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1661503

registered interest
date	18/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Navy: Landing Ship Dock Auxiliaries
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what change to the global geostrategic situation outlined in the Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a more contested and volatile world, published on 13 March, has led to the decision to have no operational Landing Platform Dock ships in the Royal Navy.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/10/2023 answer text <p>The Royal Navy will continue to operate a credible Landing Platform Dock (LPD) capability, through its Bay class Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) (LSD(A)), until the operational return of the Albion class Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ships, with HMS Bulwark.</p><p> </p><p>The LPD and LSD(A) platforms are interchangeable in function by degrees of scale, each complements the other and both together constitute our core amphibious delivery capability when combined for maximal amphibious effect. To enable the sustained forward presence of the Littoral Response Group’s (LRG) in the coming years, both classes of ship will be pulsed into the deployment of the LRGs around their respective refit cycles.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 02/10/2023 14:48:49 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1661539

registered interest
date	18/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Military Aircraft: Repairs and Maintenance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether the cannibalisations of Wildcat parts from aircraft undergoing maintenance and front-line squadrons is part of the "hollowing out" noted by the outgoing Defence Secretary in his resignation letter to the Prime Minster on 30 August.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10295
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/10/2023 answer text <p>The reuse of any component or piece of equipment is closely managed and only done when strictly necessary to ensure capabilities are able to meet defence outputs. Whilst not planned, it is a valid engineering technique that can mitigate shortfalls in the supply of components that emerge for a whole host of reasons and is a useful management choice to expedite the return to flight of an aircraft faster than the supply chain.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 02/10/2023 15:01:36 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1659972

registered interest
date	12/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	AUKUS
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how work on AUKUS Pillar 2 is progressing.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10082
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>Good progress is being made on AUKUS Pillar 2, the Advanced Capabilities Pillar, on quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, artificial intelligence and cyber, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, and electronic warfare capabilities, supported by two enabling workstreams covering innovation, and information sharing. Substantial progress is being made in accelerating the near-term delivery of certain capabilities that will meet our militaries' requirements earlier: the first AUKUS artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy trial, held in Wiltshire this April, achieved several world firsts, including the live retraining of models in flight and the interchange of AI models between AUKUS nations. AUKUS Principals met in London for the Advanced Capabilities Executive Group where they had productive discussions on Pillar 2 progress and endorsed a trilateral plan for engagement with industry ahead of the next meeting in November.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Defence Secretary is the overall minister responsible for AUKUS, he is supported by the Permanent Secretary who is the most senior official on AUKUS, covering both Pillars 1 and 2. In the two years following the AUKUS announcement, the UK continues to work well on a trilateral basis, developing and implementing ambitious plans to streamline defence trade, whilst also strengthening our ability to protect sensitive technologies that underpin our security. Vetting, legal frameworks and establishing standards are an important part of wider AUKUS activity planned, with good progress being made overall.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL10085 HL10089 question first answered 26/09/2023 16:05:49 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1659975

registered interest
date	12/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	AUKUS
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Defence, who is responsible for coordinating work on AUKUS Pillar 1, is also able to coordinate work on Pillar 2 across His Majesty's Government and industry.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10085
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>Good progress is being made on AUKUS Pillar 2, the Advanced Capabilities Pillar, on quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, artificial intelligence and cyber, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, and electronic warfare capabilities, supported by two enabling workstreams covering innovation, and information sharing. Substantial progress is being made in accelerating the near-term delivery of certain capabilities that will meet our militaries' requirements earlier: the first AUKUS artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy trial, held in Wiltshire this April, achieved several world firsts, including the live retraining of models in flight and the interchange of AI models between AUKUS nations. AUKUS Principals met in London for the Advanced Capabilities Executive Group where they had productive discussions on Pillar 2 progress and endorsed a trilateral plan for engagement with industry ahead of the next meeting in November.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Defence Secretary is the overall minister responsible for AUKUS, he is supported by the Permanent Secretary who is the most senior official on AUKUS, covering both Pillars 1 and 2. In the two years following the AUKUS announcement, the UK continues to work well on a trilateral basis, developing and implementing ambitious plans to streamline defence trade, whilst also strengthening our ability to protect sensitive technologies that underpin our security. Vetting, legal frameworks and establishing standards are an important part of wider AUKUS activity planned, with good progress being made overall.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL10082 HL10089 question first answered 26/09/2023 16:05:49 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1659979

