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1226099

registered interest
date	17/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their policy that Armed Forces personnel be confined to barracks during the COVID-19 pandemic; and if so, whether any such policy has applied to (1) personnel undergoing training at depots, schools, bases and officer training establishments, (2) directing staff at such training establishments, and (3) all trained personnel of whatever rank.
tabling member printed	Lord Robathan
uin	HL6983
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>It is not Defence policy that Armed Forces personnel be confined to barracks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The only occasions on which personnel may be confined to their accommodation are if they are self- or household-isolating, or if they are required to isolate for a short period prior to deployment.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 27/07/2020 10:32:34 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	334 label Biography information for Lord Robathan

1225898

registered interest
date	16/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Submarines: Accidents
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch Report on the investigation of the near miss between the ro-ro ferry Stena Superfast VII and a submerged Royal Navy submarine in the North Channel on 6 November 2018, published on 16 July; and what steps they are taking to ensure similar incidents do not reoccur. [T]
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL6949
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2020 answer text <p>Ensuring safety at sea is a top priority for the Royal Navy. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch's (MAIB) report is welcomed and the Royal Navy fully accepts their recommendation.</p><p>Actions have been taken to prevent re-occurrence and a system of assurance is in place in accordance with the Navy's Safety Management System.  To deliver the MAIB's recommendation, the Fleet Commander has directed an independent review of the actions taken to provide assurance that such actions have been effective. This review will be led by the Defence Maritime Regulator, part of the independent Defence Safety Authority.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 23/07/2020 11:12:34 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1225412

registered interest
date	15/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	HMS Queen Elizabeth: South China Sea
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to send the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier to the South China Sea; and if so, (1) when the decision was made, and (2) what will be the objective.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL6914
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2020 answer text <p>No decision has yet been made. Cross Government consultation is in progress and we expect to finalise the details of the deployment soon. The UK has enduring interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and the Royal Navy has maintained a near persistent presence there for a number of years, conducting numerous activities promoting security and defence relationships with our partners and upholding the Rules Based International System. Building on this, the Royal Navy intends to continue to operate across the region, including in the South China Sea.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 23/07/2020 11:11:12 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1225413

registered interest
date	15/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Russia: Submarines
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of recent Russian submarine deployment into the Mediterranean and Baltic seas.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL6915
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence monitors the deployments of Russian submarines and makes assessments based on their operational capability. A nuclear-powered submarine transited from its Northern Fleet base to St Petersburg where it will take part in Russia's Navy Day on 26th July, as part of a predicted annual commitment. A further Russian submarine transited from its Black Sea base port to Tartus, Syria, as part of their routine presence operations in the eastern Mediterranean. Russia continues to be a significant state-based threat to the UK; monitoring and responding to this threat is a core priority for the Ministry of Defence.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 27/07/2020 10:33:11 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1222939

registered interest
date	10/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Justice 4 Troops
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the organisation Justice 4 Troops, established on 5 June to address military grievances.
tabling member printed	Baroness Garden of Frognal
uin	HL6714
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2020 answer text <p>There is a well-established Service Complaints process for those personnel who wish to raise grievances about any aspect of their Service life. This is underpinned by legislation and independently overseen by the Service Complaints Ombudsman (SCO) for the Armed Forces. Justice 4 Troops is a community interest company incorporated in July 2019. Justice4Troops has no official mandate to intervene in grievances or their handling; this is a role it has self-appointed. Accordingly, no assessment has been made, nor is one appropriate. Representations received from this organisation are not afforded any particular status within the Ministry of Defence, but we do remain concerned to ensure that the individuals who engage with Justice4Troops are provided with unbiased advice to ensure that they do not miss the opportunity to raise any grievance through the official channels.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 22/07/2020 13:37:04 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3842 label Biography information for Baroness Garden of Frognal

