02 Jan 15. Defence Committee. Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2013-14. Tuesday 7 January 2015. The Wilson Room, Portcullis House.
Witnesses:
At 2.30 pm
* Jon Thompson, Permanent Under Secretary, Ministry of Defence
* David Williams, Director General Finance, Ministry of Defence
This is a one-off evidence session to scrutinise the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2013–14.
02 Jan 15. Defence Committee. Decision making in Defence Policy, Tuesday 6 January 2015. Committee Room 8, House of Commons.
Witnesses:
At 10.30 am
* Dr Kim Howells, former Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
At 11.30 am
* Pauline Hayes, former Head of Office in Afghanistan 2010–12, Department for International Development
This is the second session for this inquiry. Discussion will concentrate on decision making in Helmand, Afghanistan, with a particular focus on interdepartmental relationships, notably, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for International Development.
House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
Asked on: 10 December 2014
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Nuclear Weapons
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what positive outcomes they can report from the 3rd International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons which they attended in Vienna.
Answered by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire
Answered on: 23 December 2014
The UK’s participation in the Conference was welcomed by many states, non-governmental organisations and parliamentarians. At the Conference, officials listened carefully to the participants, who expressed a very wide range of views. Some argued that the way to achieve the goal of a world without nuclear weapons was to ban weapons now or to fix a timetable for their elimination. This approach fails to take account of the stability and security which nuclear weapons can help to secure. None of us would gain from a loss of that stability. The UK believes that the UN Disarmament Machinery and the Non-Proliferation Treaty provide the right forum for working towards a world without nuclear weapons.
Our Ambassador to Austria restated our concern at the humanitarian consequences which could result from the use of nuclear weapons. That is why the UK works extremely hard to prevent the use of nuclear weapons; to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons; and to keep our own nuclear weapons safe and secure. We are also committed to working towards a world without nuclear weapons. In our Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, the Government undertook to reduce the number of warheads we have by the mid-2020s. However, we shall retain a continuous submarine based deterrent, for as long as the global security situation makes it necessary. A copy of the UK intervention at the Conference has been placed in the Library of the House and is attached to this response.
Asked by Lord Chidgey
Asked on: 15 December 2014
Ministry of Defence
Aircraft Carriers
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence-based analysis they have conducted to establish the vulnerability of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to modern submarine threats.
Answered by: Lord Astor of Hever
Answered on: 23 December 2014
Comprehensive threat and survivability analysis was conducted by Defence Science and Technology Laboratories during the design phase of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. The output of this analysis is periodically reviewed and updated with input from Defence Intelligence Services and the Maritime Warfare Centre, and used to inform continued development of the operating procedures and war-fighting doctrine for the QEC. I am withholding further details of this analysis and its conclusions as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by Lord Chidgey
Asked on: 15 Decembe