Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to increase the (1) availability, and (2) use of, the British Army's Armoured Fighting Vehicles fleet.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
To meet the current and future threats, the Army is aiming to be "More Ready", which includes increasing the availability and readiness of our Armoured Fighting Vehicle fleet (AFVs).
In addition to increased activity across Europe in support of NATO, there has also been a significant increase in the Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) placed within units. This means the vehicles are maintained and utilised more by personnel, rather than being held in storage. Similarly, an enlarged training fleet of AFVs has allowed for increased AFV driver and commander training to be carried out.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) proportion, and (2) absolute value, of Ministry of Defence spend on procurement of goods and services that were denominated in dollars for 2021–22; and what is anticipated for 2022–23.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
For financial year (FY) 2021-22, the Departmental spend on the procurement of goods and services in dollars was around USD$5.3 billion, which is approximately 8.4% of the total £46 billion Defence budget. For FY 2022-23, the Department does not routinely release forecast spending figures.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which departmental budget funds the purchases of military equipment from third (1) nations, or (2) parties, for onward supply to Ukraine; and what is the current anticipated spend in 2022–23.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Her Majesty's Treasury are funding all Ukraine associated procurement. The Department does not routinely release forecast spending figures and all spend in the current financial year will be captured and published in the Department's Annual Reports and Accounts in due course.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they plan to invest in improving and replacing living accommodation in barracks and married quarters for Armed Forces personnel in 2022/23.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
£460.358 million of investment is planned to improve and replace Single Living Accommodation and Service Family Accommodation across the UK Defence Estate for Armed Forces personnel in Financial Year 2022-23.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they invested in improving and replacing living accommodation in barracks and married quarters for Armed Forces personnel in 2021/22.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
£284.875 million has been invested in improving and replacing Single Living Accommodation and Service Family Accommodation for Armed Forces personnel across the UK Defence Estate in Financial Year 2021-22.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of their Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) programme.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) Programme is complete.
The SLAM Programme was a 10 year contract awarded by the Ministry of Defence in 2002. In late 2012, during the last six months of the contract, 14 new build projects were added. Design and construction of these projects followed with completion in 2016. The Final Account of the SLAM Programme took place in 2017.
The SLAM Programme was one of the largest new build and refurbishment programmes in the UK and delivered successful renovations and constructions on 52 locations from Scotland to Cornwall. 121 separate projects improved or created more than 22,000 bedspaces.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people leaving the Armed Forces last year cited the quality of accommodation as one of the reasons for leaving.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The requested information can be found on page 12 of the 2022-Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey (AFCAS) results:
26 per cent of personnel cited accommodation provision as a factor influencing their intention to leave versus 37 per cent citing it as a factor influencing their intention to stay.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact assessment they have carried out on proposals to strengthen tenants' rights on the stock of private homes available to rent.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
We will publish an impact assessment as the Bill passes through Parliament, which will set out the costs and benefits and overall impact on the sector including both tenants and landlords. Our White Paper is based on a balanced package of reforms that support both tenants and landlords, drawing from the experience of reforms in other parts of the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what military exercises they plan to conduct with allies during the rest of this year; and how many British participants will be in each exercise.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
81 military exercises are planned to be conducted with allies during the rest of this year. Circa 14,500 British Service Personnel with participate across these exercises.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what military exercises they have conducted with allies so far this year; and how many British participants were deployed.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
71 military exercises have been conducted with allies and partners so far this year. Circa 17,000 British Service Personnel were deployed.