"My Lords, this is one of those moments when it would be very easy to remain firmly in my seat. I declare my interest as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets), and I therefore find myself something of a piggy in the middle of this debate, working …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"Since my noble friend is a bit gloomy, I would like to cheer him up slightly. The answer to the question, “What does the reserve service give to employers?” is, “Actually, quite a lot”. To answer the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, one of the things …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"I thank the Minister for his reply and echo his comments: the thoughts of your Lordships’ House are with the friends and families of those affected and we thank all our staff at the embassy in Kathmandu, many of whom I know, who are doing a fantastic job. I have …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support Nepal following the recent flooding in that country...." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton. I start by declaring an interest that, as of 15 June, I was appointed Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, with responsibility for reserves and cadets. I am now the de facto most senior reservist in defence. …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"My Lords, I declare my interest as a serving member of the Armed Forces. The naval support facility in Bahrain is an excellent facility, commissioned by the last Government specifically to support the forward deployment of frigates and ships in the Gulf. While it may be entirely realistic that there …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"My Lords, military aid to the civil authorities, or MACA, tasks are a standard provision within national resilience and there is a MACA task for fuel shortages. However, policy is clear that the military should only ever be used in extremis. The challenge is that, in recent years, they have …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech
"My Lords, I declare my interest as head of the Army Reserve. I have been an active reservist now for 38 years and played a very active part during the Covid crisis, but the challenge always is that we tend to default to the military when it comes to aid …..." Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton - View Speech