Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Monday 14th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Francois]

First, the reserve force is professional too, and the combined regular and reserved force will not fit inside Wembley stadium—although the way England has been playing of late, that may be a mercy. I remind the hon. Lady that the new defence approach does not represent our purely breaking new ground, but brings us more into line with our international partners. Reserves currently make up 17% of our armed forces, compared with 55% in the United States, 51% in Canada, and 36% in Australia. Under Future Force 2020, reserves will make up 20% of our armed forces and 26% of our Army.

[Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that if the Army 2020 model is to succeed it will depend on a proper pull-through of new recruits? Will he confirm that the Capita system, which made such a disastrous start, is now improving and achieving a satisfactory flow of new recruits?

[Mr Francois]

I confirm that there have been problems with the computer system, and I have said that in the House previously. I also confirm that that is being improved, and that additional measures have been taken to streamline the process—for instance, by reducing paperwork and medical bureaucracy. The system is improving and the flow is getting better.

Afghanistan

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I think Mr Steinmeier was merely articulating a view that is shared by all NATO partners. We cannot operate without a status of forces agreement that will protect our own forces from exposure to Afghan judicial processes. We must be able to deal with forces’ discipline issues ourselves, and to assure any forces we put into theatre that they will not be subject to local jurisdiction; without that, we will not be able to operate. I think the Afghans understand clearly that no bilateral security agreement and no status of forces agreement means that there will be no foreign forces in Afghanistan.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

May I join my right hon. Friend in paying tribute to the extraordinary achievements of all three services, of all ranks and of all arms, for their exceptional services in Afghanistan? Will he also congratulate the Ministry of Defence and all those responsible for the extraordinary logistical operation of bringing back so much kit, which will be useful to us in the future? Would he consider doing more at the Ministry of Defence to make clearer to the population at large the extent of the British achievement in Afghanistan, and the fact that we are leaving in good order but will take steps to ensure the protection of those troops that are left there? As my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Sir Gerald Howarth) said, we will do our best to protect our heritage and legacy there.

[Mr Hammond]

As I have made clear, we are very committed to protecting that heritage, but we can do so only with the co-operation of the Afghans in the form of a status of forces agreement, which will allow us to have a continuing presence and to make the continued financial contribution we have agreed to support the Afghan state in future.

I am happy to join my right hon. Friend in his tribute to all three services, and in his welcome tribute to those who labour behind the scenes in the incredibly complex logistics operation. Many Members of the House will, in one guise or another, have had the opportunity to see the scale of the operation at Camp Bastion. Anyone who has seen it will understand how integral the ability to take tens of thousands of tonnes of matériel that far away and sustain it in a war theatre is to our military capability.

Armed Forces Restructuring

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I know that Opposition Members do not like this, but the truth is that we discovered a black hole in the finances of the Ministry of Defence that had to be dealt with if we were going to have sustainable armed forces in the future and eliminate our armed forces being asked to deploy without the equipment and protective personal equipment that they required to do so safely. We had to put that right. That has meant that some tough decisions have been made, but my understanding is that the Opposition accept the restructuring and resizing of our armed forces and that we have to have an Army of 82,000 going forward. If I am wrong about that, I should be happy to be corrected from the Front Bench and to have an explanation of how the Opposition propose to pay for a larger Army.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

When the withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete, the RAF will have only about four aeroplanes and a few hundred people deployed abroad, yet it retains 220 combat jets, 650 support aircraft and 36,000 men. It is not clear to me what these are for, given that there is no discernible air threat to the United Kingdom. Will my right hon. Friend be a little less timid and have a close look at how military aircraft assets are held in this country and set about some vastly needed and urgent reform?

[Mr Hammond]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his suggestion. The balance between the different arms and the focus that we put on different parts of our defence infrastructure is quite properly reviewed in the strategic defence and security review process. I am glad, and I am sure he will be too, that we have now placed this on a firm quinquennial footing so that the issues can be reopened and re-examined regularly. It is quite proper to do so.

Defence Reform Bill

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

rose—

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Brazier]

I hope my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames) will understand if I take an intervention first from my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood).

[Mr Brazier]

I have some sympathy with my hon. Friend’s point, but to be honest, the long-term solution is to sort the software out so that people do not have to go into the recruitment offices at all.

[Nicholas Soames]

First of all, the country and the Territorial Army owe my hon. Friend an enormous debt for everything he has done over the years, often under difficult circumstances, to promote their interests and to try to get things right. It is the case—and has remained the case for a distressingly long time—that there has been a very unsatisfactory attitude between the Regulars and the reservists. This has got to end. It has to end in a proper way, with the new proposed structure. Does my hon. Friend agree that all the points he raises about recruiting are correct? Things got off to a bad start; it has not been a success. However, I am told that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State went to Upavon the other day and read the riot act. I am quite clear—I know from my own experience as honorary colonel of a TA squadron—that the situation is already beginning to improve and will continue to do so.

