Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 3rd February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

T4. Nobody likes long conflicts but given the Secretary of State’s speech at Munich at the weekend, does this now mean public opinion trumps strategic interests in defence policy?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

No, it does not. The subject of the discussion the right hon. Gentleman refers to was the conundrum involving the need for quick wins to satisfy public opinion in countries contributing to stabilisation operations and the very deep-rooted problems that need to be addressed, but that often are not susceptible to rapid solution. It was a serious debate with a panel of experts who are deeply versed in this subject and I was attempting to make a serious contribution.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 16th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend may note that some people have even suggested that two submarines could provide some sort of deterrent, but the Government and the Prime Minister have made clear their commitment to continuous at-sea deterrence and to delivering the number of submarines required to provide proper at-sea deterrence, not some jumped-up, import alternative.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

T5. My constituents who work for the Defence Support Group at Sealand in north Wales share the concern of my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) about this possible sale. The Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne) does not need to comment on leaked documents; could he just tell the House whether or not the American Government have made any representations to him about the dangers of such a sale?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 2nd September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Indeed. The nature of the United Kingdom, which is a relatively small and densely populated land mass, is one of the factors taken into account by the Trident alternatives review, and one of the reasons why the idea of land-based ballistic missiles was ruled out at an early stage. The review states clearly that all alternatives to Trident are less capable, higher-risk and more expensive. That strikes me as a pretty categorical conclusion.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Can the Secretary of State tell the House how much taxpayers’ money has been spent on the Liberal Democrat vanity project that is the Trident alternatives review, given that, by and large, both the Conservative part of the coalition and the Labour Opposition support the outcome and knew what it would be?

[Mr Hammond]

I can tell the right hon. Gentleman that the work on the review was conducted in-house, led by the Cabinet Office and supported by the Ministry of Defence, and that the principal cost involved will have been civil servants’ time. If he submits a written question to me, I will ask the Department to produce the best estimate that it can make of the time involved.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 20th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am delighted to see my hon. Friend here. His exercise in expectation management was not required.

In my initial response I said that we thought long and hard about whether it was right to call out reserves for the Olympics and the decision was that we would call out reserves only where both the reservists themselves are willing volunteers and their employers have signified that they are willing and able to release them for that period. This call-out will be on an entirely voluntary basis for both the employer and the reservists.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

How many troops does the Secretary of State expect to be in London for the Olympics, as opposed to regional areas, and could he clarify for me what military command and control is, as related to Home Office police responsibility?

[Mr Hammond]

We do not yet have numbers for the final distribution between the different locations, but clearly the major venues will be in London and I would expect the majority of armed forces personnel deployed to be at those venues. With regard to command and control, the police are in overall control. The specific arrangements for integrating the military into the command structure will vary from place to place and task to task. A series of exercises is now taking place, one purpose of which is to test the proposals for integrating military and police command and ensure that they are robust.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

On service pay, the Secretary of State for Defence has again prayed in aid the operational allowance. For my benefit, will he confirm how many, in percentage terms, of our service personnel will receive that operational allowance over the next three years?

[Mr Hammond]

I am doing the maths on my feet; there are about 9,500 people in Afghanistan on a five-cycle rotation, so the answer is about 45,000 or 47,000 of our armed forces personnel.

Severe Winter Weather

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Monday 20th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. People who are watching this debate on the BBC News channel in an airport terminal will not find the laughter and hilarity of Opposition Members, or the unconstructive rants from some but not all Opposition Back Benchers, at all edifying or helpful to their cause. I am happy to join him in commending the stalwart work of the people who man the fleets of gritters, who are out every night in all conditions doing their important work.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

What assessment have the Government made of the ability of aircraft and train operators to advise people who have been delayed of their statutory rights in respect of compensation? In slower time, will he arrange to meet insurance companies to ensure that they respond positively to the demands of people who have missed trains and flights, and had holidays ruined, or who have had pipes burst or damage done to their homes?

[Mr Hammond]

The right hon. Gentleman raises some important points. I can tell him that the Treasury has been talking to the insurance companies to ensure that people have the appropriate information and that companies can respond to inquiries about the extent of their cover. Often, those people will be in a real-time situation—stranded in an airport, for example—and will want to know what costs they can and cannot incur in trying to complete their journey. That is important.

The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that there have been developments in the past year or so in European jurisprudence with regard to compensation arrangements and the obligations on airlines to look after people who are stranded at airports. However, when the problem is caused by, for example, extreme weather conditions, compensation would not normally be payable as such.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

T7. Has the ministerial team seen the comments by the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr Yeo) in which he called for the privatisation of motorways and a widespread increase in road tolling? Will Ministers rule out such proposals for the duration of this Parliament?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

The coalition Government have indeed ruled out the tolling of the existing road network for the duration of this Parliament.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Lord Hanson of Flint

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

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

I have not discussed the expansion of Heathrow with business representatives since my appointment, as we have made it clear that we will not support a third runway at Heathrow. This Government’s focus is on making Heathrow better not bigger.

[Mr Hanson]

I welcome the Secretary of State to his position. I do not always agree with the CBI, but it has joined the Trades Union Congress and unions across London to say that the expansion of Heathrow is good for business and for London. Will the right hon. Gentleman therefore be careful that, in taking his stance—I recognise that it is one of integrity—he does not end up exporting jobs and business from London to Munich, Frankfurt and Paris?

[Mr Hammond]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, both parties in the coalition campaigned before the general election on a clear commitment to scrap the third runway at Heathrow. However, we are not anti-aviation and, earlier this week, I set up a working group to consider aviation in the south-east and to work with all the stakeholders, including representatives of business, the airlines and people who work at the airport to ascertain how we can make aviation in the south-east work better within the constraints of existing runway capacity.