Tag: Lord West of Spithead

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Prime Minister has been involved in discussions about how many F35B aircraft should routinely deploy on HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Earl Howe

The Prime Minister is briefed regularly on the development of our carrier strike capability. The composition and size of the embarked air group will be tailored to meet the required task, as directed by the Strategic Headquarters in the Ministry of Defence and reflecting national priorities set by the Government.

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 2015-11-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 October (HL2592), whether the new offshore patrol vessels Forth, Medway, and Trent will operate in addition to the current four vessels.

Earl Howe

The three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) currently under construction will enter service as replacements for three of the four in-service OPVs. As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review [Cm9161], two further River Class OPVs will be built, resulting in a more modern and more capable fleet of up to six OPVs in the Royal Navy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will decide when Sea Lightning squadrons are embarked or disembarked on the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Earl Howe

The decision on whether to operate embarked or disembarked squadrons will be taken by the Strategic Headquarters in the Ministry of Defence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 December 2015 (HL4047), whether the build time of HMS Vanguard from beginning of whole boat construction to commissioning was six years 11 months; and, if so, why the first Vanguard replacement will take in excess of 14 years, as laid out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Earl Howe

The Vanguard class were built at the end of an extensive period of UK submarine production. UK industrial capacity diminished following the subsequent 10 year gap in submarine building, which is a key factor in the Successor build schedule. Additionally, the Vanguard build duration, which was more than eight years in duration, did not include sea trials, which take several years. The dates for Successor reported in the Strategic Defence and Security Review do include that activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Security Council has been involved in establishing the national requirement of 19 destroyers and frigates, and whether close allies were also consulted.

Earl Howe

The National Security Council was consulted at each stage of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). It gave direction on the full strategic approach required from Defence, rather than individual capability planning decisions. This Review also featured unprecedented levels of consultation with our closest allies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL7103 and HL6982), whether they have received any representations from non-executive members of any Service Boards about rebalancing funds between the fighting environments.

Earl Howe

Non-executive members of Service Boards are appointed to advise, challenge and support the board in carrying out its responsibilities. They are able to offer their views on any topics discussed at board meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 23 May (HL Deb, col 138), whether the same level of protection is given to storage sites for low-grade radioactive material as to nuclear power stations, and if not, what are the varying levels of protection given.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

In line with our international treaty obligations under the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and Nuclear Facilities, the UK adopts a graded approach to civil nuclear security. This takes into account the level and nature of the threat, the nature of the nuclear material and the potential consequences associated with the theft of the nuclear material and with sabotage against the nuclear material or nuclear facilities.

This means that for those sites holding nuclear materials; be they operating reactor sites, research sites, decommissioning sites, or low level waste storage sites, the level of protection provided is proportionate to the risks arising from theft or sabotage.