Live Defence Questions House of Commons


Live Defence Questions

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Of hello and welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage from the

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House of Commons. In an hour's time the shadow health secretary will ask

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an urgent question about the imposition the new contract for the

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junior doctors. After that there'll be to select committee statement on

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the appointment of the commission of Public appointments and on private

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member's bills. The main business sees MP debate to back business

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motions on the introduction of national living wage and changes to

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employee contracts and educational attainment in Yorkshire and the

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Humber. To me for a round in the day in both houses of parliament at 11pm

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this evening. But first we will have questions to the defence secretary.

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Michael Fallon and his team of ministers. The first question is

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from the Paisley MP. Order, order. Questions to the

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Secretary of State for defence. Question number two Mr Speaker. As

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my right honourable friend the Prime Minister made clear on the 10th of

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February, we will bring forward a debate and vote in this house at the

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appropriate moment and announce it in the usual way. Can the Minister

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confirm in value terms where Trident falls in regards to the cost-benefit

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ratio used in the government's own standard appraisal mechanism? Any

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confirm that the appraisal has been conducted and will he make this

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available to members in the comments library? I will of course make

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available what figures we can to the honourable gentlemen. Let me be

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clear though, the overall cost of the successor programme was set out

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in the strategic defence and security review that will be

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published in November and it is ?31 billion, which should be seen in the

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context of a deterrent that will serve us for over 30 years. It is an

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open secret that the Ministry of defence wanted this debate to take

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place in the spring, and so I do not blame the Secretary of State for the

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fact that it has not happened, but he is on the record as saying that

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people are worried about the wavering position of the labour

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opposition on this matter. Would it not assist to restore bipartisanship

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on the issue for the debate to be brought forward at least prior to

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the Labour Party's conference, or does the government and by that I

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mean number ten, prefer to see dissension at a Labour Party

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conference to bipartisanship on a particularly important issue? Well,

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no. The position is that we announced our commitment to replace

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the existing Vanguard submarines in November and we would like that

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principle to be endorsed by a vote in this house. I obviously would

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like that vote to take place as soon as possible. Respecting of course,

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the things that exist in the spring and summer. Does the Secretary of

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State understand that unlike some on this side, we will not allow any

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individual questions over cost, valid though they may be in and of

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themselves, as an excuse to wiggle out of our commitment to the British

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people? Those who remain true to the spirit will do the right thing for

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Britain. I am very glad to hear that and I would certainly caution the

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Labour Party from moving away from the moderate mainstream support for

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our deterrent, which every previous labour government has supported.

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Indeed I note that the honourable Lady's advisors told journalists

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that her review would be fudged as "The last thing we want is another

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reason for those who opposed Jeremy to call for him to go", she seems to

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be the only person that seems defending our country means

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defending the labour leader. Can my honourable friend confirm that the

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tried and revealed concluded that in fact there was no credible or

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affordable alternative to a Trident based nuclear deterrent? Yes, the

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alternative was looked at exhaustively as part of the Trident

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alternatives review, three years ago. And I said out the principal

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arguments as to why we are making this replacement in a speech to

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Policy Exchange on the 23rd of March. Last Monday I visited

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Northwest Derby on a successor programme and one of the things they

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wanted is certainty. Certainty on the budget on this programme but

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also certainty on the future. With the Secretary of State agree with me

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that any notion that sometime in the future, say next general election,

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where an easy option to cancel this programme would be disastrous, not

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just in terms of our defence but for our workforce? It would be

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disastrous for our defence and for jobs in this country but also

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disastrous for our relationship with all of our principal allies. Let me

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be very clear, this programme is already going ahead, we have spent

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some nearly ?4 billion as authorised by this house. Work is under way in

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Derby and at a number of other locations across the country,

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including those in Scotland and is already employing several thousands

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of people in small companies. The ministry of State for defence

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procurement wrote in November 2014 and I quote" the security

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requirement to sustain certain capabilities within the UK, for

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instance a nuclear submarines, means that single source procurement or in

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a significant activity. Taxpayers are entitled to know this money is

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being spent properly. That is why the single source regulations office

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has been established." So can the Secretary of State tell the House,

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and he meetings his department has had so far with the SS are all about

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the successor programme? I am very happy to write to the honourable

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Lady the number of meetings that may or may not have taken place. But let

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us be very clear, this programme is now under way and I think it is time

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she made up her mind about whether or not she is going to support it or

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whether we will be taking a message to our allies, including the

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president of the United States, who visits on Friday, that the party

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opposite is no longer prepared to support a deterrent they have always

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supported in the past. I dare say we will find out what people think when

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the vote comes. I asked the secretary of state specifically

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about the as SRO and successor programme, I appreciate he does not

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know the answer so let me tell him. There have been no meetings, I have

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a letter from the Ministry of defence. The as SRO was tasked with

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saving at least ?200 million last year through its MRD contracts but

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because the Secretary of State will not -- will not allow it to do its

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job probably, there is only a savings of ?300,000. Why is it not

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being allowed to scrutinize the successor contract? Is it because of

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the department saying quote the government needs a safe space away

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from the public gaze to allow policy options, unfit for public comment,

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and therefore... This is not good enough. We demand that he reversed

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this decision and open up the successor programme to the

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independent scrutiny that it requires. She appears to completely

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misunderstand the function of the single source resource office which

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is to supervise contracts once they are signed. This particular contract

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is still under negotiation and I am certainly not going to go into

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details of the negotiation with her or indeed in this house until it is

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signed. Once it is signed, then of course we will make sure that it is

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properly scrutinised. Number three sir. Our growing defence budget

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allows us to expand the defence network, including new posts in

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Finland, Albania, and Senegal, also covering a number of other places as

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well. We are also creating new posts in Afghanistan, Latvia, Lithuania,

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and Georgia. The expansion of the DA network will increase defenses

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global reach and influence and will strengthen our partnerships around

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the world as set out in SDSR 2015. I think the Minister for that reply,

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it is critical we are continually vigilant of the security threat

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coming from Russia. Will he ensure that there are sufficient numbers in

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the Baltic states, Central Europe, and the Ukraine and Poland to

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provide the analysis, and expertise required to fully understand the

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security defence dynamics of the region? Indeed. I am sure my

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honourable friend welcomed the announcement of the new DA in

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Finland and the new deputy post in two of the Baltic states. On his

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point on expertise, I should stress that we are not just expanding the

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number of DAs, we are also expanding the career path and expertise. For

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example we opened a new defence post in Sharon and we reviewed those

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conditions of service. I'm a big supporter of our DA network but it

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is also important that the defence is a robust and relationships to

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their host countries. What representations does the defence

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have in regards to the allegations of targeting citizens in Yemen, not

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least after allegations that a missile made in the UK was located

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at one of the sites? The department gets a constant stream of advice

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from the DA and from a number of other sources on the matter that the

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honourable gentleman has ingeniously managed to work into his

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supplementary. Does my horrible friend agree with me that army 2020

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and the creation of regional forces that is implied by that will help