registered interest
date	12/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	AUKUS
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of progress being made in agreeing tri-national tasks of (1) vetting, (2) legal framework, and (3) standards, as AUKUS moves forward.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10089
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>Good progress is being made on AUKUS Pillar 2, the Advanced Capabilities Pillar, on quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, artificial intelligence and cyber, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, and electronic warfare capabilities, supported by two enabling workstreams covering innovation, and information sharing. Substantial progress is being made in accelerating the near-term delivery of certain capabilities that will meet our militaries' requirements earlier: the first AUKUS artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy trial, held in Wiltshire this April, achieved several world firsts, including the live retraining of models in flight and the interchange of AI models between AUKUS nations. AUKUS Principals met in London for the Advanced Capabilities Executive Group where they had productive discussions on Pillar 2 progress and endorsed a trilateral plan for engagement with industry ahead of the next meeting in November.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Defence Secretary is the overall minister responsible for AUKUS, he is supported by the Permanent Secretary who is the most senior official on AUKUS, covering both Pillars 1 and 2. In the two years following the AUKUS announcement, the UK continues to work well on a trilateral basis, developing and implementing ambitious plans to streamline defence trade, whilst also strengthening our ability to protect sensitive technologies that underpin our security. Vetting, legal frameworks and establishing standards are an important part of wider AUKUS activity planned, with good progress being made overall.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL10082 HL10085 question first answered 26/09/2023 16:05:49 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1659874

registered interest
date	11/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Air Force
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Service Inquiry into the loss of the F-35B Lightning ZM152 (BK-18) of 617 Squadron, embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth on 17 November 2021, what steps they are taking to address the findings that 617 Squadron "was under strength, morale was low, there were insufficient Quality Assurance checks being conducted at Marham and general readiness for FORTIS was lower than COMUKCSG had been led to believe".
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10065
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2023 answer text <p>As a direct result of the lessons identified during and post Operation FORTIS, embarked engineering workforce levels were significantly increased, in recognition of the additional workload and fatigue associated with embarked operations. Since 2021, RAF Marham has been subject to two external third-party audits, with the most recent concluding that previously identified shortfalls had been resolved, or that appropriate corrective action plans were in place. The unit maintains a full internal quality audit programme with regular continuous-improvement events and independent engineering standard evaluations. Readiness for embarked operations is constantly scrutinised, and optimised where required, during regular Carrier Strike multi-disciplinary meetings.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 25/09/2023 15:51:54 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1659875

registered interest
date	11/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Nuclear Submarines: Deployment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether the reason that none of the Royal Navy’s six commissioned SSNs was at sea at the end of August, as shown by open source reporting, relates to inadequate material state, support infrastructure issues, crew shortages, or a combination of those; and whether Project Resolution will resolve such long-standing issues.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10066
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2023 answer text <p>We can confirm that we are meeting all our operational commitments, and will continue to ensure we have the workforce, support arrangements and facilities required to maintain availability in the future. For operational security reasons we do not comment on the availability of Royal Navy submarines.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 25/09/2023 15:28:53 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1659876

registered interest
date	11/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Destroyers and Frigates
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether maintaining a fleet of a minimum of 19 operational Destroyers and Frigates is still realistic and sufficient; and, if not, what the new minimum will be.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2023 answer text <p>The government is committed to modernising the Royal Navy's escort fleet through the transition of the existing Type 23 frigate force to the Type 26 and Type 31 classes. This will bring the number of destroyers and frigates to 19.</p><p> </p><p>This is a realistic programme which will enable the Royal Navy to maintain its operational commitments.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 25/09/2023 15:27:22 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1659877

registered interest
date	11/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Type 26 Frigates: Procurement
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up delivery of the Type 26 frigates so as to avoid any decrease in the number of Royal Navy frigates.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL10068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2023 answer text <p>The delivery rate for the Type 26 ships is the optimum that can be achieved considering all relevant factors. Four of the Type 26 ships are now in construction on the Clyde. On current plans, HMS GLASGOW is forecast to achieve Initial Operating Capability in 2028 and construction of all eight frigates is expected to be completed by the mid-2030s.</p><p> </p><p>The Type 26 Batch 2 deal introduces further investment in BAE Systems’ facilities on the Clyde, most obviously demonstrated by the start of work on a new shipbuilding hall at Govan. The new hall will allow two frigates to be built under cover simultaneously and allow the ships to be built faster, improving efficiency in the programme, and expanding the facilities for future work at the yard.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 25/09/2023 15:48:28 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1653736

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Defence: Procurement
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the new environmental, social and governance rules on (1) defence companies' costs and ability to access financial services, and (2) Ministry of Defence procurement costs.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL9423
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2023 answer text <p>Trade associations and individual companies have raised the issue of ESG in discussions with Ministers and officials from across government.</p><p> </p><p>While we have so far seen no evidence that ESG criteria are leading to increased procurement costs, we are aware of instances where companies, particularly SMEs, have found obstacles to accessing financial services.</p><p> </p><p>Officials across Government are working closely with trade associations and the financial sector to understand the nature and extent of the issue, and agree mitigating actions where appropriate. The Government is unequivocal that there is nothing unethical about investing in and providing financial services to the UK defence sector and the financial services sector should not be disadvantaging companies based on their association with defence. On the contrary, a strong national defence is a pre-requisite for the freedoms and rule of law that we often take for granted.</p><p> </p><p>Industry and Government are also showing leadership on all aspects of the ESG agenda as illustrated by the recent launch of the Defence Aviation Net Zero Strategy. We will continue this work with our industrial partners to explore and champion the wider environmental and social benefit of the defence sector.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 31/07/2023 15:47:37 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead