Better Defence Acquisition

James Morris Excerpts

Monday 10th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

That depends on what we are buying. Clearly, there are things that we can buy off the shelf or from competitive international providers. We recently ordered the new fleet of MARS—military afloat reach and sustainability—refuelling tankers from a South Korean shipyard. That decision did not go down well with everybody, but it was sensible procurement. At the same time, we have to maintain important capabilities that are essential to our national sovereignty here in the UK. In those cases, we have to support the indigenous industry. One purpose of the changes is to make transparent the costs that are driven into a project by the specification of bespoke requirements and to force the customers to recognise those costs.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

I welcome the statement, but will the Secretary of State say more about the timescale over which he expects the reforms to deliver tangible savings to the taxpayer?

[Mr Hammond]

As I said to the shadow Secretary of State, if we went down this route, we would expect to award a contract next year and for it to be effective by the last quarter of 2014. We would then expect there to be a two-stage process towards the full GoCo-isation—if I may use that term—of DE&S. We would expect savings and efficiencies to be generated from the very beginning, and from the second year of operation we would expect there to be cashable benefits.

Army Basing Plan

James Morris Excerpts

Tuesday 5th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Let me deal with the last point first. I am clear that the accommodation we build and the technical facilities we construct must be of a high quality and fit for purpose. I do not, however, intend this £1.8 billion to form a cornucopia for architects.

On the question of Germany, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to plan carefully how we end the relationship with the many German towns that have hosted the British Army. The Army in Germany is very much on the front foot on this. We are aware of the significant impact, particularly in the Bergen-Hohne area, which, by German standards, is relatively less well off. We are looking, where appropriate, at what can be left behind as a physical memorial to the British Army presence in Germany. A series of events will be organised with local communities, and Ministers and senior military personnel will expect to attend them and provide a fitting tribute to the support the German people have given us.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Will he say a little more about the training implications for British forces coming from Germany, with particular regard to his reference to potentially retaining training facilities in Germany? What sort of time scale does he have in mind for the establishment of training facilities?

Future Reserves 2020

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

From all the discussions I have been involved in, I can assure my hon. Friend—who I know has deployed as a reservist in Afghanistan—that the traffic is the other way. If anything, the Army is planning to invest rather more in the reserves than the announced budget suggests.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that one of the opportunities arising from his plans is to bring into the reserves people who have specific skills in cyber and advanced telecommunications, which are importantly placed in the civilian population? We need to get them into the reserve forces.

[Mr Hammond]

Yes, my hon. Friend makes a good point. Certain skills needed in modern warfare are found in the civilian sector, with cyber and advanced IT skills being obvious examples. How we use reservists who have those skills does not necessarily require them to undertake the same type or level of training as, for example, an infantry reservist; in practice, their daily civilian job is giving them the on-the-job training they need. We will seek to be flexible in how we use and train reservists who have specialist skills.

Army 2020

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The seven brigades in the adaptable force will continue to have a regional function and will deliver that connection with civil society that is so important to our armed forces. If my hon. Friend has not yet seen my written ministerial statement, I remind him that a new Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron will be stood up—probably in St Athan in his constituency.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that a modern fighting force is a combination of manpower, technology and modern fighting skills, and that nothing he has announced today can detract from that central strategic purpose of the Army?

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: this is a forward-facing announcement, looking at the Army of the future while respecting the traditions of the past.

Nuclear-powered Submarines

James Morris Excerpts

Monday 18th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Yes, the strategic defence and security review makes it clear that we are proceeding with the plans for the replacement Vanguard submarines, subject to a main gate review in 2016. That is the Government’s position, and today’s announcement is simply another step in that process. It is not a new or different announcement but simply proceeds in the direction that we have already set out.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that what he has announced today is a vital strategic investment in Britain’s nuclear-powered submarine capability, which is vital for maintaining the United Kingdom’s national interest?

