Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much compensation they have paid in the past five years in response to claims made by relatives of those shot and killed by soldiers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In the last five years the Ministry of Defence has paid £4,682,122 in compensation to relatives of individuals fatally shot by members of the British Army in Northern Ireland between 1969 to 2007.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what basis they determined that 2.5 per cent of GDP funding is an appropriate target for defence spending.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Spending 2.5% of GDP on defence balances the need to invest in defence capabilities to respond to growing threats and ensure the UK remains secure at home and strong abroad with the wider demands on Government spending. It also represents an ambitious increase on the NATO Defence Investment Pledge, and would be the highest level of Defence spending since 2010 (under the last Labour Government).
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to allow Multi Role Support Ships to be assembled outside the UK.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Multi-role Support Ships Programme has entered its concept phase. The Royal Navy and Defence Equipment and Support, will now conduct detailed work on the design and procurement strategy, informed by industry engagement. As announced by the Secretary of State, it is intended that these ships will be built in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of the Royal Marines to fulfil their duties, given their current level of equipment and personnel.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Royal Marines (RM) have been undergoing transformation through the Future Commando Force (FCF) programme. The FCF programme was fully endorsed at the Integrated Review 21 and reaffirmed at the Integrated Review Refresh and the Defence Command Plan 23. Significant enhancements have already been delivered, most visibly new vehicles, radios, uniforms and most recently new rifles.
The Secretary of State has commissioned a plan with a scope that will encompass how the Royal Marines work and capabilities can be bolstered and enhanced to protect Britain from a world that is growing more dangerous.
While undergoing this transformation, the RM continue to deploy globally, delivering disproportionate impact for a formation of their size.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recruitment and retention figures for the armed forces in year 2022–23; and what steps they are taking to reverse any negative trends.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
In 2022-23, Armed Forces recruitment was lower than we would have hoped given a difficult recruiting environment, and outflow was higher than planned. Nevertheless, the Armed Forces continue to meet all their operational commitments.
To address recruitment, a range of tangible short-term deliverables are being actioned to increasing the inflow into Armed Forces recruitment pipelines, all intended to increase the breadth of potential candidates and to drive efficiencies into recruitment systems. These ongoing and new initiatives are focused upon engaging the broad range of skills, experience and diversity needed to deliver that which our nation demands of our Armed Forces; and in the range of roles that are critical to enable this.
On retention, in June 2023 we committed to implementing the recommendations of the Haythornthwaite Review, a generational independent review of how we retain our current people and attract new ones. Its recommendations relate to policies and processes across a complex system of incentivisation and support. A formal Government Response, which will provide more detail on our approach to tackling each recommendation, will be published in early 2024. This will confirm which recommendations have been - or are in the process of being – delivered.
Other initiatives aimed at improving the recruitment and retention of our people include; Flexible Service, which introduces the potential for people to alter their career commitment for set periods of time, allowing more people to remain in the Armed Forces who may otherwise have decided to leave in order to meet competing demands and responsibilities; Wraparound Childcare, which Defence established in recognition of the importance of a robust childcare support system to enable the mobility, recruitment and retention of a Armed Forces personnel; acceptance of the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body’s and Senior Salaries Review Body’s recommendations in full, ensuring that the overall remuneration package for Service personnel (which includes a good pension, subsidised accommodation, and a range of allowances on top of basic salary) remains competitive.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what costs will be incurred to return HMS Prince of Wales to active service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 3 April 2023 to Question HL6632.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that equipment has been taken from HMS Prince of Wales to be fitted to HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
It is common practice in modern navies for equipment to be transferred amongst ships of the same class to allow ships to remain operationally available. This ensures the Royal Navy meets all its operational commitments.
For reasons of operational security, it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of equipment transfer.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether HMS Prince of Wales will be returned to active service; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 3 April 2023 to Question HL6891.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when inspections and building condition surveys were last carried out on St Lucia Barracks in Omagh.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence owns the historic core buildings at St Lucia Barracks, the remainder of the site is owned by the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure.
A full building condition report was completed in September 2019 which identified repairs needed to the historic core buildings. Remediation works, undertaken by Defence Infrastructure Organisation contractors, were completed in September 2022.
Defence Infrastructure Organisation Officials last inspected the buildings on 8 February 2023.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they own St Lucia Barracks in Omagh.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence owns the historic core buildings at St Lucia Barracks, the remainder of the site is owned by the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure.
A full building condition report was completed in September 2019 which identified repairs needed to the historic core buildings. Remediation works, undertaken by Defence Infrastructure Organisation contractors, were completed in September 2022.
Defence Infrastructure Organisation Officials last inspected the buildings on 8 February 2023.