Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure there are adequate dry docking facilities available within the UK to guarantee that the Royal Navy has access for urgent repairs.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence has adequate plans to deal with urgent dry docking requirements for all class of ships operated by the Royal Navy. Where there is not a sovereign dock capability, there are arrangements to use commercial facilities and there is no reliance on a single facility to undertake dry dock maintenance.
Maintenance and dry docking requirements, outside of an urgent requirement, are carefully planned in order to maintain the availability of Royal Navy ships.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the provision of urgent short-term dry docking requirements for the Royal Navy, given the break down of HMS Prince of Wales.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence has adequate plans to deal with urgent dry docking requirements for all class of ships operated by the Royal Navy. Where there is not a sovereign dock capability, there are arrangements to use commercial facilities and there is no reliance on a single facility to undertake dry dock maintenance.
Maintenance and dry docking requirements, outside of an urgent requirement, are carefully planned in order to maintain the availability of Royal Navy ships.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers to have a full complement of aircraft.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The composition and size of an embarked air group in a deploying Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) carrier will be specifically tailored to meet the operational requirement.
The QEC carriers have been designed to be able to embark 40 aircraft, a mix of fixed wing and rotary wing, with both currently cleared to operate a spectrum of Ministry of Defence aircraft.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers can be reconfigured with catapult launch capability.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Both Queen Elizabeth Class carriers could be reconfigured to operate a catapult launch system. They were built to allow for capability changes over the lifespan of the ships.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, what plans they have to accelerate the Propulsion Improvement Programme for the Type 45 Destroyers to ensure that the fleet is fully operational before 2028 as currently scheduled.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We continually review optimal delivery within the Complex Warship Support Plan. The Type 45 ships remain available for operational tasking when not undergoing maintenance activity or their PIP conversion.
HMS DAUNTLESS, the first ship to undergo the PIP conversion, has commenced a harbour trials programme and is due to return to sea later this year for sea trials. HMS DARING is currently at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, with conversion work to be carried out during 2022. The Ministry of Defence will take into account the lessons learned from HMS DAUNTLESS and apply them to HMS DARING's conversion.
The programme is dependent on the availability of ships to undertake the upgrade, balanced against the Royal Navy's current and future operational commitments. PIP conversions are planned to take account of the regular Upkeep cycle to maximise overall class availability and meet the readiness profile required to meet Defence outputs.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, whether they will review the amount of national resources devoted to defence spending.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Government is clear that Defence should be led by our understanding of the threats it needs to counter. The Government's Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published last year, sets out how the Department will respond to the threats to the UK and recognises that the 'bulk of the UK's security focus will remain' on the Euro-Atlantic region. This was supported by the Spending Review 2020 settlement of an additional £16.5 billion for Defence which will support modernisation of our Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long term security implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine; and what amendments they assess are required to the UK's defence posture and capabilities as a consequence.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Through his reckless actions, President Putin has severely damaged Russia's international reputation for many years to come. The UK's defence posture, deployments, and capabilities will continue to evolve, building on the work already set out in the 2021 Integrated Review. Alongside Allies and partners, we will ensure that we meet the challenges posed by President Putin.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the costs that will be incurred as a result of the decision to renew and expand nuclear warhead production.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Replacement Warhead programme is in its early preliminary phases and it is therefore too early to provide a cost estimate at this stage.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As confirmed to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Defence on July 1 2021 [HCWS142] AWE plc became a Non-Departmental Public Body, wholly owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). That decision followed a review of the AWE governance model which concluded the change in operating model was required to enhance both the MOD and AWE’s ability to put in place the skills and facilities required to deliver the Replacement Warhead Programme and deliver value for money to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have made available to individuals approved for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme; and when they anticipate those individuals can be relocated from Afghanistan to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) for those who worked with the UK in Afghanistan is not time-limited and will endure. We are now looking at all possible avenues to facilitate relocation, from third countries if possible, for those eligible.
To anyone to whom we have made commitments - and who is currently in Afghanistan - we are working urgently with our friends in the region to secure safe passage. As soon as routes are available we will do everything possible to help these eligible individuals to reach safety.