Adjournment debate on Thursday, 7 February 2013, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom. The answering member was Lord Robathan.

Maritime Surveillance

Debate on a Select Committee report. [Relevant documents: Future Maritime Surveillance, Fifth Report of the Defence Committee, HC 110, and the Government Response, HC 827.]

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 558 cc164-194WH
Session: 2012-13
Department: Ministry of Defence
Chamber / Committee: Westminster Hall
Related items: Future maritime surveillance: Government response to the Committee's fifth Report of Session 2012-13. Defence Committee fifth special report.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons
Proceeding contributions: Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c165WH (Link to this contribution)
We are an island. That makes what happens around our coasts of great importance to us. We are a m...; Lord Robathan | 558 c165WH (Link to this contribution)
Quite right!; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 cc165-6WH (Link to this contribution)
No, that was a joke—at least, I think it was. But the cancellation of the project was the one cha...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c166WH (Link to this contribution)
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way and I apologise for being slightly late. May I po...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 cc166-7WH (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman might say that, but as a former Chief Whip, I couldn’t possibly comment.; Bob Russell | 558 c167WH (Link to this contribution)
As the Chair knows, we are holding an inquiry into the consequences to the UK of an independent S...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 cc167-8WH (Link to this contribution)
Maritime surveillance is carried out at the moment in a nationwide fashion. To my mind, it is dif...; Penny Mordaunt | 558 c168WH (Link to this contribution)
Does my right hon. Friend acknowledge that the report found that, though we had concerns over the...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 cc168-9WH (Link to this contribution)
I do acknowledge that. My hon. Friend, whose membership of the Select Committee is extremely help...; Sandra Osborne | 558 cc169-171WH (Link to this contribution)
I, too, welcome the opportunity to take part in this debate. As our Chairman, the right hon. Memb...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c172WH (Link to this contribution)
I entirely confirm what the hon. Lady has just said. The hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) was ...; Sandra Osborne | 558 c172WH (Link to this contribution)
That is entirely true. In the debate in the main Chamber, my hon. Friend referred to a letter tha...; Bob Stewart | 558 cc172-3WH (Link to this contribution)
It is a genuine pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Brady, and I thank our Chairman, my...; Penny Mordaunt | 558 c173WH (Link to this contribution)
Does my hon. Friend agree that, as well as being able to take a more co-ordinated and strategic a...; Bob Stewart | 558 c174WH (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend. I certainly do agree. It is good that we have those bodies, and I may spe...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c174WH (Link to this contribution)
Will my hon. Friend give way?; Bob Stewart | 558 c174WH (Link to this contribution)
To my Chairman? With the greatest of pleasure.; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c174WH (Link to this contribution)
Mr Brady, you are our Chairman, of course.; Bob Stewart | 558 c174WH (Link to this contribution)
Forgive me, Mr Brady. Two Chairmen in one—I’ll buy it.; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c174WH (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend danced lightly over the possibility of regenerating the capacity and the skills to...; Bob Stewart | 558 c174WH (Link to this contribution)
I thank my other Chairman. The answer is that I was not, but I am glad that he has raised the mat...; Lord Robathan | 558 c175WH (Link to this contribution)
I will.; Bob Stewart | 558 c175WH (Link to this contribution)
Good. The Minister will tell us how we are to keep those extremely specialised skills alive. I su...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c175WH (Link to this contribution)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Brady. I commend the Committee for its exce...; Bob Stewart | 558 c175WH (Link to this contribution)
I take that personally; I will get you later.; Thomas Docherty | 558 cc175-6WH (Link to this contribution)
I look forward to being shepherded out safely by the Doorkeepers later.
If the decision abo...; Lord Robathan | 558 c176WH (Link to this contribution)
You are kind. It was six months ago.; Thomas Docherty | 558 c176WH (Link to this contribution)
It feels like yesterday, I am sure, to many in the MOD. I had the pleasure of serving with the Mi...; Lord Beamish | 558 c176WH (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend must remember that the contract was procured under the previous Conservative Gover...; Thomas Docherty | 558 cc176-7WH (Link to this contribution)
As I said, I know that my hon. Friend played no part in the decision to proceed. I cannot quite r...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c177WH (Link to this contribution)
Does 86% of the blame therefore need to lie with the Labour Government?; Thomas Docherty | 558 c177WH (Link to this contribution)
I am sure that a previous Minister with responsibility for defence acquisition would always be ha...; Gerald Howarth | 558 c177WH (Link to this contribution)
I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman is being entirely fair. The fault on the programme rests wh...; Thomas Docherty | 558 cc177-8WH (Link to this contribution)
I am always grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s thoughtful comments. I respectfully disagree, in th...; Bob Stewart | 558 c178WH (Link to this contribution)
He was a friend of yours.; Thomas Docherty | 558 c178WH (Link to this contribution)
Much in the same way that the hon. Gentleman is a friend of mine, probably.
As I was saying...; Bob Stewart | 558 c178WH (Link to this contribution)
I respectfully disagree with the hon. Gentleman. We do not just need maritime patrol aircraft for...; Thomas Docherty | 558 cc178-9WH (Link to this contribution)
I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I will come on to that very point shortly.
...; Lord Robathan | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
Until now, the hon. Gentleman has been making rather a lot of sense—it is unlike me to compliment...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
I am very conscious that the title of this debate is “Maritime Surveillance” rather than “Acquisi...; Lord Beamish | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
I am intrigued by the Minister’s intervention on my hon. Friend. Is that not exactly what the Gov...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
That is entirely what happened. Let us just remind ourselves that the so-called black hole is a s...; Lord Beamish | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
It was in 2009.; Thomas Docherty | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
