Tag: Lord West of Spithead

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the new body to deliver procurement of the successor submarines will be stood up; whether it has been decided what form the new delivery body will take, and whether the government of the US has been consulted; and whether they will establish that body via primary legislation.

Earl Howe

Options for the new organisations continue to be developed and assessed. We expect to announce further details later this year, once the relevant decisions have been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that the new Royal Research Ship being built for the British Antarctic Survey is a ship and not a boat, what is their assessment of the suitability of the name Boaty McBoatface for that vessel.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The feedback from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s call-for-ideas for the new Royal Research Ship is being considered by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and NERC. The final decision on the ship’s name will be taken by Government. The name will be submitted for registration to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in line with Regulation 30(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which five Type 23 frigates will be replaced by the new light frigate, and what are the planned out-of-service dates for each.

Earl Howe

The General Purpose Frigate programme is at a very early stage and the timetable for its entry into service has yet to be determined.

On current planning assumptions the out of service dates for the Type 23 frigates are:

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government  how many police Counter Terrorism Security Advisers were employed in England and Wales in (1) April 2010, and (2) April 2015.

Lord Bates

Advice and guidance on protective security and preparedness to terrorist threats is provided by specialist Counter-Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSAs) who operate in every police region.

The number of CTSAs in post in England and Wales in April 2010 was 191. The number in post in England and Wales in April 2015 was 146 (this figure includes 4 Counter Terrorism Awareness Advisers dedicated towards the provision of CT awareness advice).

Government aims to have 171 staff in post by the end of 2016/17 (145 CTSAs and 26 CTAAs). These planned changes to resource are for the effective and efficient delivery of future advice and guidance, whilst ensuring they maintain their fundamental role as part of wider police capabilities to safeguard the security of the public.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any treaty obligations that the development of a solution for the disposition of plutonium will have to meet, and if so, what are those obligations.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Any solution for the disposition of plutonium will need to be fully compliant with the UK’s obligations under such treaties as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the Euratom Treaty (including any Euratom directives issued thereunder, for example the COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2013/59/EURATOM of 5 December 2013, which requires safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation). The particular treaty obligations that may be triggered will depend on the nature of the chosen disposition solution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December (HL4510), whether the Sea Lightnings carried aboard the Queen Elizabeth class will be a fully integrated part of the carrier battle group defence capability, as well as its long-range strike force.

Earl Howe

The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will be protected by a layered defence, the composition of which will be tailored to the threat faced. This defence may include, but not be limited to, submarines and ships within the Maritime Task Group (including their embarked Lightning II aircraft, helicopters and unmanned air systems) as well as land-based aircraft, where applicable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 February (HL5864), whether the term UK troops includes members of 13 Squadron, based at RAF Waddington, and of 39 Squadron, based at Creech Air Force Base in the US.

Earl Howe

This Government has demonstrated its commitment to the war powers convention by its willingness to hold Parliamentary debates in relation to air strikes in Iraq and Syria in 2013, 2014 and 2015. However, we have no intention of defining the precise circumstances, including the identity of specific military units, capabilities or types of operation, under which we might be obliged to act first and to notify Parliament afterwards, in order to avoid presenting our adversaries with opportunities to exploit that definition against the UK or our interests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the plans following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, there will be more or fewer Royal Navy ships in commission by 2025 than the 57 currently.

Earl Howe

The 2015 Strategic and Defence Security Review announced that we will maintain our fleet of 19 frigates and destroyers whilst also conducting a concept phase assessment for the design and build of a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigate. This will mean that by the 2030s we can further increase the total number of frigates and destroyers. Joint Force 2025 will also include three replacement solid support ships, the two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and at least two new offshore patrol vessels. Our national shipbuilding strategy, which we will publish later this year, will inform our plans.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) F35, and (2) F35B, aircraft are currently flying in the US; how many F35B aircraft owned by the UK are currently flying in the UK; and how many F35B aircraft in total (1) have been purchased by the UK to date, and (2) will have been purchased by the UK by 1 April 2017.

Earl Howe

The F-35 programme has delivered 179 aircraft to date, of which 53 are F-35B variants. There are currently no UK-owned F-35 aircraft flying in the UK.

To date, the UK has ordered eight F-35B aircraft of which four have been delivered and are flying in the US. By April 2017 the UK is planning to have ordered 17 F-35B aircraft, of which nine are scheduled to have been delivered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of the refit to RFA Diligence in 2013 to extend its life to 2020.

Earl Howe

Refits of RFA DILIGENCE were carried out from June 2012 to February 2013, and from September 2014 to February 2015, costing £17.6 million and £11 million respectively.

The timings of the refits were driven by factors including the mandatory requirements to renew safety and environmental certification and the need to address equipment obsolescence issues.