd Officer | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 |
1st Officer | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 |
Chief Officer | <5 | <5 | <10 | <5 |
Systems Engineer
2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014 (April – November) | |
3rd Officer | 0 | 0 | <5 | <5 |
2nd Officer | <5 | <10 | <10 | <5 |
1st Officer | <5 | <5 | <10 | <5 |
Chief Officer | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 |
Figures between one and four are denoted as <5, figures between five and nine are denoted as <10.
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 2 July (HL602), how many of the 18 joining offers to individuals wishing to become engineer officers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary were taken up; and how many of those were for cadet posts and how many held at least a Maritime and Coastguard Agency Certificate of Competency.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The 18 offers made to individuals wishing to become engineer officers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) covered the period January to June 2014 but recruitment to the RFA is an ongoing process. I can now confirm that, for this year to date, a total of 27 Marine Engineering Officers have accepted offers to join the RFA. Of these, four are Cadetships and 23 hold the Certificate of Competency.
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis has been made of the reasons for the reported shortfall in engineering officers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary has identified key factors from its analysis of the reasons for the current shortages in specific grades and specialisations. These include the effect of employee demographics, and perceived improved conditions of employment within a buoyant commercial sector, with a focus on the balance of work and family life.
Asked by: Lord MacKenzie of Culkein (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many engineer officers have been recruited by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as a result of recent advertisement.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) continually monitors its manpower numbers and plans its recruitment and retention strategies accordingly. As part of that overall programme there are ongoing and specific RFA Recruitment Campaigns. The direct contribution from individual campaigns is not known, not least as interest may grow over time, but I understand that between January and June this year 18 joining offers have been made to individuals wishing to become engineering officers in the RFA.