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1543516

	registered interest
	date	17/11/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Type 26 Frigates
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 17 November (HL3222), whether the delivery rate of Type 26 frigates to initial operating capability, after HMS Glasgow, will be once every 12 months.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL3533
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2022 answer text <p>Initial Operating Capability (IOC) is only declared once for ship classes. The Type 26 Class's IOC is forecast to be October 2028.</p><p>While delivery rates for the following hulls 2-8 may vary, all ships are expected to enter service between 2028 and 2035.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 30/11/2022 15:25:12 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1523497

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Homosexuality
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Goldie on 17 October (HL Deb col 952), how many service personnel discharged or dismissed before 2000 for homosexual conduct that was legal in civilian life forfeited their full pension rights; and what plans they have to restore their full rights.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2691
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2022 answer text <p>Defence recognises and accepts that the policy that homosexuality was incompatible with Service life was unacceptable and that its LGBT+ veteran community suffered as a consequence. As part of the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-2024, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (part of the Cabinet Office) co-commissioned Lord Etherton PC Kt QC to chair an independent review into the impact of this policy. Once completed, Lord Etherton will send a report containing his recommendations to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and The Secretary of State for Defence. The Government will then decide what action to take.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD is not aware of any instances in which the accrued right to a pension has been forfeited because of the member’s sexual orientation; Service personnel dismissed or discharged in respect of their sexuality retained their accrued pension rights. There are no provisions of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme which are discriminatory on the basis of a member’s sexuality. Accordingly, it is not possible in law to amend the scheme rules so that they have retrospective effect. As there is no existing discretion in the Armed Forces pension rules to retrospectively deem pensionable service to have been given in order to provide for additional pension entitlement, they are not an appropriate vehicle for financial compensation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 25/10/2022 10:55:57 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

1518522

	registered interest
	date	26/09/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Aircraft Carriers
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Goldie on 20 September (HL2197), how many days at sea (1) HMS Queen Elizabeth, and (2) HMS Prince of Wales, have had since their acceptance by the Royal Navy; and on how many of those days operational F-35 jets have embarked.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2379
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/10/2022 answer text <p>HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH has had 603 days at sea since vessel acceptance date, with operational F-35 jets embarked on 278 of those days.</p><p>HMS PRINCE OF WALES has had 267 days at sea since vessel acceptance date, with operational F-35 jets embarked on 13 of those days.</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. In addition, these figures represent days at sea and it should be noted that, while deployed away from the UK, ships will spend both days at sea and alongside in ports around the world.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 10/10/2022 16:32:27 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1536594

	registered interest
	date	26/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Homosexuality
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 25 October (HL2691), what steps they are taking to provide compensation for pension losses caused to members of the armed forces who were discharged or dismissed solely on grounds of sexual orientation before 2000, and who would otherwise have been able to serve until reaching their immediate pension point or to the point of full career retirement.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2926
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2022 answer text <p>As defined within primary legislation, Armed Forces pension awards reflect the actual time served. In 2000, a member would have served 16 years as an Officer or 22 years as an Other Rank to qualify for the immediate payment of a pension on discharge, and those who served at least two years would be entitled to receive a deferred pension, payable at age 60 for service between 1975 and April 2006. Circumstances of dismissal relate to terms and conditions of employment and not the provisions of the Armed Forces Pension Schemes, meaning that Service personnel dismissed or discharged in respect of their sexuality retained their accrued pension rights.</p><p>In the early 2000's, the Ministry of Defence settled a number of claims from former members of the Armed Forces who had been dismissed for being LGBTQ. The compensation awarded to claimants consisted of damages for loss of earnings, loss of pension and injury to feelings. These claims were reported in the national press at the time of settlement. However, upon completion of the Lord Etherton PC Kt QC independent review into the impact of Defence's historic policy on homosexuality, the Government will carefully consider the recommendations and decide what action to take.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 09/11/2022 12:07:11 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

