Caroline Nokes
Main Page: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)Department Debates - View all Caroline Nokes's debates with the Ministry of Defence
Defence Investment Plan
Caroline Nokes Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
Order. I will only be able to run the statement until 4.15 pm, so Members will have to ask much shorter questions.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Mid Buckinghamshire is proudly home to RAF High Wycombe and RAF Halton. Given everything in the defence investment plan on aircraft, drone innovation and the space field, coupled with the Secretary of State’s absolutely correct commitment to our defence personnel, training is critical. RAF Halton has been on a rollercoaster of closure as a training base. Where does the defence investment plan sit with the long-term future of RAF Halton?
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
I call Douglas McAllister to ask a short, final question.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
I am presuming that everything we do now, including spending on defence, will help clear the pathway to a re-industrialised nation. I understand that rewiring Britain involves ensuring parity between academic and technical career routes. Does the Secretary of State agree that if the defence investment plan is to succeed, we need to skill up our nation, and that includes having two defence technical excellence colleges in Scotland, including one at West College Scotland in West Dunbartonshire?