Results 1-20 of 1,246 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') 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?

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...

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...

Afghanistan — Question (13 Jul 2009)

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the future role of Her Majesty's armed forces in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan — Question (13 Jul 2009)

Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, on behalf of these Benches, I pay tribute to all those young soldiers. The death of so many young men shows the extent of the sacrifice that military families are making on our behalf. Ministers say, rightly, that it is vital that we succeed in Afghanistan, yet, despite promises that our troops will be supplied with everything they need, why do they still fail to provide sufficient...

Armed Forces: Trident — Question (9 Jul 2009)

Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, from these Benches we, too, send our condolences to the families of the soldiers and the two flight lieutenants whom the Minister mentioned. I very much welcome the noble Lord back to the Dispatch Box with his defence brief. Last month in the other place, the Prime Minister claimed that, "it is important for us to remember that we have funded defence services for the next two...

Afghanistan: Improvised Explosive Devices — Question (24 Jun 2009)

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to counter the threat of improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Improvised Explosive Devices — Question (24 Jun 2009)

Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, our thoughts are obviously with the families of the five hostages taken in Iraq and our condolences go to the families of the two who were killed. We also send our condolences to the family of Major Sean Birchall of the Welsh Guards, who was killed by an IED. Indeed, IEDs have killed 10 of the last 11 soldiers to die in Afghanistan and have left many other soldiers with...

Armed Forces, Army, Air Force and Naval Discipline Acts (Continuation) Order 2009 — Motion to Approve (18 Jun 2009)

Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I thank the Minister for explaining the statutory instruments. We welcome them and the continued attention to discipline, enlistment and other issues in the three services of our Armed Forces. All these orders regulate and affect in some way the working relationship between the Armed Forces and the population as a whole. The first is of fundamental importance, of course, because it...

Kenya: British Army — Question (18 Jun 2009)

Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, Exercise Grand Prix has been crucial in training battle groups in an environment similar to those in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now that we have pulled out of Iraq, will the Minister confirm that we will carry on training in this area?