Results 1-20 of 1,838 for speaker:Lord Astor of Hever
- Queen's Speech — Debate (2nd Day) (19 Nov 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, that this has been an excellent debate. I also welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, to the Dispatch Box for the Queen's Speech debate. However, one name is missing from the speakers' list-my noble friend Lord Hurd. Like others, I wish him a speedy recovery. I shall concentrate on defence issues. I start by paying tribute to those...
- Armed Forces: Future Defence Policy — Motion to Take Note (6 Nov 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I start by sending my condolences, and those of my party, to the families and friends of Warrant Officer Chant, Sergeant Telford and Guardsman Major of the Grenadier Guards, as well as Corporals Boote and Webster-Smith of the RMP. I also pay my respects to the soldier from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, who tragically died yesterday. Along with other noble Lords, I pay tribute to...
- Armed Forces: Future Defence Policy — Motion to Take Note (6 Nov 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: Well, my Lords, the HCDC report on helicopter capability in July this year showed that the UK Armed Forces helicopter fleet will lose 105 aircraft by 2020. The present force of 467 will be reduced to 365, a drop of 22 per cent. The MoD does not seem to understand the link between numbers and capability. When Britain's Armed Forces are likely to engage in operations for the foreseeable future,...
- Elections: Armed Forces — Question (2 Nov 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, we also send our condolences to the family and friends of Staff Sergeant Schmid. The noble Lord, Lord Roberts, pointed out that a low percentage of Armed Forces personnel are registered to vote. Have an increased number of such personnel registered to vote since the Electoral Administration Act 2006?
- Written Answers — House of Lords: Armed Forces: Aircraft Carriers (2 Nov 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial penalties they would incur if one new aircraft carrier was cancelled.
- Written Answers — House of Lords: Armed Forces: Aircraft Carriers (2 Nov 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they envisage will be spent before completion of the new aircraft carrier project.
- Territorial Army — Question (29 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as an honorary colonel of a TA regiment.
- Territorial Army — Question (29 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, we on these Benches also send our condolences to the family and friends of Corporals Oakland and Mason. Turning to the Question on the TA, we obviously welcome the government U-turn. There is no way that the Regular Army could continue the war in Afghanistan without the TA. Does the Minister agree that the original decision to suspend training was a shocking error of judgment? What...
- Written Answers — House of Lords: Universities: Officer Training Corps (29 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government in light of the suspension of training for the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC), how many officers from the UOTC they expect will go to Sandhurst in (a) two, (b) three, and (c) four years' time.
- Written Answers — House of Lords: Armed Forces: Aircraft Carriers (27 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government how long they envisage that the new aircraft carriers will be able to remain at sea between refits.
- Written Answers — House of Lords: Armed Forces: Aircraft Carriers (27 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government how long they expect refits of the new aircraft carriers will take.
- Written Answers — House of Lords: Armed Forces: Aircraft Carriers (27 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent on the new aircraft carrier project.
- Autism — Question (26 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I declare an interest as the father of a daughter with autism. There are over 300,000 working-age adults with autism, but recent NAS research found that a third of them are without a job or benefits, completely excluded from society, a point well made by my noble friend. People with autism face many challenges in applying for work and in the workplace itself. Making eye contact and...
- Iraq — Question (22 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in securing a legal agreement for British troops to conduct training in Iraq.
- Iraq — Question (22 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I am very heartened by the noble Lord's response. This is an important mission and will help to stabilise an area that is vitally important for this country. For how long will these sailors be deployed? Will the Treasury pay for this mission, and will the Iraqis themselves start to contribute as their oil revenues build up?
- Defence Acquisition — Statement (19 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement. We welcome this report; it has been long awaited. We are also delighted that Bernard Gray has agreed to help the MoD to implement many of his recommendations. At a time when we are at war, the findings of the Gray report reveal more than just financial mismanagement. The leadership vacuum created by this Government is on display for...
- Gulf War 1990-91: Nerve Agent Pre-treatment Tablets — Question (13 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, could the Minister inform the House of the outcomes of the important discussions between government officials and the US Department of Veterans Affairs?
- Afghanistan — Question (12 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, we on these Benches also pay tribute to the memory of all those 34 brave soldiers. Our thoughts are with their families and friends and also with the many soldiers who have received life-changing injuries. As the noble Baroness said, the sooner we get Afghan security forces trained and on the front line, the faster we can begin to bring our own troops home. With that in mind, does...
- Libya: Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi — Question (12 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: Does the Minister agree that the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber was quite wrong? According to the Justice Secretary, the Prime Minister was involved in discussions about compensation for UK victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism but not in discussions about al-Megrahi during the negotiations over the UK-Libya prisoner transfer agreement. It is clear that this overwhelmingly...
- Written Answers — House of Lords: Niger Delta (12 Oct 2009)
Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the security situation in (a) the Gulf of Guinea, and (b) the Niger Delta.