Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which Armed Forces personnel were planned to be deployed to Mali in 2020; and what was the anticipated (1) length, and (2) objective, of any such deployment.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As announced in July 2019, the UK is due to deploy 250 peacekeepers to the UN's mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The first unit is planned to deploy in 2020 and will be led by the Light Dragoons. The deployment will last an initial period of three years. The deployment’s objectives are aligned with the UN mission's mandate of: supporting the Malian peace process; security sector reform; assisting the reestablishment of State authority; protecting civilians; and promoting human rights.
The UK also currently has three CH-47 helicopters committed to France's counter-terror mission in the Sahel, Operation BARKHANE, in a non-combat, heavy-lift capacity role. This was initially agreed as part of the January 2018 UK-France Summit. This commitment is currently due to end in June 2020 and discussions are ongoing regarding a possible extension. Operation BARKHANE is a French-led operation and the objectives focus on preventing the re-establishment of any safe havens for terrorist forces in the region.
The UK also has military and civilian staff in the EU's Training Mission (EUTM) in Mali. UK contributions to the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations will be maintained during the Transition Period. The objectives for these UK personnel are focused on the delivery of international humanitarian law training, in support of EUTM's current mandate which aims to train, educate and advise Malian Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Armed Forces personnel have been deployed in the creation of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence has supported the NHS in several ways. This has included a significant contribution to the opening of the Nightingale Hospitals as a measure to ensure the NHS can meet the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the course of the past three months, Defence has deployed over 500 military personnel to support the design and build of these temporary hospitals, providing infrastructure, logistics and project management advice.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assumed maintenance cost per flying hour for Apache AH-64E helicopters after they have come into service has been included in planning assumptions.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Apache AH64E support costs are subject to on-going commercial negotiations.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the ombudsman system.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The government published a draft Public Service Ombudsman Bill in December 2016, setting out plans to introduce a new Public Service Ombudsman.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Secretary of State for Defence on 23 November 2018 that HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey and HMS Severn will forward-operate from their namesake rivers, what progress has been made towards the implementation of that announcement.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
While HMS TYNE, MERSEY and SEVERN remain base ported in HM Naval Base Portsmouth, they continue to have strong associations with their namesake regions. The Royal Navy is considering how they can further optimise the use of the Offshore Patrol Vessels in supporting our national and global interests.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the military Mark 4 Chinook helicopters that are currently held in store.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The remaining Mark 4 Chinook helicopters are being modified through a safety enhancement programme, the Digital Automatic Flight Control System. They will return to flying as Mark 6A Chinooks by the end of the year.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the next Defence Equipment Plan.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We intend to publish our 2019 financial summary of the Equipment Plan alongside the NAO's updated assessment in due course.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full crews are available for P-8 Poseidon aircraft being procured for the Royal Air Force.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Royal Air Force has sufficient trained crews to meet its current task on the P-8 Poseidon aircraft. Covering a variety of fully qualified instructors and those undergoing training, our P-8 cadre are split between the UK and the USA.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their timetable for introducing P-8 Poseidon aircraft to front line service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Initial operating capability will be achieved in spring 2020.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what the budget for ensuring the availability of Royal Air Force combat aircraft has been in each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The RAF has continued to invest in the capability and availability of our Next Generation Lightning and Typhoon Combat Aircraft to meet operational tasking.
The UK has invested in the support of the Lightning fleet with a National Support Solution contract and additionally has invested approximately £142 million in the development of state of the art infrastructure to support the Lightning Force throughout its service life. This is in addition to the upgrade of other operating facilities to accommodate the new Lightning Force. These new facilities and the National Support Solution are now fully operational and supporting the growth of the UK Lightning Force.
The Typhoon Total Availability eNterprise (TyTAN), a ten-year £2.1 billion support agreement for Typhoon between the MOD and BAE Systems established in 2016, is driving real efficiency improvements by focusing all parties on flying hour output. To date the TyTAN agreement has already allowed for over £500 million of Typhoon Support savings to be re-invested into capability upgrades for the aircraft and help to sustain high value jobs across the industry.