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very much grow future defence areas and enable officers in the future to

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have a career pathway that will include a substantial element of

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foreign service and in particular allow them to have the skills they

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need to be able to be effective in the defence? My honourable friend is

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exactly right on that matter. Of course he knows having previously

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done the international brief in the MOD. The new approach would be for

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grades with them facing parts of the world means that expertise and

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institutional memory on particular regions will grow, combining this

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with the greatly improved career prospects for the DA should greatly

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increase our representation. Can I threw the Minister thanked the

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defence areas in Libya for their brief on the foreign affairs

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committee about four or five months ago. And also for their candour and

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rigour given to us. I wonder what the Minister can do to tell the

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House about the proposed visiting of the international assistance Mission

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in what the individual contribution might be considered. My honourable

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friend has shown a certain ingenuity in managing to work that question in

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as a supplementary here to stop as he knows very well, this matter has

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not yet been decided, but I am delighted that he has received such

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a typically excellent assistance from the DA? The Minister does not

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have to sound so surprised, because ingenuity as we have discovered is

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not an entirely novel phenomenon in the House of Commons. Number four.

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As from this month, Ministry of defence's budget has risen to over

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?35 billion and increase of 800 million on the year just ended. This

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is the first real terms increase in six years, reflecting the priority

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set out by this government in 2015 spending review, through increasing

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defence spending by half a percent above inflation every year to 2020,

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2021. This government has committed his country to meeting the Nato

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guideline to spend to synergy on defence every year this decade. I

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welcome this increased budget. Can the Minister said that if we were to

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adopt a position at the -- advocated by some and not spending 2%, what

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would the impact be on the morale of our troops, their equipment, and our

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security? My honourable friend is quite right to identify that the

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threats we face are growing in scale, complexity, and concurrency.

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A failure to meet this good -- commitment would significantly

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impact our ability to deliver the capability needed to face these

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threats and would send a very wrong message to our defence. Our

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commitment to spend 2% on defence makes one of the most capable Armed

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Forces in the world, to spend hundred ?78 billion in equipment and

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support over the next decade, and to fund an increase in the regular

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personnel for both the Navy and Air Force and an increase in the reserve

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for British Army. The Minister cannot really pull the wool over our

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eyes on this one because we all know that defence spending was set for

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bloat GDP, but a government including things that have never

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been included in the Nato and also is before like war pensions and

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indeed the pension contributions of MOD civilian staff. So can the

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Minister now come clean, will he have to resort to these kinds of

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accounting gimmicks to be able to assure Nato that in future we are

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going to maintain 2% spending? The honourable gentleman in

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characteristic style is looking for a smoke where there is no fire. We

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use the native definition to make a calculation of our GDP spent. --

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Nato. They assert the figure and then publish it. We have done in the

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past under previous administrations and will do it again under this

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administration. The government's defence review set out ?178 billion

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programme of investment in equipment for our Armed Forces in the next

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decade. Will my right honourable friend ignore calls from the other

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parties to cut defence spending which would mean smaller, weaker

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Armed Forces and a loss of highly skilled jobs in that sector? I thank

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my honourable friend for giving me the chance to workers again our

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commitment to increase spending for each and every year in this

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Parliament on defence and security. That would be a real terms increase,

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we published our 10-year forward equipment plan which shows the

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contribution that the defence will be making to the prosperity of the

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nation, another objective which we have taken on in the defence review

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for the first time. That will benefit both the security of our

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nation and the economy as a whole. Despite his department's claims,

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they reality is that the Royal Navy has between 2010 and 2015 had a

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decline of 33% and carriers and ships, a 17% decline in summer rains

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and a 17% decline in destroyers and forgets. We are a maritime nation

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and yet our Navy is declining. Is it not time that we placed greater

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investment in our maritime capability? The honourable lady is

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very experienced in these matters and she will note that in 2010, the

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then Coalition government inherited a dire financial situation across

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the public sector and especially in defence. Some very difficult

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decisions were taken in 2010 to reduce certain front line elements,

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including aircraft carriers. She is also fully aware that we are in the

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midst of a largest shipbuilding programme this country has ever

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known and early next year we expect to see the first of the Queen

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Elizabeth aircraft carriers moved out of a city to take up its

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position with be wrong Navy. The private member's bill last year

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requiring the government to enshrine in law that we spend at least 2% of

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an defence, may I welcome today's announcement and hope that the

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honourable member is wrong and this doesn't represent new money. Can I

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take this opportunity to congratulate my friend on whether...

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Alongside the lead given by the Prime Minister in this endeavour and

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welcome the 24 typhoons which have been sold to Kuwait and I hope that

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this will contribute to the MOD's budget. I would like to thank my

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right honourable friend who himself in a previous role has

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responsibility for promoting and I have even better news for them. The

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announcement last week of someone Demarco typhoons to Kuwait was not

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for 24 aircraft but for 28. What defence spending can be guaranteed

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for the steel industry, given the community procurement rule to allow

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community benefit? This government has undertaken a new set of

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procurement guidelines for steel, which we have implemented through

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the Ministry of defence through a combination of briefings to the

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defence suppliers undertaken by the Secretary of State and I have

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written personally to the chief executives of the 15 largest

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contractors where -- we are cascading that to the supply chain

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to ensure future defence procurement, there is every chance

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for steel manufacturers to bid. Members opposite appeared to be

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insinuating that the party are advocating a reduction in defence

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spending and it is entirely untrue. They may be unfortunate that the

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honourable member should say that the impact the defence cuts have on

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the morale of ground forces because I have a letter from the Secretary

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of State confirming from the Ministry of defence that they agreed

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to make ?5 million of savings after the budget this year. In the end,

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the government... For the first time since 1982, we left the Falcons

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without a Navy frigate protecting it. Can he clarify the record that

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we have a government that is cutting defence spending, massively in

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recent years, and leaving the nation less protected as a result of it?

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The honourable government really needs to read those letters more

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carefully. The reduction that he referred to related to the in year

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spending of the department, which ended at the beginning of this

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month. The defence budget for the current and future year is going up

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in the question he needs to answer with his colleagues is why wants his

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party commit to the 2% Nato commitment as we have? Number five.

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With your permission I will answer this question together with

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questions of 11, 14, and 15. My next regular meeting with my counterparts

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in the Coalition is on the 4th of May. The campaign against Daesh is

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making progress with Coalition support, Iraqi forces now are

:20:41.:20:46.

clearing it and have begun preparatory operations. In Syria,

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Daesh has been driven from Allison Dottie, clearing a supply route to

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Iraq. Can I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. With the

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advent of a new government in Libya, does the secretaries they believe

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that preparing the ground to request military assistance from the UK,

:21:10.:21:13.

does he think that's part of that request that they will require

:21:14.:21:17.

assistance against, with air strikes against Daesh target in Libya? I am

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grateful to the honourable member, in the early days the Foreign

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Secretary visited Tripoli this morning and the board of the new

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government. I am fellow European union defence ministers will be

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meeting in Luxembourg tonight to hear it directly from Prime Minister

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so Roche as to how he thinks we can best establish that new government.

