Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with (1) Harland and Wolff, and (2) Navantia, regarding the contract to build three fleet solid support ships for the Royal Navy.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The successful delivery of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme remains a priority. Ministry of Defence Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Navantia UK as prime contractor, on a range of matters, including extensive engagement to understand what steps the company is taking to ensure delivery of the FSS contract and management of its supply chain.
Harland and Wolff is a subcontractor to Navantia UK and following a review of their financial situation, the Government is clear that the market is best placed to address the challenges the company is facing. We continue to work extensively with all parties to find an outcome for the company that continues to deliver shipbuilding and manufacturing in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Armed Forces personnel engaged in military operations in Northern Ireland will be eligible to receive the Wider Service Medal; and if not, why.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A small number of operations have already been considered and confirmed as eligible for the Wider Service Medal. Work is ongoing to consider the eligibility of a large number of other operations, which is likely to include operational activity in Northern Ireland. This is expected to be completed by autumn 2024 when the details of all operations that have been approved for the medal will be published.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether armed forces personnel engaged in ongoing counterterrorist operations in Northern Ireland are eligible to receive the new Wider Service Medal; and if not, why.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Wider Service Medal will be retrospective to 11 December 2018, and a small number of operations have already been considered and confirmed as eligible for the medal. Other operational activity that could be within scope for the medal will be considered over the coming months and this might include operational activity in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on defence as a share of gross domestic product in each year since 2010.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
NATO’s published figures for UK defence spending as a percentage of GDP spend since 2010 are below.
Year | Share of gdp |
2010 | 2.47 |
2011 | 2.38 |
2012 | 2.16 |
2013 | 2.24 |
2014 | 2.14 |
2015 | 2.03 |
2016 | 2.09 |
2017 | 2.08 |
2018 | 2.10 |
2019 | 2.08 |
2020 | 2.35 |
2021 | 2.29 |
2022 | 2.29 |
2023 | 2.28 |
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Defence has spent in each of the past five years on surveillance operations to protect the network of undersea cables serving the British Isles from sabotage by hostile actors; and what proportion the government of the Republic of Ireland has contributed towards the cost of those operations.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Government takes the security and resilience of our critical infrastructure very seriously and we focus on the full range of threats and risks. The responsibility for maintaining subsea cables is a commercial one for the owner-operators. However, the Department for Science Innovation and Technology and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero work closely with the operators, regulators and other stakeholders to assess risks and ensure that the appropriate mitigation measures, including the provision of specialist capabilities are in place to enable an effective response to actual or potentially disruptive incidents.
The Ministry of Defence constantly monitors activity within UK waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone to counter and deter detected threats. British warships frequently patrol throughout the UK marine area. We have invested in our under-water capabilities able to monitor and assure the seabed including the Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) programme which we do not comment on in detail. These capabilities are used for a variety of purposes and roles meaning that we cannot provide a cost for surveillance.
Questions on critical national infrastructure are for individual nations to answer, therefore any questions on Irish subsea cables should be directed to the Irish Government.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deploy UK Armed Forces to the Indo-Pacific region to help counter the threat from China to Taiwan.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion. We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo. This includes increased Chinese assertiveness towards Taiwan.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any operational tours of the armed services are currently being conducted in Northern Ireland; and if so, what are the names of the operations and whether operational service medals will be awarded.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK's Armed Forces conduct a number of tasks in support of the Police Service of Northern Ireland including explosive ordinance disposal. This support is a standing task provided under Military Aid to the Civil Authority (MACA) principles and mirrors the support provided to the Police in Great Britain. There are no plans to award operational service medals for this task.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many British service personnel stationed in Cyprus have been murdered by terrorists in that country, and by which named terrorist group, in the past 30 years.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
In the last 30 years there have been no terrorist related murders of British Service personnel in Cyprus.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to conclude their review of the number of Challenger 3 tanks which will comprise the full operating capability to be delivered by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
As announced by the Secretary of State on 16 January 2023, the number of Challenger 3 Main Battle Tanks are being reviewed as a matter of priority following lessons learned from Ukraine, and to ensure the Army's Main Battle Tank fleet remains sufficient to meet Defence's needs.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the reason for the delay in the completion of the delivery of Challenger 3 tanks for use in demonstration trials from 2024 to early 2025.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
There is no delay to the delivery of the Challenger 3 prototypes. The Challenger 3 prototypes will be delivered for use in demonstration trials from 2023, as scheduled. Additional Challenger 3 prototypes have now been purchased and are due for delivery in early 2025.