Contributions
413 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWarship ConstructionIn December 2018, the Department announced the award of three competitive design phase contracts for the Type 31e frigate programme. It remains our intention to award a single…18 Feb 2019HANSARDArmed Forces PersonnelI am confident that at the end of this Parliament, assuming that that is 2022, the trained strength of the Army will be higher than it is now.18 Feb 2019HANSARDAircraft Carriers: Phalanx WeaponsMy right hon. Friend is, of course, right in his assessment that three Phalanx systems offer a 360° capability, and that there is scope, potentially, for a fourth. We have the…18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is right to champion this issue. Over the past year, we have held a number of medical symposiums in which we have been looking very carefully at what medical…18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and I am delighted that we are committed to buying nine new P-8 aircraft, which will be arriving from next year. Because of the work…18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave a few moments ago.18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI feel this is a monthly exchange between the hon. Gentleman and me. All I can do is refer him to the answers I gave earlier in this session. The visible signs of progress are now…18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe pilot training programme has remained unchanged for many years. That is why we are looking at a complete review of the system, which will speed up the process and should…18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI started my military career in the Brigade of Gurkhas, so I declare an interest in that I am biased for obvious reasons. My hon. Friend’s question is timely. We recruit once a…18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI refer my hon. Friend to the Royal Air Force advert that aired this week, which almost exclusively featured women, as a clear demonstration that not a single role in the RAF, or,…18 Feb 2019HANSARDDefence Procurement: UK ProsperityThe hon. Gentleman seems to have a crystal ball—I simply do not—to see exactly what the situation will be post 29 March.18 Feb 2019HANSARDDefence Procurement: UK ProsperityThe one thing we are clear about is that we are constrained in that process because the fleet solid support ships are not warships; they are not frigates, destroyers or indeed…18 Feb 2019HANSARDDefence Procurement: UK ProsperitySince 2015, we have published a national shipbuilding strategy, refreshed defence industrial policy to help strengthen UK competitiveness and launched the future combat air…18 Feb 2019HANSARDDefence Procurement: UK ProsperityMy hon. Friend is absolutely right, and he is also absolutely right to cite his constituency company as a fine example of how we can continue to compete on the world stage.18 Feb 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsNo, I do not, and, crucially, I sense that there is no appetite within the armed forces for such a body.18 Feb 2019HANSARDAircraft Carriers: Phalanx WeaponsThree Phalanx close-in weapon systems will be fitted to each new aircraft carrier. Two are being fitted to HMS Queen Elizabeth during her current capability insertion period, with…18 Feb 2019HANSARDArmed Forces PersonnelWith respect to the hon. Lady, she talks about “the Army”. I assume that by that, she actually means the Regular Army—when she talks about 68,000. As far as I am concerned, the…18 Feb 2019HANSARDArmed Forces PersonnelYes, they are. The challenge we face is that while applications are up, the conversion rate is getting better and that will take time to feed through into the strength of the…18 Feb 2019HANSARDArmed Forces PersonnelMy right hon. Friend is entirely consistent in his views on Capita and I respect that. However, I would say that once again the signs are positive. Sandhurst is now 100% full in…18 Feb 2019HANSARDArmed Forces PersonnelThe Army’s new campaign builds on last year’s successful “Belonging” adverts, which, as I said, took recruitment to a five-year high. The early signs are positive. At the moment,…18 Feb 2019