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Today’s announcement ensures that the capability to build submarine reactor cores, which has been at the heart of our programme since the early 1950s, will continue for the next 40 or 50 years at Raynesway in Derby.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Monday 11th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

1. What his Department’s planned expenditure on new equipment is over the next 10 years.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

8. What his Department’s planned expenditure on new equipment is over the next 10 years.

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

Before I answer the question, I am sure the House will wish to join me in paying tribute to the three servicemen who have lost their lives in Afghanistan since the House last met: Captain Stephen Healey of 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, who was killed by an improvised explosive device in the upper Gereshk valley on Saturday 26 May; Corporal Michael Thacker, also of 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, who was killed by gunfire in Nahr-e Saraj on Friday 1 June; and Private Gregg Stone of 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, who was also killed by gunfire, on Sunday 3 June. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifice, which we will never forget. I know the thoughts of the whole House will be with their families and loved ones.

I am sure the House will also want to join me in paying tribute to the bravery of the British and American forces involved in the operation to rescue aid worker Helen Johnston and her three colleagues, and to the Afghans for the huge help they provided throughout. The rescue operation was conducted with immense skill and professionalism in the most difficult terrain imaginable. Through this operation, we send a clear message to terrorists around the world that the UK will not tolerate the kidnapping of our citizens.

As I announced to the House in May, the core committed equipment programme—which covers investment in equipment, data systems and equipment support—amounts to just under £152 billion over 10 years. This includes some £80 billion for new equipment and its support and, for the first time, over £4 billion of centrally held contingency to ensure the robustness of the plan. In addition, the Department has a further unallocated £8 billion in the equipment budget. This will be allocated to projects not yet in the committed core programme only when it is necessary to commit in order to ensure the required delivery, and when the project in question is demonstrated to be affordable and with military advice.

[Mr Hammond]

I agree with my hon. Friend that what our armed forces particularly want to know is that, unlike sometimes in the past, they will always have the protective equipment and the support helicopters that they need. Through our balancing of the equipment plan and introducing the £4 billion contingency fund, they will have much greater assurance that that will the case. That is the least we owe to them.

[James Morris]

Whilst having a long-term plan for defence equipment is crucial for our conventional military capability, does the Secretary of State agree that we also need to be investing in cyber-defence capability, to combat threats to our national security from this rapidly evolving threat?

[Mr Hammond]

The Department certainly recognises the rapidly evolving threat from cyberspace, and we keep it under constant review. The national cyber-security programme has provided the Department with £90 million, and the Department has allocated some additional funding to increase investment in cyber-security this year, enhancing our existing capabilities. It will also be increasingly appropriate to consider cyber-security issues as an integral part of wider projects that depend on networked command and control capabilities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hammond]

The Chief of the General Staff is in the final stages of an analytical review of recruiting demographics and manning across the Army, looking at the future needs of the Army but also at the very important historical threads that run through the Army. As soon as we have completed that exercise, I will make a statement to the House, and I confidently anticipate that that will be before the summer recess.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

T7. Encouraging strong leadership in our armed forces is vital to the development of an agile fighting force, so will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the recent appointments of Commander Sarah West and Commander Sue Moore, both of which are major milestones demonstrating the achievements of women in the armed forces?

[Mr Robathan]

The House will know that Commander West has been appointed as the first woman commander of a major warship, HMS Portland, and that Commander Moore has become the first woman to command 1st Patrol Boat Squadron. Both appointments were made entirely on merit, and they are very well deserved. I think that the whole House would wish to congratulate those two women and all others who come into such positions of authority.

Defence Budget and Transformation

James Morris Excerpts

Monday 14th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Not to my knowledge.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that a balanced defence budget combined with sensible procurement in defence are central to protecting Britain’s national interests and allowing the country to make the difficult strategic choices we need to make in a global world?

