Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a statement setting out their strategy on expanding NATO membership, in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has always been a committed supporter of NATO's Open Door Policy, enshrined in Article 10 of the Washington Treaty which founded NATO in 1949. NATO's expansion has been pivotal in spreading democracy, free speech and the rule of law across Europe. Each nation has the right to choose its own security arrangements. Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally changed European security and it is understandable that faced with this threat, countries may review their security arrangements, including considering applying to join the alliance and to benefit from its collective security guarantees.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) NHS trusts, and (2) ambulance trusts, currently have UK armed forces deployed to them; and how many personnel are deployed to each trust.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information on National Health Service trusts which have requested and received support from the armed forces is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of Military Aid to Civilian Authorities applications made by NHS England and the number of rejected applications in each month in 2021. Data for December 2021 is not yet available therefore we are unable to provide the information requested on the number of personnel currently deployed to all NHS trusts.
| Military Aid to Civilian Authorities applications from NHS England | Number of rejected applications |
January | 32 | 2 |
February | 14 | 0 |
March | 2 | 0 |
April | 1 | 0 |
May | 1 | 0 |
June | 1 | 0 |
July | 1 | 0 |
August | 3 | 0 |
September | 0 | 0 |
October | 0 | 0 |
November | 2 | 0 |
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS trusts have requested support from the UK armed forces in every month of 2021 so far; which NHS trusts made such requests; and of those that made such requests, which ones were (1) successful, and (2) rejected.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information on National Health Service trusts which have requested and received support from the armed forces is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of Military Aid to Civilian Authorities applications made by NHS England and the number of rejected applications in each month in 2021. Data for December 2021 is not yet available therefore we are unable to provide the information requested on the number of personnel currently deployed to all NHS trusts.
| Military Aid to Civilian Authorities applications from NHS England | Number of rejected applications |
January | 32 | 2 |
February | 14 | 0 |
March | 2 | 0 |
April | 1 | 0 |
May | 1 | 0 |
June | 1 | 0 |
July | 1 | 0 |
August | 3 | 0 |
September | 0 | 0 |
October | 0 | 0 |
November | 2 | 0 |
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in the UK; and of these, to which local authorities they are deployed.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of the 9 December 2021, there were 1,022 personnel deployed on UK resilience tasks. They were deployed to the following locations: Wyton; Edinburgh; Leconfield; Cardiff; London; Aldershot; Manston; Sheerness; Glasgow; Coningsby; Liverpool; Catterick; Inchinnan; and Birmingham.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in the UK to deal with the supply chain issues.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 6 December 2021, there were 161 personnel deployed to assist with supply chain challenges. 137 Service personnel were deployed to support the continuity of fuel supplies around the UK. Defence has also provided 24 Defence Driving Examiners to assist the Department for Transport in their effort to enhance the number of tests offered to prospective HGV drivers in Great Britain and as a result generate more HGV drivers to service the UK in the run up to Christmas.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel have been injured during testing of Boxer armoured personnel carriers.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Since placement of the contract for the Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle in late 2019 there have been no recorded reportable injuries of UK Armed Forces personnel, including during the initial static trials exercises.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to remarks made by Baroness Goldie on 25 November (HL Deb, col 1057), how many regional hubs for army deployment and training are being created; where they are being created; and when they will be operational.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Land Regional Hubs will be established as part of the wider Defence Global Hub concept that will support the delivery of regional Military Strategic Objectives. The Army will capitalise on our pre-existing network of overseas bases in Oman, Kenya, Brunei, Belize and Germany, integrating with and augmenting the existing global network for Defence.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to remarks made by Baroness Goldie on 25 November (HL Deb, col 1057), what electromagnetic capabilities are being developed for use by the army; and when they will be operational.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Army is working with the capability sponsors in Strategic Command to develop a modern range of capabilities, which will allow all ground-based forces to safely operate within and exploit the electromagnetic spectrum. The capabilities under development fall into three categories: the first category will enhance our ability to understand our adversaries’ information and capabilities. The second will improve our ability to counter electronic threats to the deployed force, whilst the third will enhance our ability to deliver electronic attack against adversarial targets.
These capabilities will contribute a critical part of delivery of the Integrated Force Structure ready by 2030 as outlined in Future Soldier.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel have been injured during testing of Challenger 3.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Since placement of the contract for the programme in March 2021 there have been no recorded reportable injuries of UK Armed Forces personnel in relation to Challenger 3.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel have been injured by challenger tanks in each year from 2016 to 2021; and what injuries were sustained.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
From 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2021, two UK Armed Forces personnel died and 80 were injured as a result of incidents relating to a Challenger armoured vehicle. The incidents identified include the Challenger battle tank as well as the Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV).
Table 1: UK armed forces personnel injured in incidents relating to a Challenger Armoured Vehicle, by financial year
1 April 2016 to 31 March 2021
Injury Type | Count |
2016-17 | 18 |
2017-18 | 21 |
2018-19 | 10 |
2019-20 | 15 |
2020-21 | 16 |
Source: Defence Statistics Health
Table 2: UK armed forces injured in incidents relating to a challenger armoured vehicle
1 April 2016 to 31 March 2021
Injury Type | Number |
Superficial Injury (e.g. bruise) | 8 |
Crush | 12 |
Cut / Laceration | 12 |
Fracture | 10 |
Pain | 10 |
Muscle Spasm / Muscle Strain | 6 |
Other1 | 22 |
Source: Defence Statistics Health
1In line with JSP 200, this category combines injuries where the number was fewer than three in order to protect individual identities.
Note the numbers in this response include incidents where an injury occurred e.g. due to a person slipping or falling off the tank or performing maintenance of the tank