Michael Connarty: I am trying to find out how much of this expenditure is in the £3 billion mentioned last year by the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff), the Minister with responsibility for procurement, and how much is new expenditure? How much will be spent on Trident development and how much on the Astute submarine fleet?
Peter Luff: Having been deployed successfully in Afghanistan, Viking vehicles need to be regenerated for return to the core vehicle fleet in readiness for future contingent operations. It remains our intention for the Royal Marines to be equipped with an amphibious protected mobility capability as set out in the strategic defence and security review. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) plans to review...
Peter Luff: ...million); this figure included the sale of 72 Harrier airframes, spares and associated support equipment. Moreover, when the value of the sale is added to the savings made from retiring the Harrier fleet from service, the total estimated receipts and savings to the Ministry of Defence is around £1 billion. The decision to retire the Harrier force early was not taken lightly. Fleet...
Paul Farrelly: ...which has served to amplify the voices of many of the victims of the excesses of our libel laws who were crying out for both help and change—people such as Simon Singh, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Dr Peter Wilmshurst. I shall refer briefly to some of those cases later, because one of the litmus tests of this Bill will be whether there will be any similar cases following its reforms. At each...
Peter Luff: The information requested will take time to be collated. I will write to the hon. Member once this is completed. Substantive answer from Peter Luff to Angus Robertson: I undertook to write to you on the 16 May 2012 (Official Report, Column 168W) in answer to your parliamentary question about how many (a) aircraft support vehicles, (b) Royal Maritime Auxiliary service ships, (c) fire trucks,...
Peter Luff: The A400M development fleet continues to undergo rigorous testing, including that of the engine and gearbox, as part of the ongoing flight test programme leading to civil and military certification. During a planned flight from South East Asia back to Europe, there was a gearbox incident which resulted in the automated shutdown of the engine. The aircraft landed safely in Oman where a...
Peter Luff: ...Barge 2 HMNB Clyde Water Barge 1 HMNB Clyde Water Lighter 2 HMNB Clyde Pilot Tender 2 HMNB Clyde Class IX Tugs 8 HMNB Clyde Damen Crew Transfer Vessel 1 HMNB Clyde Fleet Tender—O Class—Passenger Ship 2 HMNB Clyde Moorings 1 HMNB Clyde Torpedo Recovery, Mine-laying and Diving Support Vessel 1 HMNB Clyde Worldwide Support Ship 1 Kyle of...
Peter Luff: ...means to replace it. The Department of Transport is currently running a competition for a UK-wide service contract to provide Search and Rescue services when the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) fleet of Sea King Mk 3, 3a and 5 Search and Rescue helicopters retire. The MOD is also examining alternative means of replacing the Sea King search and rescue capability in the Falkland Islands. The...
Peter Luff: The Harrier was a flexible and capable aircraft which served the nation well. However, owing to the reduction in the size of the Harrier fleet to 32 aircraft in 2009 under the previous Government it was unable to achieve sustained operations in Afghanistan and maintain an adequate contingent capability for the unexpected on its own. Only the Tornado could do this and sustaining fleets of...
Peter Luff: Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships do not have permanent bases, but use a combination of naval bases, which include the Scottish ammunition facilities at Crombie and Glen Mallen, and commercial ports throughout the UK, to deliver their operational programmes.
Peter Luff: After the strategic defence and security review, the Army's supported main battle tank fleet consists of 227 Challenger 2 tanks.
Peter Luff: ...withholding the information on the current value of each vehicle as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests. Disposal options currently being considered are: selling, using the disposal fleet for spares; and recycling.
Peter Luff: ...in the radome supports of two RAF Boeing E-3D Sentry aircraft. The cause of the fault has yet to be determined; a full technical examination is under way. The aircraft in the current forward fleet have been checked and show no sign of a similar fault. Nevertheless, as a precautionary measure, non-essential routine flying has been temporarily suspended until the cause of this fault is...
Mark Prisk: ...an earlier stage. All too often in the past Governments have not done that properly, regardless of their political persuasions. Let me say something about the MARS programme. In the context of the fleet tankers, the hon. Gentleman referred to speculation in reports about remarks attributed to the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter...
Eric Ollerenshaw: ...introduced the debate, and I thank the Minister for his support in the past. I am in a somewhat different situation from other hon. Members in this regard. My hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) talked about the cuts in Lowestoft. In Fleetwood, we already have hardly any boats left as over time there has been virtually a complete destruction of the fishing fleet. I remember...
Peter Luff: Julius introduces a digital “glass” cockpit and new crewman’s workstation across our current fleet of Chinook helicopters that provide the core heavy-life element of the UK rotary wing fleet. These modifications will allow pilots to determine what flight and tactical information is displayed to them at any given time, improving the ergonomics of the cockpit. Modified aircraft completed...
Fiona O'Donnell: ...? The EU is in the process of radically reforming the common fisheries policy to provide a sustainable and profitable future for UK fishermen. That reform might pose serious challenges for the UK fleet on issues such as maximum sustainable yields, discards and capacity. I was hugely impressed by the contribution from the hon. Member for Richmond Park, although his reputation preceded him,...
Sir David Amess: ...hundreds of tons. There is also inconsistent implementation of quotas in the industry. Two excellent articles appeared in The Times on 14 February. One of them is titled, “All at sea: historic fleet that can’t catch its own cod”, and I refer to my hon. Friend the Minister the circumstances of the Hastings fishing fleet. The other article was about a cartel on fishing quotas. My hon....
Peter Luff: ...(DSME) as the preferred bidder for the MARS tanker project and intends to place a contract worth £452 million for the procurement of four double hulled MARS tankers, to be operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). This contract will include two years’ initial provisioning for capital spares, training and training systems. The MARS tankers, which are planned to enter service at yearly...
Peter Luff: ...of Defence (MOD), under Project Phoenix, signed a contract in August 2011 with Babcock International Group PLC, as part of a pan-Government Framework agreement, which covers the management of fleet and self drive vehicles for MOD personnel in the UK. This contract is gradually replacing the existing arrangements and includes a provision, which is still to be introduced, for vehicles with a...