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1714643

registered interest
date	29/04/2024
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to appoint a new Commodore of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL4195
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>An external recruitment campaign for the Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 1 position of Deputy Director Royal Fleet Auxiliary had an application closing date of 24 March 2024. The selection process is ongoing, and the result will be announced in due course on conclusion of that process.</p> answering member printed The Earl of Minto question first answered 14/05/2024 14:08:16 answering member 4952 label Biography information for The Earl of Minto
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1714645

registered interest
date	29/04/2024
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent trends in recruitment and retention of civilian seafarers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL4196
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) continues to meet all its Operational Commitments around the globe and continues to steadfastly support Royal Navy (RN) vessels on Operations worldwide.</p><p> </p><p>Recruitment and retention of staff are a priority for the RFA and there are a number of initiatives underway to support this.</p><p> </p><p>For recruitment, the RFA is fostering relationships with universities and colleges to raise awareness of the opportunities available, planning to launch a graduate engineer scheme, sponsoring academic top up schemes to attract newly qualified engineers, and introducing a mechanism for seamless transfer to the RFA for RN service leavers. In addition to this work, the RFA plans to release a focused RFA recruitment marketing campaign.</p><p> </p><p>For retention, the RFA is undertaking a number of initiatives which include: enhancing human resources management with more efficient, digitised processes for claims and reporting; maximising development opportunities; enabling participation in team building and physical activities; introducing a dedicated wellbeing team and creating new and exciting shore posts.</p><p> </p> answering member printed The Earl of Minto question first answered 14/05/2024 13:59:56 answering member 4952 label Biography information for The Earl of Minto
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1714647

registered interest
date	29/04/2024
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with recognised trade unions concerning the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL4197
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence has regular scheduled discussions and meetings with both Nautilus International and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in accordance with an established Partnership Agreement.</p><p>The most recent discussions have taken place during April 2024.</p> answering member printed The Earl of Minto question first answered 14/05/2024 13:58:27 answering member 4952 label Biography information for The Earl of Minto
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1714648

registered interest
date	29/04/2024
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many officers and other ranks there are in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL4198
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>As of 1 January 2024, there are 623 Officers and 1046 Other Ranks within the RFA.</p> answering member printed The Earl of Minto question first answered 14/05/2024 13:58:13 answering member 4952 label Biography information for The Earl of Minto
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1700714

registered interest
date	15/04/2024
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and vessels the Royal Navy currently has that are (1) operational, or (2) in reserve.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL3823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships are adjusted to reflect operational requirements and to ensure outputs are optimised. Individual ships will be generated to different levels of readiness as required.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested is as follows and is accurate as of 19 April 2024. ‘Available’ is defined as ships not undergoing deep maintenance or preparing to undergo deep maintenance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Class</p></td><td><p>Not Available</p></td><td><p>Available</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>RFA Tide Class Tanker</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>RFA Wave Class Tanker</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>RFA Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary)</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>RFA Primary Casualty Reception Facility</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>RFA Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>RFA Offshore Support Vessel</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The normal operating cycle of every ship involves them entering different readiness levels depending on their programmes, periods of refit and Departmental Planning Requirements. To Maintain operational security, these figures cannot be broken down into any further level of detail, however, I can confirm that these figures do include the new RFA Offshore Support Vessel Class.</p> answering member printed The Earl of Minto question first answered 29/04/2024 15:06:45 answering member 4952 label Biography information for The Earl of Minto
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

785900

registered interest
date	07/11/2017
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether departments other than the Ministry of Defence are involved in assessing bids to build the three new solid support ships; how they intend to compare overseas and UK bids; and whether, in doing so, they plan to take into account UK requirements, in particular those relating to (1) the development of high tech skills, (2) the modernisation of plant, (3) productivity, (4) energy usage, and (5) the welfare of workers and their families.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL3048
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2017 answer text <p>The Future Solid Support Ship programme is currently in its Assessment Phase and the criteria by which bids will be assessed have yet to be developed.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 14/11/2017 15:55:03 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

717252

registered interest
date	03/04/2017
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to the procurement of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Solid Support Ships, what consideration they have given to the challenges of overseas shipbuilding noted by Sir John Parker in his <i>Independent Report to inform the National Shipbuilding Strategy</i> about potential denial of opportunities for the UK supply chain.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL6553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2017 answer text <p>The procurement strategy under development for the Fleet Solid Support ships will draw lessons from the approach taken by the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tanker programme. Highly classified and skilled elements will remain in the UK, while commercial economies of scale will be exploited by competing for the main build contract internationally. At every stage of the process UK companies will have the opportunity to compete for contracts and we encourage them to do so.</p><p>There are clear cost advantages from maximising competition, which remains the cornerstone of defence procurement. This is consistent with the requirement to obtain value for money for the UK taxpayer in major contracts, and enables the Ministry of Defence to take advantage of the strong competitive international shipbuilding market.</p><p>While the MARS tanker build was undertaken overseas, the UK supply chain was still able to benefit from around £120 million worth of orders from this contract. The customisation and support of the MARS tankers is bringing further economic benefits to the UK, in the order of £30 million.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 18/04/2017 15:07:23 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

717253

registered interest
date	03/04/2017
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to the procurement of the new Royal Fleet Auxiliary Solid Support Ships, what consideration they have given to the recommendation by Sir John Parker in his <i>Independent Report to inform the National Shipbuilding Strategy</i> that the UK should block-build military ships; and whether they plan to implement this recommendation.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL6554
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2017 answer text <p>We are considering Sir John's recommendations on block-building, which he described as the virtual shipbuilding model, along with the other recommendations in his report.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Defence has not prescribed a build strategy for the Fleet Solid Support ships and it will be for potential bidders to consider how the construction of the ships might be optimised.</p><p> </p><p>The National Shipbuilding Strategy is intended to lay the foundation for a modern and efficient sector capable of meeting the country's future defence and security needs. This will be published in the spring.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe grouped question UIN HL6555 question first answered 18/04/2017 15:08:04 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

592950

registered interest
date	03/10/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when RFA Tidespring will reach the UK and become fully operational; and what are the planned operational dates for the delivery of her three sister ships.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL2076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/10/2016 answer text <p>The first of the Tide Class of Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Tankers, RFA TIDESPRING, is due to arrive in the UK for Customisation and Capability Assessment Trials in 2017 before entering service.</p><p>On current plans, we expect all four MARS Tankers to have entered service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by the end of 2018.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 11/10/2016 16:15:00 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

577914

registered interest
date	07/09/2016
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the response by Navy Command Headquarters to a member of the public on 12 February, what new studies in the Ministry of Defence have superseded the statement made in that response that the operational capabilities of both Diligence, as the operational maintenance and repair ship, and Argus, as the primary casualty receiving facility with aviation training capability, are "invaluable to the support of the Royal Navy".
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL1662
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2016 answer text <p>It was stated in the letter to which the noble Lord refers that Navy Command was actively considering the out of service dates for both RFA DILIGENCE and RFA ARGUS, as well as the replacement capability. As a result of those considerations, and taking into account DILIGENCE's age and increasing obsolescence, it was concluded that retaining her in service would no longer represent good value for money to the taxpayer, and the decision was taken to retire her early.</p><p>This decision does not detract from the invaluable service that DILIGENCE has provided for over 30 years.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 14/09/2016 16:23:58 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead