Oral Answers to Questions

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Nick Harvey]

This Thursday, the Defence Secretary will take delivery of the first of our joint strike fighter aircraft. A decision will be made on where it will be based in good time for the introduction of the strike fighter into service. Detailed work is taking place at the moment to look at the basing requirements, and we will make a decision as soon as is practically possible.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

The Minister will no doubt recall that the Ministry of Defence has already concluded that the optimal base for the next generation of fast jets is RAF Lossiemouth, but I am sure that he will also appreciate that, in relation to RAF Lossiemouth, the thoughts of everyone at the moment will be with the personnel and with the families of the crew members who died on board the two Tornadoes that were lost. Will he take this opportunity to update the House on the recovery operation, and on the medical condition of the fourth crewman, who was recovered?

[Nick Harvey]

The investigation into what went wrong is continuing, and I must be careful not to say anything that could prejudice it. Our thoughts are with the community and, in particular, with the relatives of those who perished. As soon as we can, we will make it clear to everyone what contributed to that disastrous incident.

On the future of Lossiemouth, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that since that announcement, it has been announced that Typhoon is moving into Lossiemouth. With the best will in the world, it would not be practical to have both fleets situated at one base.

Army 2020

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

First, the positive news for people in the 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which is based in my hon. Friend’s constituency, is that the regiment is under-recruited, so the merging of that battalion into the remainder of the regiment should be done without the need for a loss of personnel.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the integration of reserves. There will be a role for all three forms of use of reserves. Individual augmentees will continue to play an important part, delivering specialist skills in support of the reaction forces on an early deployment. However, formed sub-units, and in some cases formed units, will also be a vital part of how the adaptable force operates. That is one of the major changes being announced today.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

It is with great sadness that I add my tribute to my constituents from RAF Lossiemouth who died in the Tornado incident earlier this week—Flight Lieutenant Hywel Poole, Squadron Leader Sam Bailey and Flight Lieutenant Adam Sanders—and to the fourth crew member, who is still in hospital. The thoughts of everybody in Moray and across the House are with their families, friends and colleagues.

Turning to today’s defence announcement, the UK Government have already acknowledged that defence personnel in Scotland have been cut disproportionately in recent years—more than 27% in Scotland, compared with 11% in the UK as a whole. Today, those cuts continue. Although the retention of cap badges is welcome, the Tories have broken their promise to restore the six Scottish infantry regiments. Will the Government confirm what the established strength of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will be after the changes have been introduced, and that the Scottish infantry in Scotland is already smaller than the infantry of the Irish Republic?

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman confuses basing, on which he talked about personnel in Scotland, with the structure of the Army, on which he talked about the Royal Regiment of Scotland. I simply do not think he understands what we are talking about today.

The key fact that the hon. Gentleman cannot deal with is that although he talks about a sixth regiment—I presume he means a sixth battalion—in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the truth is that it has five battalions and has not been able to recruit to keep them up to strength. It is one of the most under-recruited regiments in the British Army. It is no good his asking for extra battalions and more regiments, because it cannot recruit to fill the ones that it already has. It also has one of the highest percentages of overseas-recruited troops in the British Army. That is the challenge that he faces before he can bring such issues before the House.

Nuclear-powered Submarines

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 18th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the new £1.1 billion Ministry of Defence nuclear submarine contract.

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

Before I answer, I am sure the whole House would wish to join me in paying tribute to Lance Corporal James Ashworth of 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards, who was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, and Corporal Alex Guy of 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, who was killed in Afghanistan on Friday. Our thoughts are with their families and friends at this difficult time.

The UK currently operates two fleets of nuclear-powered submarines: the Trafalgar class of attack submarines, which will be replaced over the next 10 years by the Astute class, and the Vanguard class strategic missile submarines. The Government’s policy is that the Vanguard class will be replaced at the end of its life in the late 2020s by a successor strategic missile submarine carrying the Trident missile, subject to a main gate investment approval for the project in 2016. In the meantime, long-lead items and design work for the successor submarine have been commissioned.

I have today announced by written ministerial statement that we are investing £1.1 billion over the next 11 years in a programme of work which includes redeveloping the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby where all our submarines’ nuclear power plants are designed and built, and in maintaining the skills necessary to do so. This investment will secure the jobs of 300 highly skilled workers and will ensure that we retain the capability to build submarine nuclear power plants in the UK. I am sure the House will join me in welcoming this announcement as good news for the people of Derby, good news for the Royal Navy and good news for the country as a whole.

[Angus Robertson]

I join in the condolences extended by the Secretary of State, as I am sure does everybody in the House.

I am grateful for the statement, which the Government wanted to give only in written form and not directly to the Chamber. It is striking that they were prepared to announce spending £1.1 billion in just 22 lines of text, and doing it in such a way that MPs could not ask follow-up questions. It is shameful.

This announcement paves the way for Trident renewal and it does so in the face of opposition in Scotland. The majority of MPs from Scotland and the majority of Members of the Scottish Parliament have voted against Trident renewal. The Scottish Government are opposed to Trident, the Scottish Trades Union Congress is opposed to Trident, the Church of Scotland is opposed, the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland is opposed, the Episcopal Church of Scotland is opposed, the Muslim Council of Scotland is opposed, and, most important, the public of Scotland are overwhelmingly opposed to the renewal of Trident. A YouGov poll in 2010 showed 67% opposed, as against only 13%. There was majority opposition among the voters of all four mainstream parties in Scotland, including Conservative voters and Liberal Democrat voters. The Westminster Government are aware of the objections but are ploughing on regardless. Then, at the end, they plan to dump this next generation of weapons of mass destruction on the Clyde. It is an affront to democracy and an obscene waste of money.

Will the Secretary of State confirm that he is prepared to spend £1 billion on weapons of mass destruction, which can never be used, while at the same time he is planning to cut regiments, battalions and thousands of jobs of brave service personnel whose irreplaceable services are regularly used? Does he acknowledge that, with Treasury assumptions and standard economic modelling, a capital expenditure of £1.1 billion on infrastructure projects would support 10,000 jobs directly and an additional 4,900 jobs through indirect purchases: 14,900 jobs, compared with only the 300 he lauded today? This morning on the radio the Minister for the Armed Forces said

“if we decide in 2016 not to go ahead with some of these engines the government of the day would have to negotiate its way out of that.”

What costs would the taxpayer incur if approval was not granted in 2016, and what will the total cost of all long-lead items amount to by 2016?

[Mr Hammond]

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman resorts, not for the first time, to hyperbole. He talks about weapons of mass destruction, but the announcement has nothing to do with weapons; it is about reactor power plants for powering submarines, both the strategic successor submarine and the Astute class attack submarine, which will form the core of the Navy’s attack submarine force in future. He talks about the position of the Scottish National party and the Scottish TUC. Perhaps he has taken the trouble to consult the 6,000 people whose jobs depend on Her Majesty’s naval base Clyde and Coulport.

The hon. Gentleman asked about the review in 2016. We decided to proceed with long-lead items to enable the currently planned programme for the replacement of the Vanguard class submarine to proceed. A decision will be taken in 2016. It will take into account the review of alternatives to the successor, which is currently under way and being chaired by the Minister for the Armed Forces. We understand from speculation in the media that the SNP is about to reverse its policy on membership of NATO, which is a nuclear alliance, so perhaps he could enlighten us on whether his party will endorse the nuclear NATO alliance, because he did not tell the House in his earlier comments.

Defence Budget and Transformation

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 14th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his comments. Defence research and technology provide vital support to our defence effort and, after years of decline, we have guaranteed that we will not reduce any further the percentage of 1.2% of the defence budget.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

Taxpayers in Scotland contribute more than £3.3 billion every year towards the Ministry of Defence, but only £2 billion is spent on defence in Scotland. The Secretary of State’s predecessor said in evidence to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee that, between 2000 and 2010, the total reduction in service jobs was 11.6%, but that the reduction in Scotland was 27.9%. Given the disproportionate personnel cuts and the multibillion pound defence underspend in Scotland, will the Secretary of State take the opportunity today to rule out the prospect of any further amalgamation or disbandment of Scottish raised units?

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman has clearly got the wrong end of the stick. Defence is about protecting our people. Scottish defence does not happen in Scotland: it happens under the oceans where our nuclear deterrent is on constant patrol and in Afghanistan where our servicemen are taking risks, day-in, day-out, to prevent threats from coming to our own shores. I will tell the hon. Gentleman frankly: we are going to have a smaller Army, and we cannot have a smaller Army without making some structural changes. I will make an announcement as soon as I am able about the structure of Army 2020.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hammond]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: uncertainty saps morale. That is why the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force have completed the announcements of redundancies required. Because of the rebasing, the drawdown from Afghanistan and the return from Germany, it has not been possible for the Army to complete that process, but we will make announcements as soon as we can to provide as much certainty as possible.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

The treatment of veterans, including those in ongoing conflicts, such as Afghanistan, is a key part of the military covenant. To that end the Westminster Government repeatedly send Ministers and Members of Parliament to understand circumstances there to inform decision-making on the treatment of veterans in medical policy and support provision. Given that veterans issues are largely devolved in Scotland, why has the MOD refused to arrange a visit to service personnel in Afghanistan for Scottish veterans affairs Minister, Keith Brown?

