Tag: Lord Touhig

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contingency plans have been put in place in the event of a mechanical failure of one of the Trafalgar Class submarines due to the withdrawal of the only Royal Navy repair ship RFA Diligence.

Earl Howe

Should on-board engineers be unable to resolve a problem with any ship or submarine, there is a range of ways in which operational maintenance and repair can be delivered. This can include the deployment of a Royal Navy repair and maintenance party, or utilising well-established commercial arrangements and international agreements, such as the use of other countries’ bases and facilities. This is particularly the case where resources and facilities are not available within the Ministry of Defence or are more effectively provided by a third party.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the speed at which reservists will be able to fill front-line combat roles.

Earl Howe

Volunteer Reservists (VR) on the trained strength (26,560 as at 1 December 2015) are required to respond to a mobilisation call-out at 28 days’ notice and may then carry out additional training for an operation. The length of time required for this training will depend on the complexity of the operation, which may require familiarisation training on equipment which they will be required to operate, and procedural training to prepare for the environment they will encounter. Further preparations may be required, such as vaccinations, which depend on the environment of the operation and which will affect the length of time between mobilisation and deployment.

For a medium scale intervention operation we would expect the period between mobilisation and deployment for VR to be around 180 days. However, the use of intelligent mobilisation means that willing and available VR are routinely mobilised in around 90 days for specific tasks and this can be significantly shortened in some circumstances.

No estimate has been made of the number of Reservists who would be able to serve at short notice in the event of a major conflict.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the sale of RFA Diligence will amount to, or exceed, the amount of taxpayer-funded expenditure of £16 million that was spent on refitting the vessel to extend its life to 2020.

Earl Howe

We do not yet know the sale price of RFA Diligence. In August 2016 the Disposal Services Authority advertised a competition for the sale of the former RFA Diligence for future use. This competition has not reached the stage where formal commercial bids have been received.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of reservists who are able to serve at short notice in the event of a major conflict.

Earl Howe

Volunteer Reservists (VR) on the trained strength (26,560 as at 1 December 2015) are required to respond to a mobilisation call-out at 28 days’ notice and may then carry out additional training for an operation. The length of time required for this training will depend on the complexity of the operation, which may require familiarisation training on equipment which they will be required to operate, and procedural training to prepare for the environment they will encounter. Further preparations may be required, such as vaccinations, which depend on the environment of the operation and which will affect the length of time between mobilisation and deployment.

For a medium scale intervention operation we would expect the period between mobilisation and deployment for VR to be around 180 days. However, the use of intelligent mobilisation means that willing and available VR are routinely mobilised in around 90 days for specific tasks and this can be significantly shortened in some circumstances.

No estimate has been made of the number of Reservists who would be able to serve at short notice in the event of a major conflict.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Earl Howe on 13 September (HL Deb, col 1389), whether, and if so when, they are planning to provide an update regarding the concerns raised by Lord Boyce.

Earl Howe

I have reflected on the concerns raised by the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Boyce, regarding the sale of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Diligence.

The Royal Navy continues to work with industry and is investing to ensure that Service personnel have the required skills in diagnostics and repair to provide this future support. More widely, consideration of different and innovative ways of providing that support to deliver the best value for money for the taxpayer is an ongoing process. The Royal Navy is confident that, through a combination of the measures that I outlined in response to the oral question by Lord Boyce on 13 September 2016, the required support will be available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British air strikes in (1) Syria, and (2) Iraq, have been conducted since 2 December 2015, and what assessment they have made of their effectiveness.

Earl Howe

The UK military campaign in Iraq and Syria is part of a wider Coalition effort to counter Daesh. Between 2 December 2015 and 14 March 2016 there were 36 UK airstrikes in Syria and 236 in Iraq. These airstrikes have contributed significantly to the coalition’s wider efforts, which are placing Daesh under increasing pressure in both Syria and Iraq. Among the targets successfully engaged by UK aircraft were oil facilities, which Daesh used to generate revenue to fund their campaign, and command and control centres. UK aircraft have also lent direct assistance to regional ground forces, which have achieved notable successes in retaking territory from Daesh.

All UK strikes are undertaken as part of a rigorous targeting process, which assesses before, during and after a strike to ensure that the Law of Armed Conflict is adhered to.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Earl Howe on 13 September (HL Deb, col 1389), when a Royal Navy vessel requires repair and on-board engineers are unable to resolve the problem without the help of other, more specialist, engineers how this will be achieved without the support of RFA Diligence.

Earl Howe

Should on-board engineers be unable to resolve a problem with any ship or submarine, there is a range of ways in which operational maintenance and repair can be delivered. This can include the deployment of a Royal Navy repair and maintenance party, or utilising well-established commercial arrangements and international agreements, such as the use of other countries’ bases and facilities. This is particularly the case where resources and facilities are not available within the Ministry of Defence or are more effectively provided by a third party.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) regulars, and (2) reserves, joined the Armed Forces in November 2015.

Earl Howe

In November 2015 1,180 personnel joined the UK Regular Armed Forces and 710 personnel joined the Reserves.