Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of British troops participating in the Train and Equip programme for moderate Syrian opposition troops to the stability of Syria.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
No assessment has been made of the UK's participation in the US-led Train and Equip Programme. However, it is clear that with Coalition support (including RAF airstrikes on Daesh targets) local partner forces on the ground have made excellent progress in the campaign against Daesh, liberating towns and cities from their control. Similarly, in Iraq, as a direct result of UK participation in the training of over 60,000 Iraqi Security Forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, those forces have increased their capabilities enormously. Daesh has consequently lost more than 96 per cent of the territory they once held across Iraq and Syria.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government of how many reports of alleged violations of international humanitarian law by actors in the conflict in the Yemen they are aware; how many credible allegations of such violations are currently being investigated; and what criteria are used to assess whether an allegation is credible.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As at 5 December 2017 the number of allegations of international humanitarian law (IHL) violations by the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen of which the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was aware was 318. Of these, 13 were duplicate allegations. This means that some incidents have been recorded by the MOD on more than one occasion, likely as a result of the sometimes incomplete nature of reporting by Non-Governmental Organisations and the media, upon which the MOD relies as important information sources for alleged IHL violations. The MOD does not track and assess allegations of IHL violations caused by other actors, notably the Houthis and their allies, in the Yemen conflict.
The MOD does not investigate allegations of IHL violations. The Saudi-led Coalition is best placed to do this, and does so through its Joint Incident Assessment Team. Neither the MOD nor the Foreign and Commonwealth Office reaches a conclusion as to whether or not an IHL violation has taken place in relation to each and every incident of potential concern that comes to its attention. This is not possible in conflicts to which the UK is not a party, as is the case in Yemen. We simply do not have access to all the information that would allow us to reach conclusions accurately. The MOD assessments are used to form an overall view on Saudi Arabia's approach and attitude to international humanitarian law.
The MOD is made aware of alleged IHL violations by monitoring media and NGO reporting, and by other parties bringing IHL allegations to its attention. All such allegations are subsequently assessed by the MOD.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what British military presence there currently is in Niger and Mali.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The UK has eight military personnel deployed to Mali, six contributing to the EU Training Mission and two contributing to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali. The UK has no military presence in Niger.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current position regarding Ministry of Defence aircraft contracts with Boeing following the United States Department of Commerce's decision to place import tariffs on Bombardier aircraft built in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Boeing's position in the ongoing dispute with Bombardier is unjustified and not what we expect of a long-term partner to the UK. Whilst this will not affect our existing programmes, these actions could undermine our future relationship with Boeing.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the announcement by President Trump on 21 August of his Afghan strategy, what assessment they have made of the impact of that strategy on the number of British military personnel in Afghanistan.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Like the US, the UK has a long-term commitment to Afghanistan. Supporting the Afghan Government and the Afghan National Security and Defence Forces (ANSDF) through the NATO Resolute Support train, advise and assist mission helps to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for terrorists and keeps space open for a politically negotiated solution to the conflict.
The UK currently has 500 troops deployed in Afghanistan and routinely assesses its force levels in theatre. At the NATO Defence Ministerial (29 June 2017) the UK announced that it is increasing its commitment to Afghanistan, with around 85 additional troops to support NATO's mission in the country. These additional troops will extend our support to the development of the Afghan Army, Police and Air Force, and will provide additional mentors for ANSDF training and development. The announcement of the US South Asia strategy has not altered the UK's commitment and support to Afghanistan.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make cuts to the RAF Sentinel R1 fleet before 2021; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any such cuts upon the UK’s surveillance and terrain mapping ability, particularly within the context of the UK’s NATO commitments.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The original out of service date for the Sentinel fleet has been extended from 2018 to 2021. The UK will continue to provide NATO with high-end capability where required to by the Alliance. We remain actively engaged in understanding and responding to NATO's evolving future capability requirements, incorporating these into national plans.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
Her Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to the purchase of 138 F-35B jump–jets for the Royal Navy.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2015, we reaffirmed our commitment to procure 138 F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The first tranche of 48 aircraft will be of the F-35B variant, which will be jointly operated by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and capable of operating from both land and the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. The decision on the variant of subsequent tranches of Lightning will be taken at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
Her Majesty's Government, further to the Defence Secretary’s remarks on the Today Programme on 27 June that the UK will support US military action, provided it is legal, justified and proportionate, what is their definition of “proportionate” US military action in the event of the future use of chemical weapons by the government of Syria.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The legal basis for any action the US might take is for their authorities to consider, and the UK position would be based on the facts of the case at the time. Nonetheless, the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against its own population should not be tolerated.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK met the NATO target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence in 2016.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Yes. The Government has committed to spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence every year of this decade. As reported by NATO, the UK will spend over 2 per cent of GDP on defence in 2016. This can be seen in table 3 of NATO's most recent publication of defence spending figures:
http://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2016_07/20160704_160704-pr2016-116.pdf
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Army's Ajax tanks require dismantling before they can be accommodated on transport aircraft.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There are a number of options available for the air transportation of Ajax across the world, including the A400M and C-17 aircraft. The vehicle is designed to be modular and parts can be removed for this very purpose; this is not unusual and does not cause any issue.