:21:42.:21:47.

We do urgently need to engage with it, not least to help close down the

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very dangerous migration route that is seeing so many lives lost in the

:21:53.:21:55.

Mediterranean and to help the government tackle the spread of

:21:56.:22:01.

Daesh on the coast. Can my right honourable friend confirm that

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contrary to the propaganda, Daesh has lost most of its territory data

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held a year ago and now is the right time to back the Iraqi security

:22:12.:22:16.

forces in taking the fight to them? My honourable friend is quite right,

:22:17.:22:20.

with Coalition support, Iraqi security support has taken around

:22:21.:22:26.

30% of the populated areas that Daesh once held in Iraq. A city is

:22:27.:22:34.

in the process of being cleared along with many others. We continue

:22:35.:22:39.

to provide vital air support as well as specialist training and

:22:40.:22:44.

equipment. Experience tells us that unless he gets civil institutions up

:22:45.:22:49.

and running quickly after a conflict and, you can end up with a failed

:22:50.:22:53.

state. Could my right honourable friend advise what steps his

:22:54.:22:56.

Department is taking to ensure that does not happen in Syria once Daesh

:22:57.:23:01.

have been driven out? I am grateful to my honourable friend, following

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these Syria conference held in London in February, there is now a

:23:06.:23:09.

stabilisation plan for Syria, that we are working to deliver with our

:23:10.:23:14.

international partners. We are already working with existing Syrian

:23:15.:23:19.

institutions to try and restore stability in communities on local

:23:20.:23:22.

government and defence. But stabilisation in Syria depends on a

:23:23.:23:28.

sustainable peace deal that protects communities from attack, either by

:23:29.:23:32.

Daesh or the regime. We are supporting that peace deal through

:23:33.:23:35.

the international Syrian support group. Tomorrow the Mayor of London

:23:36.:23:41.

will unveil intrabulbar Square reconstruction of the arch of the

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temple of Bell from Palmyra, as a symbol of our defiance against Daesh

:23:47.:23:51.

and our commitment to protect culture in war zones where it is

:23:52.:23:56.

reasonably possible to do so. In December the Secretary of State

:23:57.:23:59.

announced that he was commissioning a group within the Armed Forces of

:24:00.:24:02.

modern-day monuments men to lead forward this agenda and bring the UK

:24:03.:24:07.

into compliance with the Hague convention. I hope that will be in

:24:08.:24:11.

the Queen's speech shortly. Can we get an update on that? I'm grateful

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to my honourable friend. The government has announced it will

:24:17.:24:21.

renounce --... That includes the establishment of the military

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cultural property property unit. My ministry is art engaging with the

:24:28.:24:33.

stabilisation unit to further develop plans for that capability to

:24:34.:24:38.

help better protect such important monuments in future. It is also of

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course important to deny Daesh the revenue they have earned from

:24:44.:24:47.

selling artifacts and coins from archaeological sites? We've only

:24:48.:24:52.

stabilise Libya by having ground forces. Will he accept that that may

:24:53.:24:59.

include British forces? It is up to the new government of national

:25:00.:25:04.

Accord being established in Libya with our support, led by Prime

:25:05.:25:08.

Minister to make clear what assistance he needs. A number of

:25:09.:25:13.

countries including ourselves have already indicated that we will be

:25:14.:25:16.

part of a Libyan international assistance mission, but it is far

:25:17.:25:21.

too early to speculate as to what form that assistance might take,

:25:22.:25:27.

whether it is training or advice in the ministries or other support. My

:25:28.:25:33.

right honourable friend will be all too aware of the evidence of the

:25:34.:25:37.

trustees being committed by Daesh and religious minorities in areas

:25:38.:25:44.

they control. Can the Secretary of State update me as to what specific

:25:45.:25:47.

actions have been taken in the military campaign against Daesh to

:25:48.:25:54.

prevent this? We have to continue to degrade and eventually to defeat

:25:55.:25:58.

Daesh to bring some of these horrific attacks that we have seen

:25:59.:26:02.

on the persecution of those of other faiths that we have witnessed,

:26:03.:26:07.

particularly the persecution of the minority. In the end, Daesh has to

:26:08.:26:14.

be defeated so that we can have a tolerant and comprehensive

:26:15.:26:18.

settlement in Syria that protects all minorities.

:26:19.:26:26.

Best wishes to the Royal Regiment of Scotland, on Friday with a service.

:26:27.:26:36.

I'm sure the whole house will join me and pressing on for that

:26:37.:26:41.

position. Mr Speaker, let me, as it increases when becoming the focus of

:26:42.:26:44.

the campaign by the international community to defeat Daesh, given

:26:45.:26:48.

that the UK's last intervention was by any measure a catastrophic

:26:49.:26:53.

failure, could the Minister tell us what plans have the government had

:26:54.:26:57.

to make sure that we have cleared the object is, we have exit

:26:58.:27:03.

strategy, and a transparent policy for rebuilding the country

:27:04.:27:10.

afterwards? Let me certainly join with the honourable gentleman in

:27:11.:27:12.

wishing our Regiment of Scotland a very happy 10th birthday, and to

:27:13.:27:17.

acknowledge the contribution they make. To the military tradition in

:27:18.:27:23.

Scotland. Let me be clear with the House, no decisions in respect to

:27:24.:27:27.

any involvement in Libya have yet been taking. We are waiting of

:27:28.:27:31.

course to hear from the new government of national court on the

:27:32.:27:37.

what kind of assistance they need. We have a very strong interest in

:27:38.:27:44.

helping that government rapidly stabilise the country. Not least

:27:45.:27:46.

because of the spread of AIS, along with those... A very direct threat

:27:47.:27:52.

to Western Europe and ourselves. Thank you Mr Speaker. The government

:27:53.:27:58.

are considering sending ground troops to Libya. Could the Minister

:27:59.:28:02.

give us a cast-iron guarantee that any such deployment of foot soldier,

:28:03.:28:07.

British ground troops into Libya would be a matter that would be

:28:08.:28:11.

discussed on the floor of this house and voted on by the sounds? Hear,

:28:12.:28:14.

hear! First of all, let me be clear that

:28:15.:28:18.

no such decision has been taken and we are not contemplating at the

:28:19.:28:22.

moment a commitment of that time, but what I can say to him is that if

:28:23.:28:31.

we are, in the future, to deploy military forces in a combat role

:28:32.:28:37.

into a conflict zone, we would of course, as the Prime Minister has

:28:38.:28:39.

made clear, come to this house first. Emily Thornbury. This is a

:28:40.:28:46.

very important constitutional issue and I'm sure that the Secretary of

:28:47.:28:49.

