RAF Scampton and the Red Arrows Debate
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Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Main Page: Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Conservative - Berwick-upon-Tweed)Department Debates - View all Anne-Marie Trevelyan's debates with the Ministry of Defence
RAF Scampton and the Red Arrows
Anne-Marie Trevelyan Excerpts(5 years, 2 months ago)
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Mr Ellwood
I will finish this point.
We must invest heavily in the core sites where our personnel will be based. That is the focal point. As we reduce the size of all three services of our armed forces, we are building up super-garrisons where we can invest in the long term to improve the accommodation and training facilities, but that means that we must take difficult decisions to close bases.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)
Has the MOD had any discussions with other Departments about whether it should be funding the cost of the Red Arrows, given that their great value is not to war fighting and defence, but to UK plc’s influence around the globe? Scampton is now a historic education centre, and that is not the MOD’s core business.
Mr Ellwood
No. We are jumping into discussing one of the assets that is based at RAF Scampton. Given the time, I might as well throw away my speech and just go for it, because I will not be able to get through the points. The RAF Red Arrows are critical to our capabilities in a number of ways. They allow our pilots to develop skillsets that they would not get in any other forums. They do much to promote Britain’s activity, soft power and so forth. They do outreach—for example, at Scampton and the Bournemouth air show. They reach out to youngsters and invigorate them to think about potentially serving in the armed forces, or at least to support and have reverence and respect for what our armed forces do.
There is no threat to the Red Arrows, but we must ask two questions. First, where can they be based? The RAF itself must make a judgment call on that operational decision.