28 Mar 19. Global Islamist Terrorism. The fight against Islamist terrorism, how social media has changed the battlefield, building partner capacity, airstrikes on behalf of partners.
Tuesday 2 April 2019 Grimond Room, Portcullis House
At 11:00am:
- Rt Hon Mark Lancaster TD MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
- Dominic Wilson, Director General Security Policy, Ministry of Defence
- Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP, Security Minister
- Chris Felton, Head of Joint International Counter Terrorism Unit (JICTU), Home Office
This is the final session in the Global Islamist terrorism inquiry. The Committee will explore areas previously raised in the inquiry including the security implications of selecting partners in the fight against Islamist terrorism, building partner capacity, airstrikes on behalf of partners and how social media has changed the battlefield.
House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Q
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
Asked on: 19 March 2019
Ministry of Defence
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
HL14676
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of cuts to the defencebudget on projects to upgrade armoured vehicles in the UK armed forces.
A
Answered by: Earl Howe
Answered on: 27 March 2019
The Government is committed to increase the defence budget by at least 0.5% above inflation in every year of this Parliament. The MOD has a £38 billion core defence budget which will rise to almost £40 billion by 2020/21. Following the October 2018 budget announcement Defence will now benefit from an additional £1 billion for this year and next. The extra £1 billion for defence, on top of the £800 million increase announced in March 2018, represents a substantial financial boost for Defence and reaffirms our commitment to protecting national security and allows us to invest in priorities.
We will maintain the overall size of the Armed Forces, including an Army that is capable of fielding a war-fighting division. We are committed to spending over £186 billion on equipment and equipment support between 2018 and 2028. Army Command plan to spend around £30.2 billion on the Army’s Equipment over the next decade in comparison to £29 billion at the end of the previous planning cycle. This includes upgrading our Armoured Vehicles.
Q
Asked by Lord Moonie
Asked on: 27 February 2019
Ministry of Defence
Arms Trade: Exports
HL14107
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific responsibility the Chief of Defence staff has, if any, to support UK companies that export defence and security goods and services.
A
Answered by: Earl Howe
Answered on: 13 March 2019
The Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2015 confirmed support to defence exports as a core task for the Department as part of National Security Objective 3 – promoting our prosperity. The Chief of Defence Staff does not have specific export responsibility, however he and all Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel as representatives of MOD collectively play a key role in the promotion of defence equipment and services from UK-based suppliers to overseas partners and allies.