Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between John Healey and Alistair Carmichael(5 days, 9 hours ago)
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Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)
As the strategic defence review sets out, the High North is becoming more important to the UK and our NATO allies, as it becomes more accessible through climate change. We have Royal Navy deployments in the High North and Royal Marines undertaking cold weather training in Norway, as well as Ranger exercises in Sweden and Finland. We will continue to step up on Arctic security alongside our NATO and JEF allies.
Mr Carmichael
May I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your words about the late Lord Wallace of Tankerness? Jim Wallace was not just my predecessor in this House; he was a friend and, in fact, my London flatmate for many years. I am sure that his family and all those who mourn his passing, especially in the Northern Isles, will appreciate your acknowledgment of his contribution. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]
Through the years of the cold war, the RAF radar station at Saxa Vord in Unst was the frontline of our nation’s defences to the north. That was drawn down 20 years ago, and it is now home to the Shetland spaceport. We have seen the recent activities of the Russian tanker Yantar and the interception of the Bella 1. With space being identified as a priority in the strategic defence review, will the Government now reassess the significance of Shetland and its waters as we look to the developing situation in the far north?
John Healey
We deeply value the role that Shetland—and Scotland in general—plays to reinforce the security of the United Kingdom. That is demonstrated by the fact that there are 9,500 full-time troops in Scotland; the fact that there are around 3,000 civilian defence personnel based in Scotland; and the fact that, as a Government, in the last year we put over £2 billion into the Scottish economy to support defence and the role that Scotland plays in general. It is not only part of keeping this country safer but of defence driving economic growth throughout the UK.
Strategic Defence Review
Debate between John Healey and Alistair Carmichael(8 months ago)
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John Healey
It is always important that public money is well spent and that we can demonstrate good value for money. We still have some way to go on the reform of defence, but the steps we have taken already and the action we plan in the future will help us to ensure that we can get better value for the British taxpayer and better value for the British forces.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
The review describes responsibility for space policy within Government as “fragmented”, so its proposal for a “reinvigorated Cabinet sub-Committee” to set the strategic approach to space is to be welcomed. That will clearly have significant implications for the development of a vertical-launch satellite facility at SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland. Will the Secretary of State ensure that hardwired into that Sub-Committee is a process of engagement for the operators at SaxaVord and the communities that host them, so that both might be empowered to deliver on this most important strategic objective for the country as a whole?
John Healey
At the heart of the SDR’s insight and recommendations is a new relationship between Government and industry—one that we have already started to put in place and that allows industry and potential investors to see the challenges that we face and contribute their ideas and innovation to solving them. That principle will be applied just as much in space as it will in other areas of new capabilities that we need to develop.
Russian Maritime Activity and UK Response
Debate between John Healey and Alistair Carmichael(1 year ago)
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John Healey
My hon. Friend is one of the strongest voices recognising that the high north will become strategically much more essential. Degrees of conflict and contest are likely to grow there, particularly as climate change leads to the opening up of the northern passage. If he looks at the terms of reference of the strategic defence review, and the work of the review and challenge groups, which have been an essential part of the external leadership of it, he will see that the concerns that he raises are central to the SDR’s work. When it is published, I am sure that he will find evidence that the caution he gives to the House is taken very seriously by the Government.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
The activities of the Yantar may be an escalation, but this is not the first instance of such activity; it is almost two years since I first raised concerns about the activities of Russian vessels in the waters around Shetland. Events in Finland at Christmas show that Russia is prepared to go further, and we must show that we are determined to meet any challenge of that sort. This is a strategic threat for the United Kingdom as a whole, but it is particularly acute for our island communities, which rely on cables for digital and energy connectivity, quite apart from the pipelines serving the oil and gas industry. Will the Secretary of State speak to the energy companies and his colleagues in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and ensure that our island communities are not left as a soft target for the next escalation in this business?
John Healey
The right hon. Gentleman is right that this is not the first instance; indeed, the total loss of digital connection that his constituency suffered in 2022 vividly demonstrated the dependency of such communities on this critical infrastructure in their everyday life, and their vulnerability to damage or sabotage. I give him the assurance that he seeks. In the consideration of the strategic defence review, and certainly in its implementation, that is exactly the sort of question and challenge that we will meet.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between John Healey and Alistair Carmichael(1 year, 2 months ago)
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John Healey
I can indeed. Poland was one of the first countries that I visited as the new Defence Secretary. I was keen to establish a good relationship with my Polish counterpart and have done so. There is a good deal that we will do in future and are already doing, both military to military and with our defence industries.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
On Friday, the UK Defence Journal reported on the activities of the Russian research and intelligence vessel Yantar in the Irish sea, in the vicinity of various cables. This is not new; we had the same thing last year in the North sea and off Shetland. Given the sheer quantity of cables and pipelines now in the seabed, what are the Government doing to ensure that that critical national infrastructure is properly protected?