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Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Land
Tuesday 15th April 2025

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much land in Wales is owned by the Ministry of Defence, and what portion of that land is now available for sale for the purpose of building new houses.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As of 1 April 2024, Ministry of Defence (MOD) land holdings Wales comprised of some 23,300 hectares (6.8% of the MOD total).

The majority (85.4%) of this land is freehold land owned by the Department, the remainder is land held on a short term and contractual basis or through grants for a specific purpose.

It is too early to say at this time what proportion of this land may be used for the building of new homes.

Written Question
Wales: Defence
Monday 17th March 2025

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent announcements on the increase in defence spending, what plans they have, if any, for (1) the recruitment of additional military recruits from Wales, (2) the tendering of new contracts for supplies or services for defence purposes with business in Wales, or (3) the appropriation of additional land or buildings for defence purposes in Wales.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Defence is proud of its strong ties in Wales, from RAF Valley and the Royal Welsh to the construction of AJAX armoured vehicles in Merthyr Tydil. As mentioned by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury last month during a visit to Newport, detail of how and where the defence budget will be invested in the future will be set out in the Strategic Defence Review.

Written Question
Ministry of Defence: Wales
Tuesday 22nd October 2024

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much money the Ministry of Defence paid to the Crown Estates in relation to their activities in Wales in the financial year 2023–24.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

During the financial year 2023-24, the Ministry of Defence paid £2,805 to the Crown Estate in relation to its activities in Wales.

Written Question
Armed Forces
Wednesday 3rd April 2024

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many operational personnel of the British Army are currently based in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) overseas.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)

I refer the Noble Lord to the below table which shows the number of Trade Trained Regular Army Personnel by Stationed Location, as of 1 January 2024.

Location

Personnel

England

59,920

Wales

1,350

Scotland

3,520

Northern Ireland

1,370

Overseas

3,010

Notes/Caveats:

  1. The figures are for the Trade Trained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.
  2. Figures include all Trade Trained Regular Army personnel, regardless of whether they are currently deployed on operation. This also includes personnel regardless of their Medical Deployability Status.
  3. Figures include both Officers and Soldiers.
  4. The figures are based on service personnel’s stationed location and not their area of residence – where personnel work isn’t necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.
  5. There are approximately 20 personnel with an unallocated location as recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration System (JPA).
  6. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
  7. Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be a sum of their parts.

Written Question
Baltic States: Military Aid
Tuesday 12th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial provision they are making for the financial year 2022–23 to give military assistance to the Baltic states; and how, within NATO, are (1) they, (2) the government of the USA, and (3) the government of Canada, allocating any additional responsibilities.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

The UK enjoys close military relationships with the Baltic states. We work together both bilaterally and through various multilateral fora, including through NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). The UK trains and exercises routinely across the Baltic sea region. We are also the framework nation for the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup in Estonia.

The UK does not disclose live operational financial information. We discuss European Defence and security regularly with NATO Allies including the US and Canada, but cannot comment on how they allocate responsibilities within NATO. SACEUR has not requested any further NATO support or reinforcement to the region, but the UK stands ready to respond to future requests from NATO.

Written Question
Falkland Islands: Armed Forces
Thursday 23rd July 2015

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated annual cost to the public purse of maintaining the United Kingdom's military presence in the Falkland Islands.

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

The total annual running cost of the garrison in the Falkland Islands (including infrastructure costs) is around £85 million. In addition, as part of the Falkland Islands Defence Review, £180 million will be invested in improvements to the infrastructure over the next ten years.

Written Question
Nuclear Submarines
Tuesday 10th February 2015

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report in the<i> Scottish Daily Mail</i> on 28 January, whether they have considered moving Britain's nuclear armed submarines from Scotland to Wales.

Answered by Lord Astor of Hever

The UK Government is not considering moving the strategic nuclear deterrent to Wales. Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde will become the Royal Navy's Submarine Centre of Specialisation, and home to all Royal Navy submarines by 2020.