Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department will take to prioritise design as a criterion in the tender process for the construction of the new Royal Yacht.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The National Flagship is not a direct replacement for HMY Britannia and will not therefore be a Royal Yacht. The design criteria against which bids will be assessed will be communicated to bidders in due course as part of the Design competition tender documentation. A wide pool of designers are being taken forward to this next stage of the competition. It would be inappropriate to place this information in the public domain ahead of its disclosure as part of the commercial process. As the National Flagship, the design of the ship must encompass innovative proposals which incorporate the most up to date and sustainable technology, reflecting the UK’s status as an independent trading nation and showcasing the best of what Britain has to offer.
It is the intention of the Government that the National Flagship will be built in the UK to help contribute to the renaissance in the British shipbuilding industry.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the construction of the new Royal Yacht will be completed at a British shipyard by a British firm.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The National Flagship is not a direct replacement for HMY Britannia and will not therefore be a Royal Yacht. The design criteria against which bids will be assessed will be communicated to bidders in due course as part of the Design competition tender documentation. A wide pool of designers are being taken forward to this next stage of the competition. It would be inappropriate to place this information in the public domain ahead of its disclosure as part of the commercial process. As the National Flagship, the design of the ship must encompass innovative proposals which incorporate the most up to date and sustainable technology, reflecting the UK’s status as an independent trading nation and showcasing the best of what Britain has to offer.
It is the intention of the Government that the National Flagship will be built in the UK to help contribute to the renaissance in the British shipbuilding industry.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the vessel design of the new Royal Yacht will be required to reflect Britannia’s style and appointment.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The National Flagship is not a direct replacement for HMY Britannia and will not therefore be a Royal Yacht. The design criteria against which bids will be assessed will be communicated to bidders in due course as part of the Design competition tender documentation. A wide pool of designers are being taken forward to this next stage of the competition. It would be inappropriate to place this information in the public domain ahead of its disclosure as part of the commercial process. As the National Flagship, the design of the ship must encompass innovative proposals which incorporate the most up to date and sustainable technology, reflecting the UK’s status as an independent trading nation and showcasing the best of what Britain has to offer.
It is the intention of the Government that the National Flagship will be built in the UK to help contribute to the renaissance in the British shipbuilding industry.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support small, independent ship builders.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
In his role as Shipbuilding Tsar the Secretary of State for Defence is firmly committed to reinvigorating the entire UK shipbuilding enterprise, including small shipbuilders. He is working closely with colleagues across Government to support the sector. For example, on 22 March 2021 the Department for Transport launched the £20 million Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. This will fund feasibility studies and initial technology trials in clean maritime technologies, such as the UK design and development of zero emission vessels, which will help put the UK shipbuilding supply chain at the forefront of the global green industrial revolution.
The Government has also announced its intent to publish an updated National Shipbuilding Strategy. This will set out the how the Government will create the conditions for success for all parts of the shipbuilding enterprise.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the risk to the UK of the increase in the space capabilities of foreign states.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
As the Defence Command Paper set out we are investing an additional £1.4 billion on space over the next decade, on top of the over £5 billion on Skynet 6 satellites. This will allow us to develop our capabilities to better understand the Space domain, and be able to protect and defend the capabilities there that are critical to national security. This will include the establishment of a space command.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to address the risk to the UK’s critical national infrastructure from technological advances in cyber warfare.
Answered by James Heappey
The threat of cyber-attack on UK interests is real, every day we witness malicious interference from adversary states and hostile actors. We're continually protecting our systems and have previously called-out activity from Russia, China and Iran.
Our defensive cyber programmes are delivering an extensive suite of capabilities; Defence is working closely with Partner agencies such as GCHQ to deliver the National Cyber Force.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support shipbuilding in the UK.
Answered by Ben Wallace
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 2 November 2020 to the hon. Member for Darlington (Peter Gibson) during Defence Oral Questions in the House of Commons.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has made for the Carrier Strike Group deployment in 2021.
Answered by James Heappey
We have yet to announce our destination or programme; planning continues and a statement will be made to this house in due course. This maiden deployment is a key step on the road towards full operational capability: these extraordinary ships will be with us for decades to come, and we are only just beginning to understand their potential. Deploying our sovereign carrier group at range allows us to test and demonstrate the successful cohesion of this complex system of systems. The carrier's convening influence is a powerful symbol of Global Britain and will draw our friends and partners together as we go. There will of course be visits and exercises, and there will also be numerous opportunities for supporting HMG's broader diplomatic and trade agenda.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the UK defence industry can supply the defence equipment required to meet future threats.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
In March this year I announced DSIS - a cross-Government review into the UK's defence and security industrial sectors, we are identifying how we can enhance our strategic approach to ensure we have competitive, innovative and world-class defence and security industries that underpin our national security and drive investment and prosperity across the Union now and in the future.
The MOD has been leading this review, with input from other relevant Government Departments, to ensure that we have the industrial capabilities that we need to meet current and future threats to our national security.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of effectiveness of recent RAF missions in the (a) High North, (b) Baltic and Black Sea regions.
Answered by James Heappey
These RAF missions were very effective. They demonstrated the RAF's flexibility to conduct high tempo air operations at long range. Furthermore, they honed our interoperability with our Allies in the High North, Baltics and Black Sea, which showed our common commitment to NATO Collective Defence and stability in these regions.