Tag: Lord West of Spithead

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 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 2015-11-17.

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.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will confirm that stocks of air-launched weapons such as Brimstone used in Syria and Iraq will be maintained at planned levels at no cost to the agreed defence budget.

Earl Howe

I am withholding details of stock levels of air-launched weapons as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our Armed Forces and allies. However, the cost of replenishing weapons used for air strikes in Syria and Iraq will be met from the HM Treasury Special Reserve.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of Tornado aircraft fully modified and available for operations in relation to the total air fleet.

Earl Howe

As of 13 January 2016, 48 Tornado aircraft are held in the Forward Available Fleet. This includes aircraft that are held at readiness for contingent operations alongside those deployed on operations

I am withholding the exact number of Tornado aircraft that are available for operations on the grounds of safeguarding national security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the risks posed to the UK by terrorists using drones, and the recent comments by the British Airline Pilots Association and others regarding the risks posed by drones, what consideration they have given to (1) the introduction of a system of mandatory drone registration in the UK, (2) the introduction of mandatory geo-fencing by all drone manufacturers, and (3) the possible banning of private ownership of drones exceeding a certain payload capacity.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Department for Transport (DfT) is currently working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop consistent, EU-wide safety rules for drones.

The Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and airlines), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective.

This collaboration is also considering the need for other potential drone policies, such as geo-fencing. There are a number of drone models already sold in the UK with types of this technology installed and we are assessing the potential for solutions that could restrict drone operations around airports and other key infrastructure.

We are also in contact with other governments about the potential costs and benefits of registration systems, and, in particular, whether this improves the transparency of ownership.

The Cross Government Working Group has undertaken analysis of the use of drones for criminal purposes, including the potential use of drones for terrorist purposes, and the impacts of their negligent use near sensitive locations, such as airports. This work is kept under review and is being used to inform research and testing to improve mitigation techniques and strategies.

Guidance on tackling the risks of criminal drone use has been provided to constabularies across the UK.

Education of drone users is vital. The DfT is working with the CAA on raising awareness of responsible drone use. This includes the CAA’s ‘Drone Code’ safety awareness campaign and the issuing of safety leaflets at the point of sale.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the financial difficulties of G4S will have an impact on any government security contracts.

Lord Bridges of Headley

G4S is a listed company, active in over 110 countries. Information on G4S’s financial performance is publicly available. As one of Government’s Strategic Suppliers Cabinet Office undertakes regular analysis of G4S’s performance and financial standing in line with the Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy, to monitor any possible risks to Government contracts.