1222762

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Domestic Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many houses on the defence estate are available to survivors of domestic abuse.
tabling member printed	Lord Tunnicliffe
uin	HL6692
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2020 answer text <p>There is no statutory offence of ‘domestic abuse’ and actions amounting to it could be recorded under a number of offences such as Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), Actual Bodily Harm (ABH), Common Assault or sexual offences. Furthermore, within military police crime-recording systems, the categorisation of whether an incident involves ‘domestic violence’ or not, is not a mandatory field, meaning that the figures provided are indicative only.</p><p> </p><p>The first document provided gives figures for the number of reported offences for each Service for the years 2015-2020 to date where the incident has been categorised as involving domestic violence. The second document provided gives figures for each Service for the years 2015-2020 to date, for the number of GBH, ABH, and Common Assault offences. The noble Lord should note that in both of the documents, the figures given are for reported offences – that is, to say an allegation has been made. These figures do not relate to charges brought or court convictions.</p><p> </p><p>An average time cannot be given regarding the Chain of Command (CoC) reporting such incidents to the Service Police. Every case would require examination to determine when it was reported to the Service Police and not every investigation file may contain the date when an incident was originally reported to the CoC. Therefore, we would not be able to provide a complete answer and what we could provide could be provided only at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>However where reported to the CoC, any incident of domestic abuse must be reported to the Service Police no later than 24 hours after the incident has occurred. Further to this, a referral to the Welfare Service must be made in any situation involving domestic abuse or similar allegations.</p><p>Whilst there are no houses on the defence estate dedicated specifically for survivors of domestic abuse, support is provided through a suite of policies which seek to provide housing options for families in times of estrangement.</p><p> </p><p>Short term accommodation for welfare or compassionate reasons is administered by Service welfare associations. Tri-Service accommodation policy requires the provision of welfare houses at each designated establishment, scaled to reflect density of Service population. Unit welfare staff, in conjunction with civilian police and local authorities assess whether utilisation of such are in the best interests of safeguarding abuse survivors, and may provide alternative accommodation (through local authority or charitable provision) if distance between perpetrator and survivor is required.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD is currently reviewing the tri-service policy on domestic abuse with the help of leading charity Hestia, who sit alongside MOD on the Employer’s Initiative on Domestic Abuse. It is intended that this policy apply to the whole force – civilians, contractors and the single Services. The review will also focus on the availability of accommodation for survivors, taking advice from the domestic abuse charity Standing Together. MOD intends to refresh and re-launch the policy towards the end of 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD continually monitors whole force data on domestic abuse for prevalence and risk factors – this has been of particular focus during the Covid-19 pandemic. This data is disseminated and discussed within the MOD Domestic Abuse Stakeholder Forum the Domestic Abuse Working Group (DAWG), which meets quarterly. The DAWG seeks advice and guidance from national domestic abuse charities like Hestia, Aurora New Dawn and the Employer’s Initiative on Domestic Abuse, resulting in continual policy improvement.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL6648 HL6693 HL6694 question first answered 16/07/2020 15:11:17 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3671 label Biography information for Lord Tunnicliffe

1222763

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Domestic Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many days, on average, it takes for the British Armed Forces chain of command to engage with the Royal Military Police on reports of domestic abuse.
tabling member printed	Lord Tunnicliffe
uin	HL6693
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2020 answer text <p>There is no statutory offence of ‘domestic abuse’ and actions amounting to it could be recorded under a number of offences such as Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), Actual Bodily Harm (ABH), Common Assault or sexual offences. Furthermore, within military police crime-recording systems, the categorisation of whether an incident involves ‘domestic violence’ or not, is not a mandatory field, meaning that the figures provided are indicative only.</p><p> </p><p>The first document provided gives figures for the number of reported offences for each Service for the years 2015-2020 to date where the incident has been categorised as involving domestic violence. The second document provided gives figures for each Service for the years 2015-2020 to date, for the number of GBH, ABH, and Common Assault offences. The noble Lord should note that in both of the documents, the figures given are for reported offences – that is, to say an allegation has been made. These figures do not relate to charges brought or court convictions.</p><p> </p><p>An average time cannot be given regarding the Chain of Command (CoC) reporting such incidents to the Service Police. Every case would require examination to determine when it was reported to the Service Police and not every investigation file may contain the date when an incident was originally reported to the CoC. Therefore, we would not be able to provide a complete answer and what we could provide could be provided only at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>However where reported to the CoC, any incident of domestic abuse must be reported to the Service Police no later than 24 hours after the incident has occurred. Further to this, a referral to the Welfare Service must be made in any situation involving domestic abuse or similar allegations.</p><p>Whilst there are no houses on the defence estate dedicated specifically for survivors of domestic abuse, support is provided through a suite of policies which seek to provide housing options for families in times of estrangement.</p><p> </p><p>Short term accommodation for welfare or compassionate reasons is administered by Service welfare associations. Tri-Service accommodation policy requires the provision of welfare houses at each designated establishment, scaled to reflect density of Service population. Unit welfare staff, in conjunction with civilian police and local authorities assess whether utilisation of such are in the best interests of safeguarding abuse survivors, and may provide alternative accommodation (through local authority or charitable provision) if distance between perpetrator and survivor is required.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD is currently reviewing the tri-service policy on domestic abuse with the help of leading charity Hestia, who sit alongside MOD on the Employer’s Initiative on Domestic Abuse. It is intended that this policy apply to the whole force – civilians, contractors and the single Services. The review will also focus on the availability of accommodation for survivors, taking advice from the domestic abuse charity Standing Together. MOD intends to refresh and re-launch the policy towards the end of 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD continually monitors whole force data on domestic abuse for prevalence and risk factors – this has been of particular focus during the Covid-19 pandemic. This data is disseminated and discussed within the MOD Domestic Abuse Stakeholder Forum the Domestic Abuse Working Group (DAWG), which meets quarterly. The DAWG seeks advice and guidance from national domestic abuse charities like Hestia, Aurora New Dawn and the Employer’s Initiative on Domestic Abuse, resulting in continual policy improvement.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL6648 HL6692 HL6694 question first answered 16/07/2020 15:11:17 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3671 label Biography information for Lord Tunnicliffe

