Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding he has allocated to the submarine dismantling programme for each of the next five years.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department does not release spending profiles for individual programmes. However, I can confirm the latest Whole Life Cost for the Submarine Dismantling Project, as published in the Department’s 2023 Government Major Projects Portfolio data, is £298 million. This figure includes costs associated with dismantling work in Rosyth and maintenance costs for decommissioned submarines in Devonport.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last had discussions with his Finnish counterpart on Russian shadow fleet aggression in the Baltic Sea.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State for Defence contacted his Finnish counterpart immediately following the incident damaging the Estlink 2 undersea cable between Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day. They also discussed the incident when they met at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base on 9 January.
Acting as framework nation for the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), we have activated a JEF Response Option, known as NORDIC WARDEN, which will harness AI to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow fleet, sending out real-time warnings of suspicious activity to JEF nations as well as NATO.
This JEF activity reinforces existing and planned NATO responses.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how often Royal Navy vessels have been tasked to shadow Russian navy ships near the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy continuously monitor UK waters and are ready to respond to the presence of Russian vessels. Specific detail cannot be confirmed for reasons of safeguading national security.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what forces are committed to defending the High North.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is committed to maintaining a coherent Defence posture, presence, and profile in the High North region. The Royal Marines have conducted annual exercises with Norway for over 50 years to hone their extreme cold weather warfighting skills, supported by assets from Joint Aviation Command. In the last 18 months, P8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft, and the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers, have all operated in the region. During Exercise STEADFAST DEFENDER, the Royal Navy was at the heart of this maritime exercise with HMS Prince of Wales, demonstrating the importance of interoperability. The UK also conducted Icelandic Air Policing with F-35 jets.
In 2025, the UK will continue to develop our already close relationships with our Allies and partners in the High North, as part of NATO, Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and bilaterally. Furthermore, we will continue our profile in the region with Air, Maritime and Land assets operating under NATO and Sovereign command.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last had discussions with his NATO counterparts on protecting the High North.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Engagement with NATO Allies is central to our approach to defend and deter in the Arctic and High North. Secretary of State for Defence and Defence Ministers regularly engage with their NATO counterparts, including High North countries to discuss how to strengthen deterrence and defence in the region, through NATO, the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and bilaterally.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help protect sub-sea cables in the North Sea from the Russian shadow fleet.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Government constantly monitors and regularly assesses the security of critical national infrastructure, including energy and telecommunications assets. Following the incident damaging the Estlink 2 undersea cable between Finland and Estonia on 25 December, the UK – as framework nation for the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) – activated NORDIC WARDEN which will harness AI to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure and to monitor the movements of the Russian shadow fleet, sending out real-time warnings of suspicious activity to JEF nations and to NATO, in support of NATO activity to help protect critical undersea infrastructure.
Our adversaries should be in no doubt of our steadfast determination and formidable ability to protect the UK and our interests. We have led the way in pursuing Russia's shadow fleet of vessels, sanctioning more oil tankers than any other nation and spearheading a 49-nation 'Call to Action' against the fleet.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, he last had discussions with NATO allies on protecting sub-sea cables in the (a) Baltic and (b) North Sea.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Recent incidents of damage to sub-sea cables underlines the importance of partners continuing to work together on shared challenges in the region.
The Government regularly discusses strengthening NATO’s protection of critical undersea infrastructure in engagements with fellow Allies. The Defence Secretary directly engaged with affected Allies following reported damage to a major undersea cable in the Baltic Sea on 25 December 2024.
The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) also activated a JEF Response Option (JRO), known as NORDIC WARDEN, which will harness AI to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow fleet, sending out real-time warnings of suspicious activity to JEF nations as well as NATO. This JEF activity reinforces existing and planned NATO responses.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps NATO is taking to defend the High North.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As a leading European Ally in NATO, the UK will defend and support our High North and Arctic Allies should the need arise, and contest malign and destabilising behaviours and activity in the region which threatens our interests, the interests of our Allies, and the stability of the region. We work with regional Allies and partners – including through NATO, the Joint Expeditionary Force, the Northern Group and the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable – to align policy, activity and capability where possible and across all domains.
NATO is accelerating the Alliance’s ongoing military transformation to strengthen its collective deterrence and defence posture, with operational plans which cover every inch of Allied territory. This includes Allied territory in the High North. Allies will maintain a coherent Defence posture, presence and profile in the region.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has offered support to Finland in protecting sub-sea cables in the Baltic Sea.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Following recent damage to the Estlink2 undersea cable in the Baltic sea, the UK – acting as framework nation for the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) – has activated a JEF Response Option (JRO), known as NORDIC WARDEN, which will harness AI to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow fleet, sending out real-time warnings of suspicious activity to JEF nations as well as NATO. This demonstrates both the UK and JEF nations’ commitment to assuring critical undersea infrastructure and responding to potential threats.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many quick reaction alert launches there have been from RAF (a) Conningsby and (b) Lossiemouth in each month in 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Quick Reaction Alert from either RAF Coningsby or RAF Lossiemouth were launched on the following number of days in each month of 2024 up to the end of November:
January | 0 |
February | 2 |
March | 1 |
April | 0 |
May | 0 |
June | 0 |
July | 0 |
August | 0 |
September | 2 |
October | 1 |
November | 1 |