Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what platforms they consider could fill any anti-submarine warfare manned aircraft gap at an acceptable level of technical risk within the timeframe available after the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review; and what assessment they have made of how long it would take to integrate United Kingdom complex weapons into such platforms.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The information requested is not available, as typically such questions are addressed at a later stage in a procurement cycle. A decision on whether to acquire a new capability will not be made until the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Air ISTAR Optimisation Study included any evidence-based analysis of any capability gap left by the scrapping of the Nimrod replacement programme.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Yes. The evidence gathered by the study will permit informed decisions to be made during the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which platforms they expect will be able to fill any capability gaps at an acceptable level of technical risk following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review; and how long they expect it will take to integrate United Kingdom complex weapons into the solutions.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long it will take to procure an armed long-range anti-submarine warfare system and maritime surveillance capability, based on an unmanned aircraft, following the completion of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Analysis conducted to date suggests that unmanned systems will not be able to provide an armed, long-range, anti-submarine warfare capability in the near to medium term.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect the National Security Council to shift the focus of the Building Stability Overseas Strategy from promoting longer-term peace and security initiatives to pursuing more immediate interventions based on national security imperatives.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The Government has a strong cross-departmental approach that draws on the most effective combination of defence, diplomacy, development assistance, security and intelligence to achieve the National Security Council's priorities and long-term goals on conflict, stability and security. The UK will continue to invest in upstream prevention in fragile countries to help develop strong, legitimate institutions capable of managing tensions so as to reduce the likelihood of instability and conflict, as well as being able to respond to more immediate developments. The new Conflict Stability and Security Fund will be a mix of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA resources which will allow for a range of interventions, including the security sector reform and peace keeping support which are crucial to building stability and paving the way for sustainable peace.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many countries are now being considered by the National Security Council for possible interventions under the Building Stability Overseas Strategy; how many of those countries are seen as posing a terrorism-related threat to the United Kingdom; and how many are seen as failed or failing states that might, in the future, harbour or assist internationally active extremists.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The Government has a strong cross-departmental approach that draws on the most effective combination of defence, diplomacy, development assistance, security and intelligence to achieve the National Security Council's priorities and long-term goals on conflict, stability and security. The new Conflict Stability and Security Fund will continue to focus on those fragile and conflict-affected countries or regions where there are risks to the UK's interests, including from terrorism, and where we know we can have an impact. The Fund will be a mix of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA resources which will allow for a range of interventions, including the security sector reform and peace keeping support which are crucial to building stability and paving the way for sustainable peace.