Contributions
1,619 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDArmed Forces: Troop LevelsI pay tribute to the noble Baroness’s support of the Royal Navy; it is a very welcome contribution. We know anecdotally that the pay increase awarded to the Armed Forces has been…21 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Troop LevelsMy Lords, defence is committed to remaining a leading contributor to NATO. Our approach and force development are aligned to NATO’s strategic concept and force requirements. We…21 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Troop LevelsWhen I refer to “whole force”, I am referring to the holistic contribution to our capability from our three Armed Forces and all our other ancillary areas of support. I think the…21 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Troop LevelsFirst, I do pay tribute to the very distinguished contributions that Sikhs have made in our British military history. In relation to the Armed Forces across the piece, we are…21 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportIt depends upon which glass we look through; clearly, the noble Lord is looking through a rather half-empty glass, and the facts rather refute his gloomy assessment. In fact, the…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportMy Lords, we do not accept the premise of the noble Lord’s question. Defence offers substantial support to our Armed Forces, which includes freezes to daily food charges, free…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportYes, I can confirm to my noble friend that that initiative is under way. I do not have specific information about the extent to which sales have taken place, but I undertake to…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportI would say to the noble Lord that the recent pay award has been very positively received, but that is not the sole reason why people go into the Armed Forces. I agree with him…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportI would just say to the noble Baroness that 97% of MoD service family accommodation meets or exceeds the Government’s decent homes standard, and only these properties should be…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportThe noble and gallant Lord might be surprised to find that I am largely in agreement with his opinion. This is a long-standing arrangement; as he will be aware, it became the…18 Sept 2023HANSARDVeterans Advisory and Pensions Committees BillMy Lords, I thank all noble Lords for supporting this important piece of legislation. It will enhance the statutory footing of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees. It…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportI am grateful to the noble Lord. Let us take the example of service families’ accommodation and look at that investment. Some £337 million was invested there in the financial…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportAs a number of your Lordships have indicated, it is important to make clear how we value what we ask our Armed Forces personnel to do across the piece, whether it is pay,…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed Forces: Remuneration, Housing and Family SupportYes. I agree with my noble friend that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is an important component of our support. I do not have any details on her specific request, but I will certainly…18 Sept 2023HANSARDArmed ForcesMy Lords, if I may say, perhaps unusually, for a very fine debate, that was a very fine closing speech. We have had an enlivening and, perhaps more importantly, enlightening…07 Sept 2023HANSARDVeterans Advisory and Pensions Committees BillMy Lords, I thank the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, for his contribution and for explaining his reasons for tabling an amendment to this Bill. His interest is…05 Sept 2023HANSARDMilitary Vehicles: RepairI shall mildly rebuke the noble Lord, as I think that the former Secretary of State for Defence did a very good job, not quite a good job. The issue to which he refers is one that…04 Sept 2023HANSARDMilitary Vehicles: RepairMy Lords, the Ministry of Defence considers all available options when disposing of military vehicles which are no longer required. Vehicles which are assessed as being beyond…04 Sept 2023HANSARDMilitary Vehicles: RepairInteroperability is vital, particularly in an age when we see our MoD capability increasingly being used in alliance and perhaps less frequently on our own sovereign account. My…04 Sept 2023HANSARDMilitary Vehicles: RepairOn Ajax, as the noble Lord is aware, a corner has been turned, thankfully, and good progress is being made. On the Challenger tanks, the noble Lord will be aware of the upgrading…04 Sept 2023