Armed Forces: Land War Readiness
Debate between Earl of Minto and Baroness Burt of Solihull(6 months ago)
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Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
My Lords, we have seen from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza that, if Britain did become involved in a land war, it would look very different from any war that we have ever fought in the past. The skills that our troops will need are changing all the time, as the Minister has alluded to, but we will have 9,000 fewer troops to work with by 2025—a policy that my party would reverse. Are the lower numbers compatible with the greater skills that we would need to fight a modern land war?
The Earl of Minto (Con)
My Lords, the question of absolute numbers must be overlaid with that of capability. There is no question that we do not need the numbers that we have required in the past. In fact, the First Sea Lord has mentioned that modern warships will have fewer fighting troops on them. I fully agree on the challenges that we face with the existing numbers. War fighting readiness obviously involves modernisation and mobilisation of conventional forces, as well as upgrading nuclear systems. It also involves intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance capabilities, electronic warfare, signals, intelligence, cyber and electronics. It is a very broad base so, to the previous question from the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, the breadth of recruitment needs to be very carefully looked at.
Baby-changing Facilities
Debate between Earl of Minto and Baroness Burt of Solihull(1 year, 5 months ago)
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The Earl of Minto (Con)
My Lords, my noble friend makes a very good point. One of the challenges is that a lot of pubs are in historic buildings and are listed. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to get through the planning laws so that doorways and steps can be taken out to give free access. I say again that every opportunity is taken to provide disabled access.
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
My Lords, fathers change babies too, and yet baby-changing facilities are often situated in ladies toilets. Does the Minister think that we should have an inclusive place where fathers and mothers can change children—and in a nice environment, rather than some of those that some mothers have to bear up with?
The Earl of Minto (Con)
My Lords, again, that is a very good point. The issue is predominantly driven by space and, to some extent, finance and running costs. The Welsh Government did a very interesting study a few years back, in 2019-20, where they estimated that it costs between £2,500 and £5,000 to put in baby-changing facilities. We all know that the majority of small hospitality businesses are SMEs, and that sort of cost, let alone the ongoing cost of maintenance, cleaning, refuse collection and that sort of thing, at times makes it restrictive.