Tag: Lord West of Spithead

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL7103), why HMS Dauntless and HMS Lancaster are being placed alongside if there are sufficient people, spares and logistics support to run the Royal Navy.

Earl Howe

HMS DAUNTLESS entered the engineering training ship programme in February this year. Engineer training ships, generally in a period prior to undergoing a refit or an upgrade, are used to deliver training and provide accommodation alongside.

HMS LANCASTER is presently alongside in Portsmouth and is being maintained with a minimal crew onboard until her refit. The Royal Navy has determined that HMS LANCASTER is not required as a training platform ahead of her refit, therefore a number of her crew have been redeployed in support of operational units and tasks.

Such planned programming enables the Royal Navy to optimise the use of its ships and personnel through the operational cycles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which government department is responsible for surveillance, production of a reorganised surface picture, and security, of the UK territorial seas.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The responsibility for the security and surveillance of the UK territorial seas is shared across a number of Government departments and agencies including the Department for Transport, Border Force, and Ministry of Defence.

The National Maritime Information Centre provides the platform for the cross-government understanding of maritime activity. It brings together information and intelligence provided by the various Government departments and agencies and supported by international partnerships provides the UK with unified situational awareness of maritime activity in the UK and international waters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the planned out-of-service date for HMS Ocean, and how her landing platform helicopter capabilities will be provided prior to the entry into service of HMS Prince of Wales.

Earl Howe

HMS OCEAN entered service in 1998 with an expected in service life of 20 years and she will decommission in 2018. The Strategic Defence Security Review 2015 made provision to augment the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers and maximise their ability to support amphibious operations. Prior to the carriers being brought into service, other Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships will provide support to amphibious operations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 19 October (HL2591), what are the present seaborne links they provide to the people of Tristan da Cunha.

Baroness Verma

Her Majesty’s Government does not provide seaborne links to the people of Tristan da Cunha. Freight and passenger services are provided on a commercial basis by a private company.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have made for seaborne links with Tristan da Cunha now that St Helena has an airfield.

Baroness Verma

Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to change seaborne links with Tristan da Cunha.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) Forth, Medway and Trent, will operate in addition to the current four OPVs.

Earl Howe

The operation of the three new Offshore Patrol Vessels will be subject to the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policies they have in place (1) for the protection of the Exclusive Economic Zones around the United Kingdom’s worldwide dependencies, and (2) to ensure maximum economic advantage for the United Kingdom and its dependencies from those waters and seabed.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government is committed to protecting the marine environment of the Overseas Territories. As part of this work we plan to work with the Overseas Territories to create “blue belts” to help manage their dynamic and important ecosystems in a way which effectively balances environmental protection and economic potential. This will help the UK to meet its international obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims to protect ten per cent of marine waters globally. In support of this goal the UK has, in addition, declared a full no take Marine Protected Area around the British Indian Ocean Territory and a sustainable use Marine Protected Area in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

The Overseas Territories are responsible for managing their terrestrial and marine environments, including their economic potential. The UK is responsible in international law for compliance with international obligations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Security Council has discussed the strategic implications of the closure of the Redcar steelworks to the long-term security interests of the United Kingdom.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are giving any assistance to Tristan da Cunha to save the critically endangered Tristan albatross.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

UK Overseas Territory (OT) Governments are constitutionally responsible for the protection and conservation of their natural environments. The UK Government cherishes the environmental assets of the OTs and we work in partnership with OT Governments to identify where our support can be most effective, including through access to expertise, technical advice and training and through the Overseas Territory Environment and Climate Fund (Darwin Plus). Through Darwin Plus, the UK Government has committed approximately £5.2 million since 2012 to help protect the natural environment in the OTs.

House mice predation on chicks of the Tristan albatross is the main threat to the species. Before the launch of Darwin Plus, the UK Government had already committed over £500,000 to help eradicate mice from Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha. Through Darwin Plus, we are providing over £82,000 to assess the conservation status of the endangered Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross on Tristan da Cunha.

Joint UK Government and South Atlantic OTs funding also supports a co-ordinating post based in the Falkland Islands to help meet obligations arising from the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels and to assist with the planning and implementation of albatross and petrel conservation work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any occasions on which an operational Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier will leave home waters without a fixed-wing air group embarked; and what will be the minimum viable size of that air group.

Lord Astor of Hever

The composition and size of the embarked air group in a deploying Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier will be tailored to meet the required task.