[Mr Robathan]

I understood that that was a question about a visit for a Minister from Scotland. I am afraid we do not arrange visits for Ministers from Scotland unless we are asked specifically in writing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 20th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Speaking candidly, I can say to my right hon. Friend that it will be a number of years yet, as the Department has made clear, before it is able to get an unqualified set of accounts. As Labour Members will know, that is largely due to a legacy problem associated with MOD inventory and the large quantity of stock items held in a form that the National Audit Office is not able adequately to audit. A solution is being put in place—a new IT system will resolve this problem over the next couple of years—and it should then be possible to get unqualified accounts.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

Scottish taxpayers contribute more than £3 billion a year to the MOD, but according to its own statistics, nearly one third of that is not spent in Scotland. Why is that?

[Mr Hammond]

The last time I checked, most of the people we were needing to defend the UK against were not in Scotland. I think that Scottish taxpayers, like taxpayers in the rest of the UK, would expect that we deploy our military forces and structure our military posture to deal with the threats that we are facing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

As you would expect, Mr Speaker, robust arrangements are in place for dealing with any such contingency, but I will not talk about them in the Chamber today.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

Last week the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and its support group were moored off the north-east coast of Scotland. Will the Secretary of State confirm that not a single fixed-wing UK maritime patrol aircraft was available and no appropriate naval vessels were able to deploy from a Scottish base because there are none in that category?

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman rather narrowed the scope of his question at the end by saying “able to deploy from a Scottish base”. We operate the UK armed forces and our response is on a UK-wide basis. I will check the facts of the incident and write to him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 14th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nick Harvey]

The announcement in the House on 19 July explained the broad strategic direction that will be taken on rebasing. As far as the particulars of RAF Leuchars or any other base are concerned, further work is currently under way on the detailed site-by-site analysis, but there is a further complication, as the Army is currently conducting a large piece of work on its future shape and structure, so we will not come to any final decisions on basing until that work is concluded, which we expect to be early next year.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

The full unit establishment total at RAF Kinloss was about 1,500 posts and the annual gross wage contribution to the local economy was £54.5 million. The planned relocation of 930 Army engineers to Kinloss is welcome, but what economic assessment has been made of their relocation?

[Nick Harvey]

The decision to move Army units to Kinloss was taken on the basis of military efficiency. I acknowledge that the number of personnel will be slightly smaller than the number who were there previously, but the fact is that the decision was dictated by military considerations. I hope that the hon. Gentleman and his constituents will welcome the Army into their community and be grateful for the contribution they make to the local economy

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend, who will know that the news from Libya appears to be progressing, and that progress is being made towards liberation. I hope that we will very quickly be at the point where equipment tied up in the Libya campaign can be released.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to his position, thank him for advance sight of his statement, and join in his message of condolence. Earlier today a survey of Afghan opinion was published by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and it found that 56% of Afghans now see the foreign troop contingent as an occupying force, and only 39% see ISAF as a guarantee of security—down from the 45% who did so only last year. Does the Secretary of State have any reason to disbelieve those pessimistic findings?

[Mr Hammond]

The important thing is that the ANSF are growing in size and capability, so, with 25% of the population already living in areas that have been transitioned and another tranche of transition to be announced later this autumn, Afghan civilians will increasingly find that their day-to-day security contacts are with the Afghan national security forces. As we move towards 2014, allowing foreign forces to be seen as formations that can be withdrawn without compromising the security that Afghan civilians enjoy is a positive step, so I should like to see something positive in the figures that the hon. Gentleman cites.

Oral Answers to Questions

Angus Robertson Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We are extremely grateful to the Minister, but we need to move on.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

Last week, in a written answer, the Minister confirmed that the MOD’s estimate for the number of contracts issued in the last financial year was 2,370 in England but only 50 in Scotland. Does he believe that that is fair and equitable?

[Peter Luff]

I do not know about you, Mr Speaker, but I am a half-full man, and the Scottish nationalists seem to be talking about half-empty glasses. I think the hon. Gentleman is quoting extremely selectively from the answer I gave him and, for what it is worth, I share his disappointment about the SME performance. I do not believe the figures or trust them, because they are extraordinarily low. I have seen the vibrancy of the Scottish defence sector for myself on a number of visits and I believe that the share of business is much higher. I invite the hon. Gentleman to abandon his ludicrous plans for an independent Scotland and join me in building a still more robust defence industrial base in Scotland rather than talking it down all the time.