[Mr Brazier]

Indeed. I strongly agree with my right hon. and gallant Friend, and thank him for his kind words.

Defence

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Ministerial Corrections

Reserve Forces: West Sussex

[Nicholas Soames]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reserve force facilities there are for each service in West Sussex; how many reservists attend each such base regularly; and if he will make a statement.

[Official Report, 13 September 2013, Vol. 567, c. 888-9W.]

Letter of correction from Andrew Murrison:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the right hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames) on 13 September 2013.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Dr Murrison]

[holding answer 10 September 2013]: Detailed in the following table are the names of each reserve force base in West Sussex, the total number of reservists recorded against this group of bases and the number which attend regularly. Regular attendance figures have been determined by the number of reserve personnel who were eligible to receive their bounty within the 12 months previous to 1 July 2013.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Monday 14th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robathan]

I think we all regret any reduction in benefits. In the same way that members of the armed forces, such as myself—or my wife, more accurately—are losing child benefit, so we will all lose child benefit if we are paid the relevant amount. I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman should imagine that members of the armed forces are so ignorant of what is happening in the world that they need to be specially told. They are sensible people who can stand on their own feet and they do not need to be patronised by him.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

Will Ministers join me in paying tribute to the service provided by the defence attachés across the world and to the very important contribution they make to defence diplomacy? Do Ministers agree that defence attachés also have a vital role to play in conflict prevention? Will the Minister make a short report to the House on how that work impinges on their other duties?

[Dr Murrison]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right about this. In the short time I have been a Defence Minister, I have had the privilege of seeing the work of defence attachés in a number of countries and challenging situations. He can be assured that the Government recognise the importance of defence attachés and defence sections. He can also be assured that they will be at the front and centre of the forthcoming defence engagement strategy, which will be the blueprint for how the Government intend to take forward the extraordinarily important things that the attachés do, and the soft diplomacy in defence deliverables they are able to achieve. They will be absolutely at the front and centre.

Army 2020

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

It is six months. In the fourth and fifth turns of the handle, we would expect reserves to make up as much as 30% of the deployed force.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has come to the House with hard news for many regiments, which are extended families whose soldiers at all ranks will feel these announcements very strongly indeed, as do we all. Will he confirm that the reserve forces will have a new contract of employment, will be properly equipped for the tasks that they have to undertake and will be fully integrated into the regular Army? Finally, may I assure him, as I am sure he already knows, that the Army will make this work?

Defence Budget and Transformation

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Monday 14th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am not sure whether the right hon. Gentleman was here last Thursday when I made a statement, which I hope he would regard as good news on carrier strike. I announced that the first carrier will be delivered in 2017 and that the first aircraft will fly off it in 2018. We are embarked on the process of patching up the hole that the previous Administration left us.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

I warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend, together with his colleagues in the Ministry of Defence—civilian, political and military—on a remarkable achievement. Will he tell us whether, in the light of the decks having been cleared, it is his intention to start work now on the preparatory work for the next strategic defence review, which comes along much quicker than one thinks?

[Mr Hammond]

I can tell my right hon. Friend that work is in hand. A body within the Department is already sitting and considering issues that need to be brought to the fore and thought through for the next strategic defence review. The five-yearly cycle will allow us to look at the strategic changes during it, while making tactical decisions within the five-year period to manage the budget and the programme.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Yes, there will be an estimated cost of about £3 million in total, to provide appropriate accommodation and emergency air supplies, so that should any female submariner be found to be pregnant while on board, she will be able to breathe from a discrete air supply until she can be medically evacuated.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

Have any trials been conducted for this project? I generally welcome the principle entirely, particularly given the great success of women on board all other ships, but does my right hon. Friend not think that it might be worth while conducting a lengthy trial in simulated conditions before the plan goes ahead?

[Mr Hammond]

I would say two things to my right hon. Friend. First, the only reason why women were not eligible for the submarine service was that until recently the best medical evidence suggested that there could be a risk to foetal health. It is now clear that that risk does not exist. I would also say that the United States navy has made the change already, and has found the arrangements to be perfectly satisfactory.

Defence

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2011 Ministerial Corrections

Navy

[Nicholas Soames]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Order of Battle is of the fleet.

[Official Report, 15 September 2011, Vol. 532, c. 1300-01W.]

Letter of correction from Peter Luff:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the right hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames) on 15 September 2011. The original answer included an error which failed to take account of the recent decommissioning of a Type 42 Destroyer on 30 June 2011.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Peter Luff]

As at 7 September 2011, the Order of Battle for the fleet was as follows: