Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many veterans in Northern Ireland are in receipt of (1) a war disablement pension, or (2) Armed Forces compensation.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at 31 March 2020 there were 3,558 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of a War Disablement Pension under the War Pension Scheme and 65 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of a tax-free monthly Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) residing in Northern Ireland.
AFCS tax-free lump sum awards are paid to Service personnel and veterans as compensation for pain and suffering for an injury or illness that is predominantly caused or made worse by Service. Location data is not routinely updated following payment of a lump sum award. Where a lump sum award has been made at tariff levels 1-11 (reflecting a more serious injury/illness), the claimant will also be awarded a tax-free index-linked income stream known as a Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP).
As at 31 March 2020 there were 654 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of the War Pension Mobility Supplement under the War Pension Scheme residing in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many veterans in Northern Ireland are in receipt of a war pension scheme mobility supplement.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at 31 March 2020 there were 3,558 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of a War Disablement Pension under the War Pension Scheme and 65 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of a tax-free monthly Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) residing in Northern Ireland.
AFCS tax-free lump sum awards are paid to Service personnel and veterans as compensation for pain and suffering for an injury or illness that is predominantly caused or made worse by Service. Location data is not routinely updated following payment of a lump sum award. Where a lump sum award has been made at tariff levels 1-11 (reflecting a more serious injury/illness), the claimant will also be awarded a tax-free index-linked income stream known as a Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP).
As at 31 March 2020 there were 654 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of the War Pension Mobility Supplement under the War Pension Scheme residing in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards improving the effectiveness and reliability of power plants on Type 45 destroyers.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Procurement (Jeremy Quin), in the House of Commons on 8 June 2020 to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman), in response to Question numbers 53459 and 53460.
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 construction of the new Type 31 class of frigates for the Royal Navy, given the increasing workload being created by the situation in the Gulf and the imminent deployment of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We remain committed to ensuring the Royal Navy has the ships and capabilities required to fulfil Defence commitments now and in the future.
The first Type 31 Frigate will be in the water in 2023 and Babcock is contractually obliged to deliver all five Type 31 Frigates to the Ministry of Defence by the end of 2028.
The Prime Minister has committed to undertake the deepest review of Britain's security, defence and foreign policy. This review will examine how we strengthen and prioritise our alliances, diplomacy and development and will consider all aspects of our defence and security capabilities, including our approach to procurement and maintaining our technological edge. We are considering a number of options to increase the availability of ships during this period.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the new Type 31 class of frigate will be fitted with an anti-ship missile system.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Flexible by design, the Type 31 frigates will be adaptable to a range of capabilities, which may include an anti-ship missile system.
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 progress of the programme to ensure that the Navy's fleet of destroyers are fully fit for operations.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The first Type 45 destroyer is due to undergo Power Improvement Project upgrades in 2020 and will be returning to sea trials in 2021. Our £160 million investment in the Power Improvement Project will provide increases in both power generation and reliability for the rest of the Type 45 destroyers' service life. It is planned that all six ships should have completed their upgrade during the mid-2020s.
Like all Royal Navy ships, the Type 45 destroyers rotate through planned operating cycles involving maintenance, training, deployment, leave and capability upgrades. This results in individual ships being at various levels of readiness. The Type 45 Destroyers continue to be deployed on operations and contribute to the defence of the UK and our international partners.
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 security vetting procedures in place for suppliers of components for Ministry of Defence procurement contracts.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) places the highest priority on the security and safety of our personnel and equipment.
The MOD's consideration of security matters associated with procurement contracts is defined by the Cabinet Office within the Government's Security Policy Framework. This framework is subject to periodic review to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether investigations compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights were carried out for all military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
All Service personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were repatriated to the United Kingdom and each death was subject to an investigation carried out by a Coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland). It is for the Coroner to determine the scope of an inquest including the application of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Ministry of Defence fully supports all Coroners inquests.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that the Royal Navy has the capability to launch cruise missiles from surface ships.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Royal Navy warships are equipped with an array of offensive and defensive weapons to enable them to fulfil their operational roles. UK land attack is ably provided by submarines which can launch Tomahawk missiles.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a log of the daily activities of HQ 39 Infantry Brigade is still in existence; and if so, under whose control it is kept.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Army formation records, including operational logs, are subject to the Public Record Acts 1958 and 1967. These require that records aged 30 years (reducing to 20 years following the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010) are to be reviewed for selection for permanent preservation at The National Archives. Where the record is required for ongoing Departmental business, or the record contains information that is still sensitive, authority will be sought for the record's retention by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Where a record is not selected for permanent preservation by The National Archives or retention within the Department, it is destroyed.
39 Infantry Brigade originally formed during World War 1, reforming in the 1950's and becoming involved in Northern Ireland in 1969 until its disbandment in 2007. To examine logs for the entirety of the Brigade's formation would require detailed searches through MOD's Main and Sensitive Archives and through The National Archive.
We are unable to determine if any Daily Logs exist without incurring disproportionate cost. If any daily activity logs do exist, they will be under the control of the MOD or The National Archive in line with the review process described above.