1222764

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Domestic Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to analyse 'Whole Force' data (1) to identify the prevalence of domestic abuse and potential risk factors, and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention measures and interventions, in order to refine and improve the policy and practice of the British Armed Forces.
tabling member printed	Lord Tunnicliffe
uin	HL6694
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2020 answer text <p>There is no statutory offence of ‘domestic abuse’ and actions amounting to it could be recorded under a number of offences such as Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), Actual Bodily Harm (ABH), Common Assault or sexual offences. Furthermore, within military police crime-recording systems, the categorisation of whether an incident involves ‘domestic violence’ or not, is not a mandatory field, meaning that the figures provided are indicative only.</p><p> </p><p>The first document provided gives figures for the number of reported offences for each Service for the years 2015-2020 to date where the incident has been categorised as involving domestic violence. The second document provided gives figures for each Service for the years 2015-2020 to date, for the number of GBH, ABH, and Common Assault offences. The noble Lord should note that in both of the documents, the figures given are for reported offences – that is, to say an allegation has been made. These figures do not relate to charges brought or court convictions.</p><p> </p><p>An average time cannot be given regarding the Chain of Command (CoC) reporting such incidents to the Service Police. Every case would require examination to determine when it was reported to the Service Police and not every investigation file may contain the date when an incident was originally reported to the CoC. Therefore, we would not be able to provide a complete answer and what we could provide could be provided only at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>However where reported to the CoC, any incident of domestic abuse must be reported to the Service Police no later than 24 hours after the incident has occurred. Further to this, a referral to the Welfare Service must be made in any situation involving domestic abuse or similar allegations.</p><p>Whilst there are no houses on the defence estate dedicated specifically for survivors of domestic abuse, support is provided through a suite of policies which seek to provide housing options for families in times of estrangement.</p><p> </p><p>Short term accommodation for welfare or compassionate reasons is administered by Service welfare associations. Tri-Service accommodation policy requires the provision of welfare houses at each designated establishment, scaled to reflect density of Service population. Unit welfare staff, in conjunction with civilian police and local authorities assess whether utilisation of such are in the best interests of safeguarding abuse survivors, and may provide alternative accommodation (through local authority or charitable provision) if distance between perpetrator and survivor is required.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD is currently reviewing the tri-service policy on domestic abuse with the help of leading charity Hestia, who sit alongside MOD on the Employer’s Initiative on Domestic Abuse. It is intended that this policy apply to the whole force – civilians, contractors and the single Services. The review will also focus on the availability of accommodation for survivors, taking advice from the domestic abuse charity Standing Together. MOD intends to refresh and re-launch the policy towards the end of 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD continually monitors whole force data on domestic abuse for prevalence and risk factors – this has been of particular focus during the Covid-19 pandemic. This data is disseminated and discussed within the MOD Domestic Abuse Stakeholder Forum the Domestic Abuse Working Group (DAWG), which meets quarterly. The DAWG seeks advice and guidance from national domestic abuse charities like Hestia, Aurora New Dawn and the Employer’s Initiative on Domestic Abuse, resulting in continual policy improvement.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL6648 HL6692 HL6693 question first answered 16/07/2020 15:11:17 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3671 label Biography information for Lord Tunnicliffe

1222765

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Families
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding has been spent by the Ministry of Defence to implement the Armed Forces Families' Strategy in (1) 2016, (2) 2017, (3) 2018, (4) 2019, and (5) 2020 to date.
tabling member printed	Lord Tunnicliffe
uin	HL6695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2020 answer text <p>Although it is not possible to provide the figures requested, the UK Armed Forces Families Strategy remains one of our priorities, setting the principles against which the Ministry of Defence (MOD) formulates policy; this acknowledges the challenges which mobility and separation present to family life, alongside the numerous positive aspects of Service life. Success is measured in satisfaction levels and improved outcomes for families, rather than in financial expenditure. In adhering to the principles of the strategy MOD has introduced flexible working, the Future Accommodation Model and is working across government, in the devolved administrations and the charitable sector to mitigate disadvantage in access to education and healthcare through the Armed Forces Covenant. £317 million has been provided by MOD to circa 21,000 families under the Forces Help to Buy Scheme - the current tranche of the scheme runs until December 2022 and we will actively look to extend this. This Government has committed to funding wrap around childcare for Armed Forces families, and recently announced the launch of a pilot programme beginning in September.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 16/07/2020 15:09:55 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3671 label Biography information for Lord Tunnicliffe

1222199

registered interest
date	08/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Littoral Warfare
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the future of the amphibious capability of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
tabling member printed	The Earl of Shrewsbury
uin	HL6639
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence made clear during Defence oral questions in the House of Commons on Monday 6 July 2020, the size and shape of our Armed Forces should be dictated by the threat we face as a nation and our global ambition. The Integrated Review is not about cutting defence and I can assure you that this country will continue to have the world class Armed Forces that it needs and deserves.</p><p> </p><p>The Littoral Strike programme, announced by the Secretary of State for Defence in February 2019, is a complete transformation of the UK's amphibious force. The programme identifies 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines as the central fighting formation used to deliver Littoral Strike and the Future Commando Force. It is driven by the requirement to counter the threats we will face in the future and forms a pillar to the Royal Navy's Integrated Review offer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL6580 question first answered 15/07/2020 13:18:46 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	2147 label Biography information for The Earl of Shrewsbury