The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent estimate of the in-service date for the F-35B aircraft.
Earl Howe
UK F-35B Lightning II Initial Operating Capability remains on schedule for 2018.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the contract with Affinity Flying Services Limited to provide fixed-wing flying training will be fully operational.
Earl Howe
Full course capability for the fixed-wing flying training service will be achieved by the end of 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for the proliferation of nuclear weapons of the underground test of a nuclear device by North Korea on 6 January.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK strongly condemns the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 6 January, in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and international norms. This provocation endangers regional and international security. We are currently working with other UN Security Council members on further measures in a new Resolution, while continuing to urge the rigorous implementation of sanctions by the international community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the results of the review of the UK’s National Security Through Technology strategy.
Earl Howe
The Government remains committed to the principles of the National Security Through Technology White Paper, which was reviewed as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. We will work to refresh our defence industrial policy and take further action to help the UK’s defence and security industries to grow and compete successfully. We are still considering the form and timing of a refreshed industrial policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the document Future Operating Environment 2035 published by the Ministry of Defence on 14 December 2015.
Earl Howe
Whilst formally released outside the Department in December, the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) published the "Future Operating Environment 2035" (FOE35) internally so that it was available throughout the SDSR period. FOE35 was a source of information on the threats and challenges that Defence would be asked to address in the future. Consequently, SDSR decisions were informed by the Future Operating Environment work and, in particular, the need to focus on being more agile and innovative. The Ministry of Defence continues to consider how the future operating environment will shape the business of Defence. DCDC will take this work forward as it develops the Defence Joint Operating Concept and the Joint and environmental future operating concepts in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they are considering for the use of off-board systems as part of the UK’s Mine Counter Measures capability.
Earl Howe
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 8 March 2016 to Question number HL6439, in which I noted that the Royal Navy recognises the operational benefits of unmanned off-board systems. The application of such systems to mine countermeasures capability (MCM) will be included in the Royal Navy’s considerations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Thales Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle to come into full service.
Earl Howe
The Watchkeeper Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System was brought into service with the Army in 2014 and subsequently deployed to support operations in Afghanistan. Full operating capability is forecast to be achieved in the second quarter of 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards realising receipts through the disposal of high-value Ministry of Defence estate in Scotland since the 2011 Basing Review.
Earl Howe
The receipts received by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) through the disposal of parts of the MOD estate in Scotland since the financial year 2010-11 are shown below:
|
Financial Year |
Disposal Receipts (£ million) |
|
2010-11 |
4.09 |
|
2011-12 |
4.08 |
|
2012-13 |
1.32 |
|
2013-14 |
12.66 |
|
2014-15 |
0.92 |
|
2015-16 |
0.41 |
|
Total |
23.48 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in Project Starter to acquire explosive ordnance disposal unmanned ground vehicles.
Earl Howe
Project Starter passed Initial Gate in October 2014 and is currently in the Assessment Phase.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 February (HL5631), what measures they are taking to address the shortfall of personnel in (1) the regular, and (2) the reserve, battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Earl Howe
The Army continues to offer exciting opportunities to young people. Over 7,800 new recruits joined the regular Army in financial year 2014-15 with intake increasing during financial year 2015-16, up to 29 February 2016 7,260 have joined the army of which, 175 Regulars and 140 Reserves have joined the Battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
There are two national recruitment campaigns currently running. The Army’s ‘A Better You’ for soldiers continues throughout 2016. After a principal focus on Regulars between June and March there will be a special emphasis on reserve-specific recruiting in April to June, September to October and January to February 2017. ‘A Better You’ will continue through the year with the reserve message forming an important aspect of the overarching campaign.
The Army’s current officer recruiting campaign, ‘With Heart. With Mind’, is aimed at attracting potential officer candidates into regular and reserve service. ‘With Heart. With Mind’ will have a specific emphasis on reserve officers during the period of March to July 2016, and again in November.
The national campaigns continue to be supported by regional level efforts. During financial year 2015-16 there were over 2,000 community engagement events in Scotland and nearly 300 targeted recruitment events.