State will understand. How can it be that we read in the media that the

:28:50.:28:52.

government have already drawn up plans to send a thousand troops to

:28:53.:28:57.

the Libyan unity government in order to fight Daesh, and when asked

:28:58.:29:01.

whether or not they will be deployed in hostile areas a defence source

:29:02.:29:04.

told the daily e-mail that it wasn't clear yet. Surely it is important

:29:05.:29:10.

that, instead of briefing the media, the Secretary of State committed to

:29:11.:29:13.

coming to this house and answering questions directly. I'm their

:29:14.:29:17.

concern that a written answer today that about the Secretary of State

:29:18.:29:20.

said he reverts -- reserves the right to take military action

:29:21.:29:23.

without this. Does this mean we will not have a proper debate on proposed

:29:24.:29:27.

employment or will he come to this house, allow us to have a proper

:29:28.:29:30.

debate, answer questions and allow us to have a proper road? First of

:29:31.:29:34.

all, let me caution the honourable Lady against believing everything

:29:35.:29:36.

she reads in the daily mail. LAUGHTER

:29:37.:29:43.

Secondly, let me... Let me make it very clear that we are not going to

:29:44.:29:50.

be planning and deployment as reported in that newspaper. Thirdly,

:29:51.:29:53.

let me make it clear I'm always prepared to answer questions in this

:29:54.:29:56.

house, which I am indeed doing at the moment. And thirdly, the written

:29:57.:30:01.

answer that I tabled today makes it very clear the circumstances in

:30:02.:30:05.

which we will, of course, come back to Parliament for its approval. But

:30:06.:30:11.

I should also emphasise that the Prime Minister and I have to take

:30:12.:30:14.

decisions about the deployment of ships and planes and troops and that

:30:15.:30:19.

we do not want, as Daesh will understand, to be artificially

:30:20.:30:24.

constrained in action to keep this country safe. Hear, hear!

:30:25.:30:27.

We will keep Parliament in form and we will, of course, is against birth

:30:28.:30:34.

damn -- to get approval before deploying -- seek its approval

:30:35.:30:41.

before deploying British forces. Question number six, Mr Speaker.

:30:42.:30:48.

Nato remains the cornerstone of our defence, but the European Union has

:30:49.:30:51.

an important company to reroll in addressing and managing

:30:52.:30:53.

international crises, especially when Nato cannot or chooses not to

:30:54.:30:59.

act. Our response to the complex security threats we face require us

:31:00.:31:06.

a united comprehensive approach to including the European Union's

:31:07.:31:09.

diplomatic humanitarian and economic levers. Hear, hear!

:31:10.:31:16.

Mr Speaker, our most important defence includes a certain US

:31:17.:31:21.

president will visit this week, have recognised that the leadership and

:31:22.:31:24.

membership of the US vital for Britain's national security. Hear,

:31:25.:31:26.

hear! And our place in the world, so what

:31:27.:31:30.

assessment has he made and the implications of leaving BEA on our

:31:31.:31:34.

transatlantic alliance and for our national events? -- leaving BEA. I

:31:35.:31:44.

can't think of one ally, other than the United States, I can't become

:31:45.:31:47.

one that thinks the world would be safer or that we will be safer if we

:31:48.:31:51.

left the European Union. Let me be clear, our central defence rests

:31:52.:31:59.

upon our membership of Nato. But there are things that the European

:32:00.:32:02.

Union can add to that, not least, for example, in the recent action

:32:03.:32:07.

taken against Russia by the European Union, after its annexation of

:32:08.:32:11.

Crimea and its interference in eastern Ukraine, it was the European

:32:12.:32:15.

Union that was able to apply economic sanctions, something Nato

:32:16.:32:20.

cannot do. Hear, hear! President Obama is indeed visiting

:32:21.:32:23.

the country later this week. Nobody doubts for a second the total

:32:24.:32:28.

commitment of the United States to Nato. Nobody claims for a second

:32:29.:32:33.

that just because the United States is not in BEA it is any less

:32:34.:32:38.

committed to national defence to Nato or anything else -- not in the

:32:39.:32:43.

DU. Indeed the United States would not surrender a jot of its

:32:44.:32:46.

sovereignty. The fact is our security depends on the excel, it

:32:47.:32:50.

does not depend on EU and if we leave the EU we will be just as safe

:32:51.:32:54.

then as we are now. Hear, hear! Honourable friend and I, although I

:32:55.:33:00.

think have been friends for many years, we differ on this particular

:33:01.:33:04.

matter. Let's be clear, let us be very clear... The United States, as

:33:05.:33:11.

we do, shares its sovereignty by its membership of Nato. By being

:33:12.:33:17.

prepared to come to the aid of other Nato members to the obligations of

:33:18.:33:22.

Article five. There are many international ways in which we

:33:23.:33:26.

decide to share our sovereignty for the common good and also for the

:33:27.:33:34.

better security of our country. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Does the

:33:35.:33:37.

Secretary of State recognised the enormous value of EU membership to

:33:38.:33:46.

our defence industry? LAUGHTER Recently, Jordan 70% of countries

:33:47.:33:54.

want Britain to remain in DU -- saw that. Does he agree with me that to

:33:55.:33:59.

European funded in particular sector development is critical for British

:34:00.:34:04.

defence companies to maintain a leading edge in the global market?

:34:05.:34:10.

Well, I do agree with much of that. We just heard, Mr Speaker, earlier

:34:11.:34:14.

this afternoon of the success of the typhoon sales to Kuwait, a European

:34:15.:34:21.

consortium put together with four different European countries.

:34:22.:34:26.

Successfully selling and aircraft now to eight separate nations. There

:34:27.:34:31.

are ways in which projects and programmes are of such a scale that

:34:32.:34:37.

the European collaboration is only beneficial. Should this country

:34:38.:34:43.

decide to leave the European Union, my right honourable friend undertake

:34:44.:34:48.

to use his best endeavors to secure as much of the ?10 billion a year we

:34:49.:34:51.

would save to boost the defence budget? Hear, hear!

:34:52.:34:55.

LAUGHTER I don't anticipate this country

:34:56.:35:00.

actually taking such a dramatic step, let me repeat again, I don't

:35:01.:35:05.

know any of my defence minister colleagues around the world who

:35:06.:35:09.

would like this country suddenly to start leaving the international

:35:10.:35:13.

alliances and partnerships that it's entered, so I don't think the money

:35:14.:35:16.

that my honourable friend thinks might be available will be. Number

:35:17.:35:28.

eight, the Minister at the box. My right honourable friend the

:35:29.:35:30.

Secretary of State has our he indicated earlier that the nuclear

:35:31.:35:35.

deterrent is at the apex of the UK's full-spectrum of defence capability.

:35:36.:35:39.

The UK's defence nuclear enterprise is gearing up to deliver the

:35:40.:35:42.

successor to be vanguard class submarines. Last month we announced

:35:43.:35:47.

a further ?642 million of preparatory work ahead of the

:35:48.:35:50.

investor decision for this programme. This investment in

:35:51.:35:55.

successive summer will not only help to Britain safe but will support

:35:56.:35:59.

over 30,000 jobs across the UK. Thank you, Mr Speaker. With Russia

:36:00.:36:04.

openly menacing our allies and at the same time we are on because of a

:36:05.:36:09.

security of the greatest sacrifices ever made by our armed forces

:36:10.:36:14.

defending this country, would it not be both foolish and totally

:36:15.:36:17.

inappropriate for us no longer to be prepared to make relatively so small

:36:18.:36:20.

and financial sacrifice to maintain the on asset that can Duricic --

:36:21.:36:23.

guarantee the freedom of this country. I think my honourable

:36:24.:36:30.

friend is absolutely right. As the Secretary of State has indicated in

:36:31.:36:33.

his speech on nuclear deterrence before Easter, we do have both a

:36:34.:36:37.

political and a moral responsibility to protect our people and allies.

:36:38.:36:42.

The nuclear deterrent is a sign to Nato and, as a leading member of

:36:43.:36:45.

Nato, we cannot and should not outsource our commitments to others.

:36:46.:36:48.

There has been a broad political consensus for it decades in this

:36:49.:36:53.

house, on this need to maintain the UK's independence strategic

:36:54.:36:57.

deterrence. We are clear on this side of the House where we stand.

:36:58.:37:01.

This remains the official policy of her majesties official opposition,

:37:02.:37:06.

and it is in our view, there is possible that the honourable Lady

:37:07.:37:08.

and her leader appear determined to put the ultimate security of our

:37:09.:37:17.

nation at risk. LAUGHTER Thank you. The Minister and indeed

:37:18.:37:21.

earlier the Secretary of State referred to belong held -- the

:37:22.:37:27.

long-held and well-known views of the Leader of the Opposition on this

:37:28.:37:30.

issue. The people who will put this resolution to the House on the

:37:31.:37:34.

Secretary of State and the Prime Minister. Given that there is

:37:35.:37:39.

overwhelming support for the renewal, from the Ministry of

:37:40.:37:42.

defence, from the forces, from industry, from the workforce, and

:37:43.:37:46.

there is a majority in this house, will be get the message through to

:37:47.:37:52.

dinner and a fair number ten stop playing party politics with this

:37:53.:37:55.

issue of national security, but people here in this house? Hear,

:37:56.:38:00.

hear! I think the honourable gentleman who

:38:01.:38:03.

speaks with some knowledge on these matters, has been a strong

:38:04.:38:07.

indication to the House that there will be a broad measure of support,

:38:08.:38:11.

which we thoroughly welcome. I will offer the Prime Minister his advice.

:38:12.:38:17.

Mr Speaker, two weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting Rolls-Royce

:38:18.:38:22.

appealed Road in Bristol. I met with apprentices and workers of the

:38:23.:38:26.

defence aerospace operations and turbines manufacturing facility. I

:38:27.:38:29.

witnessed important work Rolls-Royce is doing around the country for

:38:30.:38:33.

manufacturing nuclear engines and servicing the vessels. Does the

:38:34.:38:36.

Minister agree that tried it stands to benefit the economy by voting for

:38:37.:38:41.

the many jobs it will create gastritis? I think my honourable

:38:42.:38:46.

friend for highlighting that the fact that this programme will not

:38:47.:38:51.

just benefit those folk working for Rolls-Royce in the various parts

:38:52.:38:54.

particularly around Derby, but all of the employees will be a system to

:38:55.:39:01.

the contractor, but it will benefit countries and gas companies and

:39:02.:39:02.

constituencies right across this country, including his own. -- it

:39:03.:39:10.

will benefit companies. What's we will always investigate serious

:39:11.:39:13.

allegations of wrongdoing, we are committing -- committed to and ...

:39:14.:39:22.

Opportunist investigation to our armed Forces. Prime Minister chaired

:39:23.:39:28.

a national Security Council meeting on this subject in February looking

:39:29.:39:31.

at a range of options which we had developed and taxed my honourable

:39:32.:39:34.

friend, the Minister for human rights and myself, to bring forward

:39:35.:39:39.

a comprehensive package to address the problem. We expect to make

:39:40.:39:42.

announcements very shortly. Thank you. Two weeks ago I'm a justice

:39:43.:39:47.

said that the public interest lawyers showed "A serious failure to

:39:48.:39:54.

observe essential ethical standards when they claim that British

:39:55.:39:58.

soldiers were as possible for the death of a child close call. Does he

:39:59.:40:03.

agree that this is the latest example of the hounding of our

:40:04.:40:06.

forces, something that we committed to clamp down on in our manifesto,

:40:07.:40:09.

and this must not be investigated? Hear, hear!

:40:10.:40:13.

I do agree with my honourable friend. It's right that public

:40:14.:40:16.

interest lawyers have been referred to the solicitors disciplinary

:40:17.:40:21.

tribunal, the Justice criticised them for failing to take action when

:40:22.:40:25.

they discovered inconsistencies between their payments accounts and

:40:26.:40:30.

mowers, Windows inconsistencies were pointed out to them the fact that

:40:31.:40:37.

they ignored them and continued. In his words nor as possible lawyer

:40:38.:40:39.

conscious of their duties to the client and the court would have felt

:40:40.:40:42.

able to advance that original allegation. Would it have not helped

:40:43.:40:48.

to deter future legal cases against soldiers in the House red the

:40:49.:40:51.

remarkable speech made last Thursday in this house by the Member for...

:40:52.:41:00.

Who said from his position as a formal soldier and journalist that

:41:01.:41:05.

many untruths by ministers, civil servants, and an military resulted

:41:06.:41:08.

in grave errors in the war in Afghanistan. Where can we start a

:41:09.:41:12.

full inquiry into the reasons we went into Helmand? I know the

:41:13.:41:18.

honourable gentleman cares passionately about these issues and

:41:19.:41:21.

I would point him to the number of investigations which have gone on

:41:22.:41:26.

him above produced very lengthy investigation by the Ministry of

:41:27.:41:29.

defence, but also committees of this house that have looked into

:41:30.:41:34.

Afghanistan and am in particular, Helmand in 2006. I think what is

:41:35.:41:39.

important is that we might be lessons from those inquiries and I

:41:40.:41:42.

hope that he will be able to see from operations today, particular,

:41:43.:41:47.

that we are acting on those lessons learned. Number 12, sir. Mr Speaker,

:41:48.:41:54.

the UK is proud to be one of five Nato countries who meet the 2% of

:41:55.:41:59.

GDP spending on defence commitment. Since the defence investment pledge

:42:00.:42:02.

was made at the Wales Summit in 2014, progress has been made with 16

:42:03.:42:07.

allies increasing the defence spending in real terms and 24 allies

:42:08.:42:12.

now spending more of their defence budgets on equipment. As it happens,

:42:13.:42:16.

the leadership role which the UK is headed given within Nato on this

:42:17.:42:19.

issue was warmly welcomed once again by the US to be the -- Deputy

:42:20.:42:25.

defence Secretary. I had discussions with them last Friday. What signal

:42:26.:42:30.

would it send to our Nato governments and our Verza reads

:42:31.:42:33.

ahead of the Brussels summit if the government took the advice of some

:42:34.:42:37.

in this house and failed to commit to spend 2% of GDP on defence? --

:42:38.:42:42.

Warsaw Summit. What my honourable friend update the House on the Libya

:42:43.:42:49.

and wider Middle East situation? I'm not sure that the Speaker will give

:42:50.:42:53.

me enough time to answer both of those issues. I will work as on the

:42:54.:42:57.

first of five May. The Secretary-General was here last week

:42:58.:43:01.

and he praised the United Kingdom for our leadership on defence

:43:02.:43:03.

spending and our contribution to Nato. I the Nato summit in Warsaw in

:43:04.:43:09.

July, we expect to see further progress on the part of our allies

:43:10.:43:12.

and working to meet Nato's 2% guideline, but my contrast the

:43:13.:43:16.

deafening failure to match this commitment by the party opposite

:43:17.:43:19.

sense precisely the wrong message but to our allies and even worse, to

:43:20.:43:26.

our anniversaries. Mr Speaker, the Minister has made much of this 2%.

:43:27.:43:29.

2% in the United Kingdom is quite different from a measurement of 2%

:43:30.:43:35.

of the Nato allies. This process of self assessment, does the Minister

:43:36.:43:39.

not agree that it has profound applications that applied his method

:43:40.:43:43.

of tabulation of GDP expenditure in the militaries? I've already

:43:44.:43:49.

indicated earlier this afternoon that there is Nato who makes the

:43:50.:43:53.

definition and Nato assesses the contributions that are made by each

:43:54.:43:58.

member nation to their return. So it is not for the United Kingdom to

:43:59.:44:02.

make that determination, it is Nato. Number 13, Mr Speaker. In the recent

:44:03.:44:12.

SDSR, Minister defends agree a new strategic objective of country

:44:13.:44:15.

beating to the nation's prosperity. We do that in many ways, not least

:44:16.:44:19.

by spending some ?20 billion a year with industry, around half of which

:44:20.:44:23.

is in the manufacturing sector and some were billion pounds with SMEs.

:44:24.:44:28.

Could the Minister tell the House just how much his department has

:44:29.:44:32.

saved by buying cheap steel from Sweden? Does he think that in any

:44:33.:44:35.

way it offsets a devastating impact on our steel industry? I'm in a

:44:36.:44:44.

position to update the House in relation to the steel component of

:44:45.:44:49.

the aircraft carrier contract, much the largest defence procurement

:44:50.:44:54.

contract where, of the structural steel, some 95,000 tonnes have been

:44:55.:45:02.

procured from UK steel mills over the period of that contract. Mr

:45:03.:45:09.

Speaker, can the Minister confirm that United Kingdom works very

:45:10.:45:11.

closely with countries like Pakistan on defence procurement. Will he join

:45:12.:45:16.

me in welcoming the former Minister of Pakistan who sits in welcoming

:45:17.:45:18.

the former minister of Pakistan's music to the public Valerie at the

:45:19.:45:22.

top? -- who sits in the public gallery. Currently he ought to know

:45:23.:45:29.

and second, it's wide of the question. Mr Stephan Phillips. Mr

:45:30.:45:36.

Phillips is here, splendid! LAUGHTER How could I've thought otherwise for

:45:37.:45:40.

moment with Mac only that the honourable gentleman has eliminated

:45:41.:45:45.

to a different position in the chamber -- has moved to the

:45:46.:45:48.

different position and the timbre. LAUGHTER

:45:49.:45:52.

Very well there. Thank you, my department is committed to improving

:45:53.:45:57.

the quality of service and the accommodation provided to our

:45:58.:45:59.

service personnel and their families who have been working closely to

:46:00.:46:04.

deliver these improvements. Works to improve accommodation has resulted

:46:05.:46:08.

in the upgrading of some 3000 homes to complete refurbishment of the

:46:09.:46:09.

separate installation of around 10,000 new kitchens, baths perms,

:46:10.:46:15.

and central heating systems -- bathrobes. I will be short which may

:46:16.:46:19.

be why you didn't see me earlier. LAUGHTER

:46:20.:46:26.

Service housing is absolutely critical, Knowle to the well-being

:46:27.:46:29.

of our servicemen and women and their families, but also to their

:46:30.:46:34.

morale. Brilliant Amy has been an appalling contractor and of

:46:35.:46:36.

department has taken this issue seriously. Cannot hurt -- encourage

:46:37.:46:41.

my honourable friend to continue to be robust and take the contract away

:46:42.:46:45.

from them but less and until they start to discharge their operations

:46:46.:46:50.

properly? My honourable friend is absolutely right to highlight the

:46:51.:46:55.

poor performance of Karelian game to date. I am determined as indeed the

:46:56.:46:58.

Secretary of State is, to improve this matter which is why we will

:46:59.:47:04.

continue to work closely with brilliant Amy. I can assure my

:47:05.:47:09.

honourable friend that CarillionAmey has committed to me all the key

:47:10.:47:12.

performance indicators across state contracts including the national

:47:13.:47:20.

housing by the end of May 2000 16. Question number one please, Mr

:47:21.:47:25.

Speaker. My priorities are main success in our operations against

:47:26.:47:28.

biased and implementing our SDSR commitments. This month the defence

:47:29.:47:32.

budget increases for the first time in six years and will increase in

:47:33.:47:36.

every year of this Parliament. Our choice to spend more on stronger

:47:37.:47:42.

defence will help keep us safe. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Secretary

:47:43.:47:46.

of State will know about the worrying number of cancers and

:47:47.:47:49.

terminal illnesses reported amongst groups of personnel working in

:47:50.:47:54.

Scotland in the 1980s and 90s, who worked in a toxic soup of chemicals.

:47:55.:48:01.

He will know of the distressing inconsistencies and financial

:48:02.:48:04.

support for those affected. Can he confirm that the government -- the

:48:05.:48:07.

government scare to properly investigate in this and to

:48:08.:48:12.

compensate victims fairly? Hear, hear!

:48:13.:48:17.

Yes, when a veteran considers that their service is led to an illness

:48:18.:48:21.

or injury, they are entitled to make a claim for compensation through our

:48:22.:48:25.

legal claims department. Or to apply enhancements to their pensions. Let

:48:26.:48:29.

me assure the honourable member that the veterans welfare service will

:48:30.:48:33.

listen and will provide all necessary support. Last week the

:48:34.:48:38.

parliamentary undersecretary responded to a debate in Westminster

:48:39.:48:44.

by our honourable friend, the Member for a Mr, about air Cadet training

:48:45.:48:54.

facilities. 1312 training Cadet unit used up the facilities for gliding

:48:55.:49:02.

that about my honourable friend... Will he make sure those facilities

:49:03.:49:04.

are still made available to our cadets? Wethersfield, the facility

:49:05.:49:13.

you are referring to, has been identified for disposal on the new

:49:14.:49:18.

site as yet to be selected, but I can reassure my honourable friend

:49:19.:49:21.

that we are strongly committed to gliding and 614 volunteer gliding

:49:22.:49:26.

goblin, will be expanding into its new role as a regional hub. Our

:49:27.:49:32.

immediate priority is to get cadets that flying again. Starting in and

:49:33.:49:38.

this year it should be a fully delivered by 2018. Those injured in

:49:39.:49:47.

the course of their duties should receive the financial support they

:49:48.:49:51.

need, but currently the value of compensation payments is being

:49:52.:49:55.

eroded by a comparative third under the armed Forces compensation

:49:56.:50:01.

schemes income payments and the war disablement pensions supplement.

:50:02.:50:04.

Applying the triple lock to military compensation payments will ensure

:50:05.:50:07.

that the higher of earnings, inflation or two and a half percent

:50:08.:50:12.

is paid. When would the government take everyday is to review the

:50:13.:50:14.

statements and make some of the impacts of the real terms from the

:50:15.:50:21.

current system -- 2.5%. We always keep our payment systems under

:50:22.:50:24.

review and of course the honourable Lady will be aware that in the

:50:25.:50:27.

recent budget the Chancellor decided that the were the first time the

:50:28.:50:30.

payments under the war pensions scheme would be set aside for care

:50:31.:50:35.

costs. These of these positive measures that we do keep under

:50:36.:50:40.

review in support of our veterans. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Does my

:50:41.:50:43.

honourable friend agree that to wade's decision to buy 28 world

:50:44.:50:49.

beating typhoons is testing to the skill of the PAD workforce, many of

:50:50.:50:55.

whom live in my constituency -- Kuwait. We welcome wholeheartedly

:50:56.:51:01.

this month's contract signed by the Kuwait for the Typhoon aircraft.

:51:02.:51:07.

Record to become the eighth country to select the euro fighter Typhoon

:51:08.:51:10.

and the third in the Gulf. It is positive for our bilateral defence

:51:11.:51:15.

relationship and for jobs across the British aerospace and defence

:51:16.:51:17.

industry, including the thousands employed by BEA systems at Wharton

:51:18.:51:23.

in Lancaster, many of her constituents, it is excellent news

:51:24.:51:27.

for the House right across the UK. Following the Foreign Secretary's

:51:28.:51:30.

statement that we stand to provide further assist Ms. Bass assistance

:51:31.:51:34.

to Libya and its people, can the Secretary of State confirm what kind

:51:35.:51:37.

of assistance the UK would be willing to provide and how much

:51:38.:51:40.

notice this house would have before a vote on military action in Libya?

:51:41.:51:45.

I've made it clear that we are waiting to hear from the Prime

:51:46.:51:49.

Minister and the new government, which has only just been established

:51:50.:51:53.

in the last few days. What kind of assistance they want, whether it is

:51:54.:51:57.

training or other support. So far as I noticed that a notice to this

:51:58.:52:03.

house is concerned, Ira Pete, there is no plan at the moment to deploy

:52:04.:52:09.

British troops and any kind of combat role and if there was such a

:52:10.:52:15.

plan in a conflict zone anywhere in the world we would come to this

:52:16.:52:20.

house first -- I repeat. Those particularly nasty force of Daesh

:52:21.:52:25.

has ceased territory at the top of a valley in Lebanon. Can my right

:52:26.:52:28.

honourable friend assure the House that the British Government is doing

:52:29.:52:31.

everything it can to support the government of Lebanon in tackling

:52:32.:52:34.

this particularly nasty group of people who are inflicting misery on

:52:35.:52:39.

local people? Yes, I discussed with the Lebanese defence minister last

:52:40.:52:46.

week the threat they faced and the importance of Lebanon's security. We

:52:47.:52:50.

have recently committed to spending a further ?23 million on equipment,

:52:51.:52:54.

mentoring and training to help the Lebanese Armed Forces to secure

:52:55.:52:58.

their entire border with Syria. We plan to spend an additional four and

:52:59.:53:02.

a half million on operations training so that by 2019 some 20,000

:53:03.:53:09.

Lebanese soldiers will have received British training -- spend an

:53:10.:53:17.

additional 4.5 million. Making sure the very high percentage of UK steel

:53:18.:53:22.

is used in defence and particular will he say that these steps moving

:53:23.:53:30.

forward... Will help UK steel to do any successive Trident submarines? I

:53:31.:53:37.

can assure the honourable gentleman that the government as a whole is

:53:38.:53:41.

committed to supporting the UK steel industry and the Ministry of defence

:53:42.:53:45.

Department have the policy guidance to the contractors to address

:53:46.:53:49.

barriers to be open market. I am working closely with our contractors

:53:50.:53:51.

to make sure that they support this new policy. In relation to the

:53:52.:53:57.

submarine contracts as and when they are placed, there are some special

:53:58.:54:02.

steels were the United Kingdom suppliers have a very important role

:54:03.:54:06.

to play. There are some others where we don't at present have many

:54:07.:54:10.

factors capable of supplying in the UK, so it's a balance. Is the

:54:11.:54:15.

Secretary of State aware that the standard of food for military and

:54:16.:54:19.

HMS and other similar naval establishment has become the source

:54:20.:54:23.

of so many complaints that service personnel have been banned from

:54:24.:54:28.

taking photographs on social media to critique it? What does he do to

:54:29.:54:31.

make sure that our service men and women are properly taken care of in

:54:32.:54:37.

a basic areas such as food. Corn mills covering breakfast lunch and

:54:38.:54:43.

dinner, nutritional standards, including unlimited access to

:54:44.:54:46.

carbohydrates and vegetables. I have experienced food which our armed

:54:47.:54:52.

forces personnel have. Personally I got eight experience, however the

:54:53.:54:58.

normal process is to be a complaint down the chain of command, but I

:54:59.:55:01.

will be more than happy to look into it for my honourable friend. Mr

:55:02.:55:05.

Speaker, ministers this afternoon have member markedly coy about the

:55:06.:55:11.

timing of the decision for the Trident successor programme. I

:55:12.:55:14.

understand the point about that, but can the Minister helped the House by

:55:15.:55:21.

giving an indication of whether or not we are likely to get a verdict

:55:22.:55:26.

after the 24th of June and before the House rises for the summer

:55:27.:55:30.

recess on the 21st of July? I hope we will have an early debate and

:55:31.:55:38.

vote on the principle of supporting the replacement of power for

:55:39.:55:41.

existing submarines. I should explain to the honourable lady that

:55:42.:55:44.

this will not be on the main gate decision because there is not one

:55:45.:55:48.

main gate decision, we are obviously negotiating with our suppliers for

:55:49.:55:55.

four separate submarines. The Secretary of State is a suave and

:55:56.:55:59.

polished by the mystery performer. Hear, hear!

:56:00.:56:04.

Which is why the defence select committee would like to see a little

:56:05.:56:09.

bit more of him and why it's doubly disappointing that, despite trying

:56:10.:56:12.

since the beginning of March to agree with his private office, to

:56:13.:56:19.

our slots before the end of May, so far we have only achieved one and

:56:20.:56:22.

the offer of a second which happens to be our local bans on local

:56:23.:56:26.

government election day, that's far from ideal. With economy have an

:56:27.:56:31.

idea with his private office and asked them to extract their

:56:32.:56:35.

proverbial digit... LAUGHTER And thus avoid our two quite

:56:36.:56:40.

important inquiries on the Middle East and on Russia being either

:56:41.:56:43.

delayed or having to be written without his valuable input?

