"My Lords, does the Minister agree that progress towards the 3% and 3.5% targets for defence spending can best be described as glacial? Will he undertake that the Treasury will look at imaginative ways of funding defence, in particular the innovative contribution that small and medium-sized enterprises can make, along …..." Lord Dannatt - View Speech
"My Lords, I intend to speak to further amendments in this general area later today, and I do not wish to repeat the sensible arguments that noble Lords and noble and gallant Lords have already made as far as this matter is concerned. However, it seems to me that, with …..." Lord Dannatt - View Speech
"My Lords, I support Amendment 50 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, and other noble Lords, which seeks to ensure that lords-lieutenants’ involvement as presidents of regional RFCA councils remains enshrined in primary legislation. I support the comments just made by the noble Earl, Lord Howe.
"I oppose Clause 48 standing part of the Bill. There are two issues here. One relates to the wrecks that contain military remains; the other relates to diving activities related to those wrecks, which the Bill will describe as protected places. My contention is that insufficient detail has been provided …..." Lord Dannatt - View Speech
"My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Magan of Castletown, who has rightly pointed out the inadequacies of the funding package announced last week in the defence investment plan. However, that is not what I wish to talk about this afternoon.
"What is the defence intelligence assessment of the Treasury’s inexplicable decision not to fully fund the strategic defence review of the noble Lord, Lord Robertson? If it is purely to force change on the Ministry of Defence and move from legacy systems to innovation, surely, that is a rather blunt …..." Lord Dannatt - View Speech
"My Lords, yesterday, I had the privilege to visit an exercise being conducted this week deep underground, less than half a mile from your Lordships’ House. It was being conducted by the headquarters of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, a British-led NATO strategic reserve corps. This is the United Kingdom’s …..." Lord Dannatt - View Speech
"My Lords, now that the 2023 Act has been suspended, it is open season once more on veterans. Quite recently, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces announced six protections for veterans. Do His Majesty’s Government intend to put those six protections in the new legislation, and if not, …..." Lord Dannatt - View Speech
"My Lords, this conflict is another example of the UK’s reduced influence in the world as a result of our reduction in overseas development money. The previous Government took it down from 0.7% to 0.5% and the present one have taken it down from 0.5% to 0.3%—okay, we have increased …..." Lord Dannatt - View Speech