Extracts from Lords debate on Armed Forces: Reserves - June 21
Friday, 22 June 2018 08:29
Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con):...I have the honour of having been
made an honorary vice-admiral. I am attached to HMS “President”. I
go there regularly. Indeed, next week we have a gathering with a
whole number of employers coming along. Most employers have a bit
of a moan and groan along the lines of, “How do I handle this, what
is it going to cost me and how do I replace people?” I had the
honour of running P&O during and after the Falklands War. We
had 100,000 people...Request free trial
(Con):...I have the honour of having been made an honorary
vice-admiral. I am attached to HMS “President”. I go there
regularly. Indeed, next week we have a gathering with a whole
number of employers coming along. Most employers have a bit of a
moan and groan along the lines of, “How do I handle this, what is
it going to cost me and how do I replace people?” I had the honour
of running P&O during and after the Falklands War. We had
100,000 people worldwide and I encouraged them to be part of the
reserve. We had a very large number of reservists, not just in the
Navy but in the Air Force and Army as well...
The
(CB):...At present, it seems that the Navy’s three batch 1
offshore patrol vessels—“Tyne”, “Severn” and “Mersey”—are seen as
surplus to RN requirements with the arrival of their batch 2
successors. The hybrid HMS “Clyde”, currently
the Falkland Islands guardship, may find
a further role. The brand-new HMS “Forth”, which was commissioned
earlier this year, appears to be suffering from so many faults that
she has been taken back in hand by her builders for rectification
work, and her crew transferred to “Tyne”, one of the older class,
which has been reactivated from reserve. Being charitable, this
should prove to be a temporary situation, which will leave the
three older OPVs available for disposal or for future use in
reinforcing our border and fishery security...
(Con):...The
noble Earl, and Orrery, expressed a
particular interest in the matter of offshore patrol vessels. The
Royal Navy is in the process of introducing five new, more capable
offshore patrol vessels intended to replace the original four
deployed in the UK and the Falkland Islands. As part of the review of
the requirement to support maritime security and fisheries
protection post Brexit, we are considering how the Batch 1 offshore
patrol vessels might contribute. They are currently being placed in
extended readiness while this work concludes...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
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