Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many reviews have been announced in Parliament by the Ministry of Defence in the last six years; how many have been completed; how many are still ongoing; and what is the timescale for completion of those reviews still ongoing.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Since 1 January 2011 the Ministry of Defence has announced 11 reviews in Parliament, of which 10 have been completed and one, the Review of the Service Museums announced on 15 October 2015 (HLWS241), is due to be completed shortly.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 26 September (HL1779), whether they are planning to provide a mechanism for external stakeholder input into the defence policy review on remotely piloted air and wider highly automated systems.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There is no formal mechanism for external input into this aspect of Defence policy, however officials are informally consulting academia, think tanks and industry as well as international partners, to broaden Defence understanding.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Single Source Regulation Office plays its role in ensuring Ministry of Defence procurement treats UK small and medium-sized enterprises fairly and provides value for money.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) has a range of functions, including arbitrating between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and industry on matters relating to qualifying single source defence contracts. In reaching a conclusion on these matters, the SSRO must ensure that good value for money is obtained in Government expenditure and that parties to those contracts are paid a fair and reasonable price. This applies equally to all parties that contract with the MOD, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Department has worked closely with SMEs on the implementation of the reforms and will continue to engage on specific issues. The Secretary of State for Defence is required under part two of the Defence Reform Act 2014 to review the legislation by the end of 2017. The MOD will ensure that the impact of any changes on SMEs is properly taken into account.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant by local authorities.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Covenant’s principles were enshrined in law in the Armed Forces Act 2011. This Government has demonstrated its commitment to upholding these principles, which is evident in the work reported in each of the four annual reports laid in the House. We will continue to report progress to Parliament. Next month’s Annual Report will detail the considerable progress made across government and with wider public, private and third sectors, including in the key areas of education, healthcare, accommodation and access to commercial services.
Every Local Authority in mainland Great Britain and two in Northern Ireland have signed a Community Covenant. We are working with them to help them deliver the support they have promised to the Armed Forces community, with good work in many areas including housing, education, health and social care.
Together we have taken a number of steps forward in this area, such as allocating funding from a £20 million budget to improve childcare facilities for Service families at 40 locations in the UK and Cyprus. In order to help Service children through local schools’ admissions processes, we have changed the Schools Admission Code in England to give them priority by allowing Service families to apply for and be allocated a place before they move into an area.
This year approximately £21 million was allocated in Service Pupil Premium payments for the pastoral needs of almost 70,000 Service pupils in state schools in England. In 2015, £6 million in grants was given to 154 applicants for Education Support Funding, to help UK state schools mitigate issues caused by exceptional mobility and deployment.
Furthermore, we have worked closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and Devolved Administrations to ensure that Service personnel do not experience any disadvantage as a result of their military service when applying for social housing.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 21 January (HL5353), whether they will provide an update on the timeline and consultation planned for (1) the proposed defence policy on the use of remotely piloted air systems, (2) the revised Joint Doctrine Note 2/11, <i>The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft of Systems</i>, and (3) the Future Air and Space Operating Concept.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Defence policy review has broadened to cover both remotely piloted air and wider highly automated systems. Officials are currently consulting stakeholders; we expect the review to conclude early in 2017.
Regarding Joint Doctrine Note 2/11, I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 2 February 2016 to Question number HL5353. I reported the intention for the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) to review and update Joint Doctrine Note 2/11 "The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems". Following this review, it was decided to upgrade the note to a full publication (Joint Doctrine Publication 0-30.2), which is currently being drafted in consultation with stakeholders, in parallel with the policy review.
A review of the future joint and environmental operating concepts concluded that an integrated concept for defence is preferred; consequently the Future Air and Space Operating Concept will be incorporated into an unified Future Operating Concept, which is expected to be published in Spring 2017.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on the 20 January (HL4935), (1) what is the timeline for the development of the written policy for future capability requirements, development, integration and use of unmanned systems, (2) what form of consultation is proposed, and (3) whether the written policy proposed will include a position statement on the use of drones by the Her Majesty's Government (a) in domestic airspace, and (b) for collective and individual self-defence abroad.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Defence policy on use of remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) is currently being drafted. This work is still in an early stage and is currently scoping the policy with the aim of producing a substantive document towards the end of the year. It is our intention to consult widely during its production, both across Government and with our international allies.
This work will be supported and underpinned by the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre's (DCDC) revision and update of Joint Doctrine Note 2/11 "The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems" and through its work on the Future Air and Space Operating Concept; both of which are currently being written and will be available before the end of 2016. The DCDC will then commence work on the next edition of Joint Doctrine Publication 0-30 "UK Air and Space Doctrine" which it expects to publish in first quarter 2017.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to devise a written policy for the development, integration and use of military unmanned systems.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence is currently seeking to articulate in one policy document the considerations for future UK capability requirements, development, integration and use of unmanned systems.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to integrate the use in military operations of unmanned vehicles in the air, at sea, and on land.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Unmanned vehicles already play an important role in UK Armed Forces' operations across all environments. On the basis of the Government's National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review of November 2015, the Department is continuing to examine where unmanned systems may offer advantages over manned alternatives and to invest in new unmanned capabilities. For example, the Department is more than doubling the number of armed remotely piloted aircraft available to the UK Armed Forces under the Protector programme to replace the existing Reaper aircraft, and is also developing high-end technologies - including in collaboration with France and the US - under a future Unmanned Combat Air System programme.
Throughout the Department's development and integration of unmanned systems, the policy is that a human must always be responsible for any decisions on targeting.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what use the Royal Navy is making of unmanned vehicles.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Royal Navy (RN) recognises that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage, and benefits significantly from the use of unmanned vehicles in both air and sea environments.
The Scan Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System offers enhanced maritime surveillance and improved situational awareness in support of the RN in a number of operational theatres.
The Hunt Class Mine Countermeasure Vessels employ an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) for remote mine-disposal known as the Seafox mine-disposal system. In addition, the Fleet Diving Squadron employs a small UUV for seabed searches.
The RN continues to explore how autonomous systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the accommodation at Catterick Garrison is en-suite.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
This information is not held centrally. The department is currently developing a robust Single Living Accommodation allocation and management system which will be available in 2016.