Tag: Lord West of Spithead

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether children in schools are taught about the national flag, its history and development, and which way up to fly it.

Lord Nash

The Government believes that all young people should, as part of a broad and balanced education, acquire a firm grasp of the history of the country in which they live. That is why the history curriculum for key stages 1 to 3, which has been taught in maintained schools from September 2014, sets out the core knowledge that will enable pupils to know and understand the history of Britain from its first settlers to the development of the institutions that help to define our national life today.

Schools have the freedom to teach subjects beyond the content of the national curriculum, which may include teaching about the national flag.

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 2015.

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.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reintroduce charges for museum entry in the next year.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

This Government is committed to maintaining free admission to the permanent collections of major museums and galleries, as set out in the 2015 Conservative Party general election manifesto.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Tornado aircraft (1) the RAF possess which are (a) available for operation, (b) maintained at each of the various defined levels, and (c) in storage; and (2) the RAF intend to fund for each of the above categories in each of the years from 2015–18.

Earl Howe

The information is not available in the format requested. The number of aircraft available varies day-to-day according to normal fleet management activities.

I am withholding further information on the number of serviceable aircraft available for operations on the grounds of safeguarding national security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 16 December (HL4512 and HL4513), what when necessary to deliver the carrier strike programme” means precisely.”

Earl Howe

Our aim is to ensure that embarked, jointly manned F-35B air squadrons operate to the same harmony guidelines. The overall principle is that we will manage all embarked air squadrons – which will include Fixed and Rotary Wing forces and personnel from all three Services – to ensure that the different harmony guidelines which all three Services routinely apply, do not adversely affect the way in which the operational output of the aircraft carriers will be delivered, and that they do not undermine joint unit or joint force cohesion. This principle will be given practical application as we continue our work to develop the routine carrier, combat air and helicopter operating cycles from 2020.

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 19 January (HL4885), whether the dates given in fact show that the time from laying down to operational handover for HMS Astute was nine years and seven months, and that for HMS Artful it will be 11 years.

Earl Howe

The build time of a submarine is measured between the start of manufacture and operational handover to the Royal Navy. Using this metric, the build time of HMS Astute was 170 months and for Artful was 137 months.

Keel laying and commissioning have no bearing on the build programme. These are ceremonial milestones only: commissioning can happen before or after operational handover. Using these milestones, however, the time taken from keel laying to commissioning was nine years and seven months for HMS Astute and 11 years for Artful.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration was given in the Budget to the commitment made by the Prime Minister, when introducing the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, that there would be a bigger navy by 2030.

Earl Howe

Government commitments to maintain defence spending above the NATO target of 2 per cent of GDP, and to increase the defence budget by 0.5 per cent above inflation each year until 2020-21 were unchanged by the Budget.

We will publish our national shipbuilding strategy later this year, which will lay the foundations for a modern and efficient sector capable of meeting the UK’s future defence and security needs. Furthermore, as announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we intend to launch a concept study to design and build a new class of lighter, flexible, and exportable frigate so that by the 2030s we can further increase our total number of frigates and destroyers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what published authority the Union Flag was established as the national flag of the UK and declared as such; when this was done; where the national flag’s constitutional status is laid down; and what assessment they have made of whether that constitutes an appropriate formal and constitutional declaration of that flag’s status.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The first Union Flag was created in 1606 after the Union of the Crown of England and Wales with the Crown of Scotland, by combining the Cross of St George with the Cross of St Andrew. It was established by Royal Proclamation, and adopted primarily as a flag to be used at sea.

The Union Flag in the form we now know dates from 1801 following the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland. The Union with Ireland Act provided that the flag “of the Union” should be such as His Majesty should appoint by proclamation. A Royal Proclamation of George III dated 1 January 1801 declared the design of the flag to be as it currently is.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether RFA Diligence has been fully manned since her refit in 2015.

Earl Howe

Since the refit that completed in February 2015, RFA DILIGENCE has not been fully manned by Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel. In addition, personnel supplied by contractors ensure that the safety and integrity of the ship is maintained until she goes out of service in December 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the work conducted in 2009 on counter-terrorism protective security in crowded places has been carried forward, and whether there is an established doctrine or policy for ensuring the safety of such places.

Lord Bates

The Government put in place a programme under CONTEST, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, to improve protective security and preparedness at a range of sites by ensuring businesses have access to high quality protective security advice, including through police specialist Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSAs) who operate across the whole of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. In 2014 the programme was refreshed with an enhanced site assessment process and an improved partnership approach with business.

CTSAs are engaged at sites across the country to give protective security advice, to train staff in Counter Terrorism awareness, and to encourage managers to develop response plans to a range of threats. CTSA advice is based on a range of protective security improvement and preparedness measures, and is designed to be appropriate and proportionate and wherever possible cost-effective. The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) has also published on its website protective security advice and guidance for owners and operators of different types of businesses to identify key risks and consider what steps they should take.