House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Q
Asked by Mr David Anderson
(Blaydon)
Asked on: 02 February 2016
Ministry of Defence
Military Intervention: Parliamentary Scrutiny
25543
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23290, what his Department’s policy is on (a) the application of the convention on giving Parliament the opportunity to debate military intervention abroad to armed drones and (b) informing the House of any exceptional operation on the grounds of self-defence of the UK.
A
Answered by: Michael Fallon
Answered on: 10 February 2016
The Government is committed to the convention that, before UK troops are committed to conflict, Parliament should have an opportunity to debate the matter except when there is an emergency. It is fitting to keep Parliament informed of major new developments and to answer questions on them.
The Government will inform the House of any exceptional operation where there has not been prior debate in Parliament as the Prime Minister did on 7 September 2015 in relation to the precision airstrike that took place on 21 August 2015.
Q
Asked by Kate Hollern
(Blackburn)
[N]
Asked on: 05 February 2016
Ministry of Defence
Defence Equipment: Iron and Steel
26045
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department plans to take to engage with (a) industry bodies and (b) trades unions on the sourcing of steel for equipment procured by his Department from UK suppliers.
A
Answered by: Mr Philip Dunne
Answered on: 10 February 2016
The Government is committed to implementing measures to address any barriers that prevent UK steel suppliers from competing effectively for public sector contracts. To that end, new guidelines for departments on sourcing and buying steel for major projects were published in October 2015. The Ministry of Defence(MOD) has written to its largest defence contractors to highlight these guidelines, which emphasise the importance of pre-market engagement, including through industry days and signalling future pipelines for steel.
The MOD would not routinely meet with trades unions on this type of issue and has not received any representations. It has met with the UK steel industry through its membership of the Cabinet Office Steel Procurement Working Group. This group is looking to ensure that UK steel suppliers can compete on a level playing field with international suppliers on major projects.
Q
Asked by Lord Berkeley
Asked on: 02 February 2016
Ministry of Defence
Type 45 Destroyers
HL5780
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will launch an independent inquiry into the reported power failures on Type 45 destroyers, and the case for increasing their power capacity by 50 per cent.
A
Answered by: Earl Howe
Answered on: 16 February 2016
There is currently no plan to launch an independent inquiry into the reported power failures on Type 45 destroyers or the case for increasing their power capacity.
As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we have committed to investing in the necessary improvements in the Type 45 power and propulsion systems to address issues and ensure future capability requirements can be met. Decisions will, of course, be fully scrutinised at each of the formal procurement investment decision points as the programme progresses.
Q
Asked by Emily Thornberry
(Islington South and Finsbury)
Asked on: 08 February 2016
Ministry of Defence
Trident Submarines
26145
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the (a) demonstration phase and (b) manufacture phase of the Successor submarine programme to begin.
A
Answered by: Penny Mordaunt
Answered on: 16 February 2016
We expect to approve the next stage of the Successor submarine programme later in 2016.
Q
Asked by Mr David Anderson
(Blaydon)
Asked on: 09 February 2016
Ministry of Defence
USA: Military Alliances
26409