Indeed. I am most grateful to my hon. Friend. It said that if there was no increase in defence eq...; Lord Beamish | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
I am sorry, but it did not actually say that. It said £36 billion. I do not know where the extra ...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
Well, I cannot possibly comment on the sums. However, that principle of not committing to a futur...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
It was a very important question.; Thomas Docherty | 558 c179WH (Link to this contribution)
Indeed, but in response to it the Prime Minister failed to give a clear commitment to increase sp...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c180WH (Link to this contribution)
Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will be able to help us further? Has he heard Leader of the Opposition...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c180WH (Link to this contribution)
I will say two things. First, I have heard my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition spea...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c180WH (Link to this contribution)
Yet.; Thomas Docherty | 558 cc180-1WH (Link to this contribution)
It may not be happening any time soon after my earlier remarks, and I will perhaps leave it to ot...; Lord Brady of Altrincham | 558 cc181-2WH (Link to this contribution)
Before I call Sir Gerald Howarth, I want to say that I hope the wind-ups will start at or by 4 o’...; Gerald Howarth | 558 cc182-3WH (Link to this contribution)
I am delighted to take part in this extended Defence Committee discussion in Westminster Hall, wh...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c183WH (Link to this contribution)
To be fair to the National Security Council, describing it as a loss of a capability implies that...; Gerald Howarth | 558 c183WH (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for providing me with my cue. It says in the few brief note...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c183WH (Link to this contribution)
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?; Gerald Howarth | 558 c184WH (Link to this contribution)
I will not, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, because I feel passionately about the issue, a...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c184WH (Link to this contribution)
What is it now?; Gerald Howarth | 558 c184WH (Link to this contribution)
The deficit is down, but not far enough, because of the magnitude of the challenge that faced us....; Thomas Docherty | 558 c184WH (Link to this contribution)
On a point of order, Mr Brady. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman, for whom I have great respect, ...; Lord Brady of Altrincham | 558 c184WH (Link to this contribution)
It is always advisable to use temperate language, especially in the Chamber. I am sure that Sir G...; Gerald Howarth | 558 c184WH (Link to this contribution)
I am most grateful, Mr Brady. I just feel nothing but contempt for him. That is a personal view, ...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c184WH (Link to this contribution)
Further to that point of order, Mr Brady. I have been gracious enough to say that I think the hon...; Gerald Howarth | 558 c185WH (Link to this contribution)
No, I will not withdraw it, but I will move on, because the issue is important and the hon. Gentl...; Bob Stewart | 558 c185WH (Link to this contribution)
I think you made that clear.; Gerald Howarth | 558 c185WH (Link to this contribution)
Good. I am so pleased.; Julian Lewis | 558 c185WH (Link to this contribution)
He did stop us going into the euro.; Gerald Howarth | 558 cc185-6WH (Link to this contribution)
Yes, he did. I have been searching for something positive to say about the hon. Gentleman’s right...; Lord Beamish | 558 c186WH (Link to this contribution)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Brady.
I congratulate the Defence Com...; Sandra Osborne | 558 c186WH (Link to this contribution)
What is my hon. Friend’s attitude to Lord Browne’s comments? Does he think we can afford a like-f...; Lord Beamish | 558 cc186-7WH (Link to this contribution)
I have read Lord Browne’s articles with great interest. I consider him a friend, but the weakness...; Lord Robathan | 558 c187WH (Link to this contribution)
I was not involved in defence before the general election, but I understand that the MR2 was reti...; Lord Beamish | 558 cc187-8WH (Link to this contribution)
The important point is that the earlier decision on the MRA4 should have been reviewed. We would ...; Gerald Howarth | 558 c188WH (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is being slightly unfair. When I entered the Department, I said to the then Se...; Lord Beamish | 558 c188WH (Link to this contribution)
I am not surprised at that. I have dealt with the Treasury myself when in the Ministry of Defence...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c189WH (Link to this contribution)
On the point of being Treasury-driven, we mentioned the deterrent several times. Is my hon. Frien...; Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 558 c189WH (Link to this contribution)
Would the shadow Minister tell us whether the Leader of the Opposition is committed to increasing...; Lord Beamish | 558 cc189-190WH (Link to this contribution)
I am surprised by the right hon. Gentleman. He is usually non-partisan in such matters. If we do ...; Lord Robathan | 558 cc190-1WH (Link to this contribution)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Brady. Of course, the Conservative parliame...; Lord Beamish | 558 c191WH (Link to this contribution)
No.; Lord Robathan | 558 c191WH (Link to this contribution)
If he has not, I will come back to the hon. Gentleman and ensure he gets a response. It is also t...; Lord Beamish | 558 c191WH (Link to this contribution)
Will the Minister give way?; Lord Robathan | 558 cc191-2WH (Link to this contribution)
I have told the hon. Gentleman that I will not engage with him again, because we have done it bef...; Julian Lewis | 558 c192WH (Link to this contribution)
I apologise to the Minister and to other right hon. and hon. Members for coming late to the debat...; Lord Robathan | 558 c192WH (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend asks a good question, but I am afraid that I cannot answer at this moment. I will ...; Thomas Docherty | 558 c192WH (Link to this contribution)
The Committee said that we support seedcorn, which was a sensible move by the Government, but we ...; Lord Robathan | 558 cc192-4WH (Link to this contribution)
That is a perfectly good question. We are coming up to another SDSR in two years’ time, when we w...; Sandra Osborne | 558 c194WH (Link to this contribution)
Will the Minister give way?; Lord Robathan | 558 c194WH (Link to this contribution)
I do not think that I should; I have one minute left.
I agree entirely with the hon. Member...
Subjects: Defence Procurement Navy Military aircraft Surveillance Shipping Seas and oceans Merlin helicopters Nimrod aircraft Sea King helicopters Strategic Defence and Security Review ISTAR
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk

Maritime Surveillance

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