Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all UK armed forces personnel deployed as part of the Carrier Strike Group 2021 have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Service personnel currently deployed on the UK's Carrier Strike Group (CSG) have been fully vaccinated with two doses. I can also confirm that any personnel joining CSG will have received both doses before departure.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all those currently deployed on Royal Navy nuclear submarines have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I can confirm that all submariners currently deployed on operations have received both vaccinations against COVID-19.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel have died due to COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at 5 July 2021, there have been five deaths amongst UK Service personnel who had a positive COVID-19 test result recorded on Defence medical systems. Two were Regular personnel and three were Reservists.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK-based armed forces personnel are currently infected with COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at 5 July 2021, 433 Armed Forces personnel have had a positive Covid-19 test result recorded in the UK in the last 10 days.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many personnel have been injured in the process of testing Ajax armoured vehicles; and how many of these personnel needed hospital treatment.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I take the noble Lord’s question as being in relation to the recent reports of noise and vibration related to Army personnel and in relation to the ongoing Ajax demonstration phase.
Following tests on the noise impact on the inner ear, organised in response to reports of hearing issues, the demonstration phase trials were halted in November 2020 in order that appropriate mitigations could be put in place. All personnel who were at risk of noise exposure were offered hearing assessments. Of these, 21 incidents of hearing treatment have been recorded and, as a precaution, a further 83 soldiers, whilst fully deployable and not currently displaying any signs of noise induced hearing loss, will receive annual hearing tests.
Trials resumed in May 2021 with restrictions on use and extra hearing protection mandated. Notwithstanding these measures this month, two soldiers reported symptoms of noise induced hearing loss, with one more being assessed. In order to ensure that protections are fully appropriate all Ajax activity (including independent testing at the Millbrook Proving Ground) has been paused (other than essential maintenance with mitigations in place).
Regarding vibration: we are aware that five soldiers have specifically reported to their local medical centre with vibration related symptoms, but none required further treatment. There have been no reports of injuries requiring hospital treatment.
At the request of Ministers, the Permanent Secretary established a review of Health and Safety aspects related to the vibration and noise concerns in the demonstration phase. As part of this review medical information (which is subject to confidentiality restrictions and updating) will be considered.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of New Zealand on the Carrier Strike Group deployment.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
New Zealand is one of the UK's key partners and a valued member of the Five Eyes alliance. The UK Defence Secretary wrote to NZ Defence Minister Peeni Henare late last year, formally inviting New Zealand to operate with the Carrier Strike Group deployment. Subsequent high-level discussions involving the Defence Secretary, Permanent Secretary, Chief of the Defence Staff and senior military officers have continued to explore the details of our engagement, and operational planning is underway.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what US satellite networks UK Reaper drones use.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
In general, the RAF use a combination of Ku-band satellite links together with line of sight Radio Frequency communications and telephone networks for UK Reaper. These are used across the UK, US and NATO military systems, dependent on requirement, the area of operations and the specific task.
However, I am withholding further details about specific satellite networks as they would likely prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what countries UK Reaper drones have launched strikes in, without parliamentary approval, since 2015.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
On 21 August 2015 an RAF Reaper RPAS precision airstrike was conducted in Syria and Parliament were notified of this operation on 7 September 2015 by the then Prime Minister, David Cameron. This strike preceded the Parliamentary vote of 2 December 2015 which saw Parliament support a motion to extend the UK's support to the global-coalition's counter-Daesh operations into Syria. We will continue to ensure that Parliament is kept informed of significant major operations and deployments of the Armed Forces
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to HMS Queen Elizabeth's first operational deployment, what is the number of personnel on (1) HMS Queen Elizabeth, (2) the six accompanying Royal Navy ships, and (3) the Royal Navy submarine in the Carrier Strike Group.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Carrier Strike Group 21 is the largest and most ambitious global deployment of the Royal Navy for a generation.
The number of personnel on board each ship will vary over the course of the deployment due to operational requirements, however the following table provides the average crew sizes, broken down by Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, deployed in the Carrier Strike Group.
Ship Name | Number of Personnel |
HMS Queen Elizabeth | 1,600 |
HMS Defender | 235 |
HMS Diamond | 235 |
HMS Kent | 185 |
HMS Richmond | 185 |
RFA Fort Victoria | 135 |
RFA Tidespring | 65 |
Astute Class Submarine | Not Declared |
Due to operational security reasons we do not comment on submarine issues.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the objectives of the Carrier Strike Group deployment; and how achievement of these objectives will be measured.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Carrier Strike Group deployment is an embodiment of the Government's Integrated Review, and has significant diplomatic, trade and security objectives:
The achievement of these ambitious and pan-Government objectives will be measured over time and in numerous ways, including public media and communications, complex interoperability tasks, exercises and missions, and increased investment, sales and trade arrangements. Importantly, the Carrier Strike Group deployment should not be viewed as a stand-alone event but as a contribution to a broader network of military, diplomatic and trade activity over the coming years.