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Written Question
Army: Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Monday 17th March 2025

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many armoured brigades are on the establishment of the British Army.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The British Army have two armoured brigades. These are the 12 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (12 ABCT) and the 20 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (20 ABCT).

There are currently four armoured regiments in the British Army that are equipped with the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank. They are The Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH), The King’s Royal Hussars (KRH), The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), and the Reserve armoured regiment, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY).

The KRH, RTR, and RWxY are assigned to 12 ABCT and The QRH is assigned to 20 ABCT.

Written Question
Army: Challenger Tanks
Monday 17th March 2025

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many armoured regiments equipped with Challenger 2 tanks are established in the British Army, and to what formations they are assigned to.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The British Army have two armoured brigades. These are the 12 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (12 ABCT) and the 20 Armoured Brigade Combat Team (20 ABCT).

There are currently four armoured regiments in the British Army that are equipped with the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank. They are The Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH), The King’s Royal Hussars (KRH), The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), and the Reserve armoured regiment, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY).

The KRH, RTR, and RWxY are assigned to 12 ABCT and The QRH is assigned to 20 ABCT.

Written Question
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Monday 27th January 2025

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the established liability for Staff Officer 2 Military posts across the Ministry of Defence; and how many officers from all three services with a substantive rank of major or equivalent are available to fill them.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The following table provides a breakdown, by Service, of the numbers of OF-3 UK Regular Armed Forces personnel (Army Major and equivalent), as at 1 October 2024. Please note that we do not routinely release workforce requirement figures for reasons of operational security.

OF-3 (Army Major and equivalent) by Substantive Rank

1 October 2024

UK Regular Forces

7,747

Royal Navy/Royal Marines

1,732

Army

4,048

Royal Air Force

1,967

Source: Analysis (Tri-Service)

Table notes:

  1. UK Regulars comprise Full time Service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service, Locally Engaged Personnel, Non Regular Permanent Staff, High Readiness Reserve and Expeditionary Forces Institute personnel. Figures include trained and untrained personnel.
  2. Figures are based on individual's substantive rank.
  3. Figures include all personnel at OF-3 regardless of eligibility for Staff Officer 2 posts. This includes personnel on the Resilience Margin.
  4. Figures include all personnel regardless of Medical Deployability Status.

Written Question
Army and Defence Equipment & Support: Vacancies
Monday 27th January 2025

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Staff Officer 2 Military posts are vacant at (1) Army Headquarters and (2) the Defence Equipment and Support organisation.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Department continues to fill the highest priority roles first in accordance with current and future output requirements. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Written Question
Telecommunications Cables: Seas and Oceans
Thursday 19th December 2024

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Vallance of Balham on 3 December (HL Deb cols 1033–1034), whether they have an agreed retaliation doctrine for the cutting of UK undersea cables.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The UK Government constantly monitors and regularly assesses the security of critical national infrastructure, including energy and telecommunications assets in the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone. This is a whole-of-Government effort involving multiple Departments, including the Ministry of Defence.

While it is not appropriate for us to discuss the specifics of response options, our adversaries should be in no doubt of our ability to protect the UK and its interests, and that any deliberate attack on UK infrastructure would be met with an appropriate response.

Written Question
Army
Tuesday 30th April 2024

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) establishment, and (2) personnel strength, of each of the battalions of the Foot Guards, broken down by (a) commissioned officers, (b) senior non-commissioned officers, and (c) other ranks.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)

The table below shows the Trade Trained Regular Army Personnel within Foot Guard Battalions serving at Regimental Duty by Paid Rank, as at 1 January 2024.

I am withholding part (1) regarding the workforce requirement (establishment) as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the British Army.

Paid Rank

1st Battalion Grenadier Guards

1st Battalion Coldstream Guards

1st Battalion Scots Guards

1st Battalion Irish Guards

1st Battalion Welsh Guards

Total

530

490

540

390

410

Commissioned Officers

40

40

40

40

40

Warrant Officers

10

10

10

10

10

Senior Non-Commissioned Officers

50

40

50

40

40

Junior Non-Commissioned Officers

140

110

170

100

100

Privates

290

280

260

210

230

Source: Analysis Army

Table notes/caveats:

  1. The figures are for the Trade Trained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.

  1. The figures only include personnel with a parent Arm / Service of Infantry serving at Regimental Duty within the specified Battalions. All other Infantry personnel who are not serving within a Foot Guard Battalion have been excluded from these figures. Figures also exclude any attached Arms serving with the Battalion.

  1. Figures exclude service personnel on the resilience margin.

  1. Senior Non-Commissioned Officers include all personnel with a Paid Rank of Staff Sergeant and Sergeant. Junior Non-Commissioned Officers include all personnel with a Paid Rank of Corporal and Lance Corporal.

  1. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

  1. Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.

  1. Public Duties Companies have been included (1st Battalion Grenadier Guards includes Nijm Coy (PDIC), 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards includes 7 Coy (PDIC), 1st Battalion Scots Guards includes F Coy (PDIC) and 1st Battalion Irish Guards includes 9 and 12 Coys (PDIC).
Written Question
Warrior Vehicles
Monday 18th September 2023

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration has been given to remanufacturing the hulls of the Warrior armoured fighting vehicles in order to overcome the problem of cracking in highly stressed areas.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

There is no requirement for new hulls as the existing fleet of Warrior armoured fighting vehicles can be refurbished, as required, to a standard suitable for the needs of Defence. Procuring new hulls would also not present the optimum Value for Money solution when compared to maintaining the existing fleet.

Written Question
Ajax Vehicles
Tuesday 25th July 2023

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government when an officer of (1) one-star, and (2) two-star, rank first rode in an Ajax armoured fighting vehicle at a speed of at least 30 miles per hour.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

According to information held by the Department, the first journeys made by a one and two star officer in the Ajax platform were in April 2019 (Director Land Warfare, a two star) and September 2020 (Commander 1 Armoured Brigade, a one star). There is no detail as to the speed travelled on either of these occasions. Noting it was within a trials environment, it is possible that 30mph was exceeded.

Written Question
Ukraine: Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Tuesday 27th June 2023

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 15 May (HL7499), whether it is the Ministry of Defence that is the Government department leading on ensuring that the government of Ukraine and its armed forces have all the armoured fighting vehicles that are required.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

The Ministry of Defence is the UK Government Department leading on the granting of military equipment to Ukraine, including armoured fighting vehicles. To date, the UK has provided over 300 armoured and protected mobility vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Written Question
RAF Scampton
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government who owns the former RAF Scampton airbase.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

RAF Scampton is currently owned by the Ministry of Defence pending disposal.