:56:44.:56:49.

I always enjoyed my appearances before my honourable friend and his

:56:50.:56:57.

colleagues on the select committee. It is sometimes not always easy to

:56:58.:57:05.

reconcile their offers with some of my international travel commitments

:57:06.:57:07.

by I will certainly today have a look at them. They seem like busy

:57:08.:57:14.

man with many commitments and a full diary but House committees are very

:57:15.:57:17.

important and I'm sure the Secretary of State will not forget that. Get

:57:18.:57:26.

it sorted, man. Hawks are built at my constituency and promote the best

:57:27.:57:30.

of British, so I wonder if there are plans to procure new plans for the

:57:31.:57:38.

red arrows? I recently announced a new support contract for the Hawk

:57:39.:57:42.

aircraft which takes it out to November 2020 and we have time to

:57:43.:57:48.

decide how to sustain them beyond that. What I would like to say

:57:49.:57:53.

though is that the red arrows are due to commence a substantial

:57:54.:57:56.

programme of displays in this country and overseas this summer and

:57:57.:57:59.

I hope many members of the House have an opportunity to watch them.

:58:00.:58:07.

100 years ago, my constituency was established as a centre to deal with

:58:08.:58:13.

nerve gas attacks. They continue to do a fantastic job tackling the

:58:14.:58:17.

grave threats we face in this country from Daesh. Following the

:58:18.:58:22.

visits of the Secretary of State and other ministers, what reflections

:58:23.:58:28.

would they have on the continuing role of DSTL in my constituency?

:58:29.:58:34.

DSTL is meant to defend our nation and forces against a wide range of

:58:35.:58:37.

threats, it is just as crucial today as it was 100 years ago. We will

:58:38.:58:42.

continue to invest in science and technology to stay ahead of our

:58:43.:58:45.

adversaries and I would like to congratulate all of our staff there

:58:46.:58:53.

and in my own constituency on reaching this milestone and for the

:58:54.:58:56.

remarkable work they do in helping keep our country safe. With both

:58:57.:59:03.

existing and potential success of programme in mind along with tried

:59:04.:59:07.

and, what measures have this department taken to identify on

:59:08.:59:15.

exported -- unexplored ordinance? The department takes a safety of our

:59:16.:59:21.

nuclear fleet at the highest possible level, so there are

:59:22.:59:26.

continuous attempts to ensure that any potential threat to our

:59:27.:59:30.

submarines are monitored. If the honourable gentleman has something

:59:31.:59:33.

specific you'd like to draw to our attention, he should do so and I

:59:34.:59:36.

would be happy to meet to discuss it. Tata steel develop new types of

:59:37.:59:45.

steel for our aircraft carriers. Can my outer friend ensure that British

:59:46.:59:48.

steel manufacturers continue to innovate and deliver for the Royal

:59:49.:59:56.

Navy? I am grateful to my honourable friend for highlighting the success

:59:57.:00:01.

of Tata Steel in supplying to the aircraft carrier. There are other

:00:02.:00:04.

grades and types of steel, which are not presently available in this

:00:05.:00:08.

country, and we would certainly be able to talk to the ministry about

:00:09.:00:11.

what steps they can take to make such types available. The Army

:00:12.:00:21.

reserve in my constituency... They are being in correspondence with the

:00:22.:00:26.

Minister and have yet heard a response from rumours he had to be

:00:27.:00:29.

confirmed or consulted with the wider community about its imminent

:00:30.:00:32.

closure, can I have a response please, Minister? I am grateful to

:00:33.:00:40.

the honourable Lady for her letters on this. We have also had a word in

:00:41.:00:44.

the margins, we are looking into this matter, we do have a robust

:00:45.:00:52.

system for appeals to this and so far I am unable to offer the

:00:53.:00:55.

honourable lady any comfort but I will come back to her shortly.

:00:56.:01:00.

Further to the question I asked by my honourable friend, the 1206

:01:01.:01:05.

training squadron in Litchfield is one of the biggest in the West

:01:06.:01:08.

Midlands but it too has been suffering from the lack of glider

:01:09.:01:11.

training position. What hope can you give my friends and core members

:01:12.:01:20.

that their training will be resumed? I am delighted to be able to answer

:01:21.:01:26.

a question from the distinguished president of that squadron.

:01:27.:01:32.

LAUGHTER Two years ago, nearly two years ago, all had to be disbanded

:01:33.:01:38.

for safety reasons. We have been unable to find a contractor who can

:01:39.:01:42.

credibly take on the repair of the vigilance, but the Vikings are all

:01:43.:01:46.

on their way up, together with a small number of vigilance. By 2018,

:01:47.:01:52.

we will be delivering a full programme of colliding with an

:01:53.:01:58.

enhanced level of powered flying with more tutors in starting this

:01:59.:02:07.

year. Some 5000 service personnel serving overseas, they want to have

:02:08.:02:09.

postal votes. They've applied for that and tell me that their votes

:02:10.:02:17.

are sent to the regiment, to those overseas, that they are

:02:18.:02:19.

disenfranchised. And I asked the ministers question. What is he doing

:02:20.:02:22.

to ensure that these votes are given to those overseas who wish to vote?

:02:23.:02:31.

We actively partook in the governmentwide scheme which is lost

:02:32.:02:34.

on the February -- 1st of February to ensure our service personnel were

:02:35.:02:37.

aware that they could register. We will be doing the same again through

:02:38.:02:43.

issuing a defence information notice in me with the regards to the EU

:02:44.:02:46.

Referendum, but it is ultimately down to individual service, and

:02:47.:02:51.

whether they do or do like her register or vote. Could I ask my

:02:52.:02:56.

right honourable friend or perhaps the Minister of state, the

:02:57.:03:01.

honourable and very gallant lady,... LAUGHTER Gallon because she is in

:03:02.:03:12.

the Royal Navy reserve. Could I ask whether they could assure the House

:03:13.:03:19.

that no investigator used by either public interest lawyers is paid for

:03:20.:03:24.

for any service by the Ministry of defence? I can give that assurance.

:03:25.:03:33.

Although the Ministry of defence does not direct the investigations

:03:34.:03:42.

of them, it is responsible to ensure public money is being spent well and

:03:43.:03:48.

efficiently. Although we can clearly justify investigations into

:03:49.:03:53.

wrongdoing and investigations that exonerate our armed forces, we

:03:54.:03:56.

cannot justify spending money on processes which frustrate those

:03:57.:04:02.

processes and we have given very clear ministerial direction that

:04:03.:04:05.

those agents are not to be paid with public money and we have received

:04:06.:04:09.

assurances that that is the case. I am sorry it demand exceeds supply

:04:10.:04:14.

but we must now move on. Urgent question. Heidi Alexander. If you

:04:15.:04:27.

will make a statement on the imposition of a new

:04:28.:04:29.

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