Afghanistan (Civilian Killings)

James Morris Excerpts

Monday 12th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Nick Harvey]

My hon. Friend makes some very good points. I would like to reassure him that, as part of the pre-operation training before going to Afghanistan, British troops are indeed given detailed tuition in the legal and moral aspects of warfare. I wish to put his mind at rest on the fact that they understand exactly where their obligations lie. Every time I visit Afghanistan, I am struck by the extraordinarily thoughtful way in which our troops go about their operations. If one has any sort of discussion with them, particularly with officers who plan and execute operations, one finds that there is nothing remotely gung-ho about what they do; it is all extremely thoughtful and it is always conducted with a keen appreciation of the legal and moral framework in which they operate.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Despite the terrible events of the weekend, does the Minister agree that it is more imperative than ever that we stick the course in Afghanistan to produce the stable country that we all need and want?

Strategic Defence and Security Review

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I agree.

Today’s debate is about the reform of defence. That reform is for a purpose. Sometimes, amid the minutiae of budgets and organisational structures, we need to take care not to lose sight of that purpose: the defence of this nation and our dependent territories against those who threaten our security and our national interest.

The challenge we face is to deliver that defence on a sustainable basis within a resource envelope that the country can afford. That challenge must be set in the context of the fiscal and economic circumstances, as other Members have noted. History tells us that, without a strong economy and sound public finances, it is impossible to sustain in the long term the military capability required to project power and maintain defence. The debt crisis is therefore a strategic threat to the future security of our nation and to the security of the west. Restoring sound public finances is a defence imperative as well as an economic one, and defence must make its contribution to delivering them.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that, in times of economic austerity, it is important that we develop collaboration with our NATO allies to enhance capabilities, so that we can engage with allies to combat some of the threats that we face?

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Part of the answer to the questions raised by the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) is collaboration with NATO allies. They can share assets that they have and that we do not have, and we can reinforce their capabilities in other areas. The smart defence agenda is an important one—it involves collaboration among NATO allies in procurement to ensure that we get the best defence effect we can get with the limited budgets available.

As I have said, defence must make its contribution to delivering sound public finances, so even if the defence programme that we inherited had been in good shape, the spending review and the SDSR would have had to find savings to contribute to overall deficit reduction. However, the defence programme that the Government inherited was very far from being in good shape. At its heart, it had a £38 billion black hole filled with procurement projects that were at best hopelessly over budget and out of control, and at worst pure fantasy. They were projects announced by politicians—actually, mainly one politician—without any budget cover or prospect of ever being delivered, in a programme that had no proper contingency, no effective recognition of risk, and no provision for the “conspiracy of optimism” that was evident in MOD equipment cost estimates. The support programme systematically underprovided for the proper maintenance and sustainment of the equipment that was already in service. In short, Mr Deputy Speaker, it was a shambles.

Nuclear Deterrent

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 18th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Dr Fox]

In making reductions that go further than necessary we are, as I have already said, not only within the letter of the NPT but well within the spirit of it. The reductions that we have made in going ahead with this programme show that we are committed to seeing lower levels of nuclear weapons worldwide. As long as the threat to the United Kingdom remains, it is prudent for us to maintain a minimum credible nuclear deterrent. How big that credible deterrent is will obviously be reviewed as a matter of policy, but as long as it is required and as long as this Government are in office we will retain it.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

The Secretary of State said that it is difficult for us to predict events that will happen in the future, but what we do know is that we have instability in Pakistan and a nuclear-ambitious Iran and that North Korea is developing further nuclear capability. Does he agree that it would be strategically naive for the UK Government to make any decisions that would prevent us from being able to deter threats and emerging threats in the world in future?

[Dr Fox]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I wonder how many in the House predicted the Arab spring, or what was going to happen in Libya. We have little ability to predict what is happening in the strategic security environment and as long as the threat remains there and, in particular, as long as nuclear proliferation continues in states such as North Korea and Iran, the Government simply will not gamble with the future security of generations of British people.