Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 11 July 2018 to Question 162083 on Radar: Scotland, if he will meet with developers to discuss the (a) time being taken by his Department in developing radar mitigation solutions and (b) associated investment risks and impacts incurred by developers and investors as a result of that time being taken.

There has been proactive engagement between the Ministry of Defence (MOD), wind farm developers, other Government Departments, the Scottish Government and trade bodies. However, to date, there is no proven solution to mitigate the effects of wind farms on military Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar.

The MOD has, therefore, implemented temporary concessions to minimise, where possible, delays for developers to successfully deliver Radar Mitigation Schemes.

The MOD must primarily assure the safety of its operations and is committed to a programme of replacing ATC equipment under Project Marshall. Whilst there may be some flexibility in the replacement schedule, the Marshall equipment programme has some operational constraints that must be preserved.

The MOD and Aquila, the Project Marshall prime contractor, may not therefore be able to accommodate the time constraints sought by a specific wind farm developer.