1540388

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Autonomous Weapons
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Policy Paper Ambitious, safe, responsible: Our approach to the delivery of AI-enabled capability in Defence, published on 15 June, in particular the statement that "there must be context-appropriate human involvement in weapons which identify, select and attack targets", whether users need to understand the effects of using the weapons in each specific context for such use to be acceptable.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL3229
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>The MOD has set out a clear commitment to develop and use AI-enabled military capabilities - including, potentially, weapons systems - safely, responsibly, and ethically. This includes ensuring that commanders and the operators of AI-enabled systems are trained to understand the appropriate parameters of use in relation to their specific domain and operating context.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 21/11/2022 17:02:51 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1520188

	registered interest
	date	10/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Navy
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to (1) the Written Answer from Baroness Goldie on 22 September (HL2312), and (2) programme data released by the Ministry of Defence indicating a reduction in tonnage of 65,000 tons, whether they can now provide a detailed breakdown of how they calculated an increase of 59,000 tons.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2022 answer text <p>Tonnage was calculated in 2020 as 799,000, with a total of 88 platforms.</p><p>By 2030, we expect growth in tonnage to increase to 858,000 with a total of 83 platforms.</p><p>Increases in tonnage is expected for eight platforms by 2030. Decreases in tonnage is expected for nine platforms by 2030.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 24/10/2022 15:37:13 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1521494

	registered interest
	date	12/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Reserve Forces: Reviews
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not responded to the Reserve Forces 2030 Review, published on 12 May 2021.
	tabling member printed	Lord Houghton of Richmond
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2534
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2022 answer text <p>I refer the noble and gallant Lord to the answer I gave on 20 September 2022 to the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley in response to Question HL2094.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 20/10/2022 15:33:18 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie attachment 1 file name HL 2094.docx title Reserve Forces: Reviews
	tabling member	4694 label Biography information for Lord Houghton of Richmond

1524807

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	ECOPEL: Furs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have tested the faux bearskins produced by the firm Ecopel; and if so, with what result.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Fookes
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2753
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2022 answer text <p>There have been four synthetic furs tested by accredited testing houses since 2015. The artificial fur tested in 2018 failed in all five of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) basic requirements necessary in order to be considered further as a viable alternative for ceremonial caps areas.</p><p>Tests conducted in 2019 and 2020 on another two samples showed that, while the water penetration was reduced, it still did not meet the necessary standard. It also performed poorly in the remaining basic requirements areas. The most recent test results, provided by PETA from an accredited testing house, have also been analysed by the MOD. The analysis concluded that the fabric only met one of the five basic requirements.</p><p>This means that, to date, there is no faux fur alternative that meets the required standard for the King's Guards ceremonial caps.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL2754 question first answered 03/11/2022 15:30:33 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	830 label Biography information for Baroness Fookes

1536159

	registered interest
	date	25/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	China: Armed Forces
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is any evidence of BAE Systems being involved with the UK ex-military aircrew flying in China.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2902
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2022 answer text <p>While we are aware that a number of the pilots recruited had previously worked in defence industry, we have no reason to believe that any British companies were directly involved in the practice of UK ex-military aircrew flying in China. We have issued an alert to industry to make them aware, requesting that they communicate the threat to their personnel, to ensure that the alert is as widely disseminated as possible to any potential recruitment targets.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 08/11/2022 16:32:42 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1506486

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Aircraft Carriers: F-35 Aircraft
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether all UK F35 jets deployed for UK carrier operations off the Eastern seaboard of the USA will be embarked in the ship with their maintainers and aircrew.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2316
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2022 answer text <p>The next period of F-35B Lightning activity on UK Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers off the Eastern seaboard of the USA will be a four-week test period conducted by the Joint Programme Office (JPO) Integrated Test Force (ITF) using embarked ITF aircraft, maintainers, support personnel and pilots.</p><p>Whenever UK F-35B Lightning aircraft are embarked on Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers the required complement of maintainers, support personnel and pilots are embarked to meet the directed operational output.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 20/09/2022 15:09:17 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead