Armed Forces Restructuring

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Andrew Selous

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am happy to clarify that for the hon. Lady. Personnel who are serving on operations are, of course, eligible to apply for redundancy if they wish to do so, but if they are serving on operations at any point between now and the announcement date on 12 June, they will not be eligible for compulsory redundancy. So if they do not volunteer, they will be exempt from redundancy.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State say a little more about the reinvigorated recruitment effort that he told the House about? In particular, will he be open to different methods, so that we can see more of what works?

[Mr Hammond]

As my hon. Friend might well imagine, Ministers and senior officials are vigorously examining different approaches that have been tried in different areas and different parts of the country to see what works best. What is clear to me is that, as I said in the House last week, we must focus back on using front-line reserve units as the principal tool of recruitment to the reserve. We can support that with national campaigns and a nationally managed IT platform, but we must rely on front-line reservists recruiting their fellow reservists. Everything that I have seen reinforces that, and it will be one of the driving requirements in how we manage this campaign.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Andrew Selous

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)]

My departmental responsibilities are to ensure: that our country is properly defended now and in the future through delivery of the military tasks for which the MOD is mandated; that our service personnel have the right equipment and training to allow them to succeed in the military tasks; and that we honour our armed forces covenant. My first priority is the success of the operation in Afghanistan, followed by the provision of support to the Olympics security plan. The Ministry of Defence has also embarked on a major project of transformation to ensure the behavioural change needed to maintain the budget in balance and deliver the equipment programme.

[Andrew Selous]

As a former Territorial soldier, I have every confidence that our reserve forces will rise to the challenge set by the Secretary of State, as they always have done, but when does he expect the order of battle for the Territorial Army to be announced?

[Mr Hammond]

As I said, we will publish a consultation paper in the autumn. The consultation period will take us through into the new year and we expect to be able to publish full details of our plans for the Army reserve in the spring, including the order of battle.

Army 2020

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Andrew Selous

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

That is an excellent point, and I am glad my hon. Friend has raised it. The military chain of command will be briefing people throughout the Army. That will have started with briefings to people in the affected units at the time I stood up to make this statement.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend believe that the very welcome institution for the first time ever of an annual report to Parliament on the state of the reserves will prevent the Territorial Army from bearing the brunt of cuts in the future, as has sometimes happened in the past?

[Mr Hammond]

This approach is being taken precisely to prevent the kind of disgraceful targeting of the Territorial Army that took place under the previous Government, when training was slashed in order to deal with a short-term cash problem. The long-term impact on reserve recruitment can hardly be overestimated.

Defence Budget and Transformation

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Andrew Selous

Monday 14th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I can confirm that the new contract for the Atomic Weapons Establishment, announced today, is in fact a rolling over of the existing contract at a lower price for the next period.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Kuwait compensated this country for the cost of its liberation. Libya is a very wealthy country. Has any similar offer been made?

[Mr Hammond]

Not to my knowledge.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Andrew Selous

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

T8. Does the Secretary of State agree that the tempo of our military withdrawal from Afghanistan should be dictated by real measures of military success on the ground, so that the British lives lost in Afghanistan will not have been in vain?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

I agree absolutely that we must secure our legacy in Afghanistan for the sake of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The tempo of our withdrawal will depend on the situation on the ground and on decisions that our allies take: we have to go in lockstep with our major allies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Andrew Selous

Monday 14th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

14. What recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the UK’s operations in Libya.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)]

Our estimate on 12 October was that the net additional cost of operations in Libya would be £160 million. Our estimate at the same date of the cost of replenishing munitions used in Libya was £140 million. That estimate assumed that operations would continue until the end of December. We are currently calculating a new estimate based on the actual end of operations on 31 October, and I expect to make a further statement in early December. I expect the new estimate to be lower than the one previously given.

[Andrew Selous]

Given Libya’s vast oil wealth, does the Secretary of State think it might be appropriate in due course for Libya to make some form of compensatory payment to the United Kingdom for those costs incurred?

[Mr Hammond]

The UK’s motivation in intervening and playing a leading role in the Libya campaign was not based on an expectation of financial reimbursement; it was to prevent a humanitarian disaster and to protect the vital interests of this country. The Libyan situation, as hon. Members have already pointed out, remains fragile and our first priority is to assist the Libyan people and the Libyan Government in stabilising the situation. Seeking financial reimbursement is not a current priority.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Andrew Selous

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

14. What steps he is taking to encourage greater use of low-emission vehicles.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Philip Hammond)]

Decarbonisation of motor transport is one of my key priorities. The recent spending review announced that the Government have made provision of over £400 million for measures to promote the uptake of ultra-low carbon vehicle technologies. These measures include support for consumer incentives, development of recharging infrastructure, and a programme of research and development work.

[Andrew Selous]

When does my right hon. Friend expect that it will be an economically rational decision for most people to buy a low-emission vehicle?

[Mr Hammond]

I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that with the benefit of the Government’s consumer incentive of up to £5,000 a vehicle, it will be an eminently rational decision for anyone to start purchasing an electric vehicle from next February, when they appear on the UK’s roads. The cost per kilometre of running an electric vehicle that is charged overnight with cheap-rate electricity will be between 1p and 3p, which compares favourably with the price of petrol.