Results 1-20 of 5,693 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Bill Rammell

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Reserve Forces (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: We have adequate training facilities for the reserve forces, but they are not organised in the most efficient way. That is why, as part of ongoing efficiency work, we are seeking to identify several rationalisation measures.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Reserve Forces (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: I know that the hon. Gentleman has taken a real interest in this issue within his constituency. I do not believe that his statement that the rationalisation measures will have a devastating effect will be borne out by the evidence. It is a reality that as a part of ongoing efficiency work and a Department-wide exercise to deliver savings, we have conducted a review of operations and...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: RAF Search and Rescue (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: The Government remain committed to 24/7 search and rescue cover across the UK. I have recently instructed planned crew reductions to be reversed to ensure that the first-class service that the RAF provides can continue to be sustained. We are aiming for the changes to be in place by early summer 2010. In the meantime, to avoid excessive strain on the force and to manage resources better, a...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: RAF Search and Rescue (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: We intend to continue with the PFI project for search and rescue, which will provide an effective way forward. A decision was taken last year that we could operate on the basis of 24 crews. As soon as it became clear to me that that was not possible, I immediately instructed that we move back up to 28 crews, which I know the right hon. Gentleman welcomed. I also know that he and a number of...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: RAF Search and Rescue (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: I shall write to the hon. Gentleman with the exact figure immediately following questions. The original decision was to move from 28 crews down to 24. We are at 26 crews today, but I have reversed that decision and we will go back up to 28. However, even where there is an ad hoc closure at one of the bases, we meet our response times by providing search and rescue from a neighbouring base.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: RAF Search and Rescue (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: The answer is yes. We still intend to operate three of the bases on a 12-hour basis post-2012. We have been able to reach that conclusion because since we started the process, the industry solutions available have meant faster helicopters and faster response times. However, as I said earlier, I recognise the detailed concern about the issue, and I will include the hon. Gentleman in the...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Pre-deployment Training (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: The balance of equipment between operational theatres and training is kept under constant review. The training requirement is dynamic, as new pieces of equipment are brought into service and as changes are made to the size and composition of deployed forces. In general, the quantity of equipment available for pre-deployment training is increasing.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Pre-deployment Training (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: Let me be very clear: we do not deploy troops where there is an unacceptable balance of risk. Rightly, our priority—I think that Members throughout the House will agree with this—is to get the best possible equipment into theatre, but we are certainly increasing the availability of equipment for training. For example, between July and October we achieved a 50 per cent. increase in...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Pre-deployment Training (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: As the hon. Gentleman knows, in the past three years we have spent an additional £10 billion on new equipment. He also knows that he and his colleagues are not proposing one penny extra in additional defence expenditure than this Government. In the current circumstances, the priority has to be the delivery of equipment to theatre. That is what we are doing, but we do not do so and deploy...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Topical Questions (2 Nov 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: We look at all those issues to ensure that we can do things most effectively, but there is no substitute, and we will not take shortcuts on the safety of our personnel in operation. We will keep looking, but we will not come up with a quick-fix solution that would put people at risk.

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: We have had a genuinely good debate today, and I would like to thank all Members for their contributions. I will start on a note of consensus, and we shall see how long I can keep that going. The arguments in the debate have revealed that there is palpable consensus across all parties on support for the Territorial Army. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision-making process have been...

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. The decision involving the communications-driven exercise to which he refers has affected a number of regiments across the country, and I believe that it was the right decision. However, we do not intend to close TA bases as a result of it. I hope that that gives him some reassurance. My hon. Friend the Member for Stockton, North (Frank Cook)...

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that; I know about the incredibly good work he does on behalf of the Territorial Army. The hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Dodds) made an important contribution about the TA's role in his constituency. I would genuinely like to congratulate the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Chloe Smith), who I know is new to the House, on her speech. She made a trenchant...

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: It was clearly printed as a result of discussion in which the shadow Chancellor had engaged, and I know for a fact that the Tory Front Benchers were very concerned about that commitment. The hon. Member for Westbury made a number of stringent attacks on me and on my ministerial colleagues. I understand his frustration. If the leader of my party had told General Dannatt that our defence team...

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: Will the hon. Gentleman confirm whether, like his Front-Bench spokesmen, he believes that we should be in Afghanistan?

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: And Conservative Front Benchers' policy.

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: I have asked for a meeting with officials tomorrow to discuss that very issue.

Territorial Army (26 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: I start by genuinely congratulating the hon. Member for North-East Milton Keynes (Mr. Lancaster) on securing the debate, and thank him for providing me with the opportunity to address the House on what I know is an important issue of concern. I also genuinely—not platitudinously—offer my thanks to the hon. Gentleman for his own long service as a member of the Territorial Army,...

Territorial Army (26 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: Very briefly.

Territorial Army (26 Oct 2009) has video

Bill Rammell: I emphatically understand the importance of that organic connection with the community. It is certainly not our intention to undermine or destroy it. I return to the point that I was making. Making every effort to support and resource our operations in Afghanistan is not only a matter of drawing on the Treasury reserve. Many parts of the core defence budget, such as recruitment and basic...