Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December 2015 (HL4510), which part of the Strategic Headquarters in the Ministry of Defence will make the decision for Sea Lightning squadrons to be embarked; and whether that part of the Strategic Headquarters is responsible for programming all aspects of ship training that constitute the basis for complex training involving all aspects of whole ship and Sea Lightning operation.

Earl Howe

Following Ministerial direction, the decision to embark our Lightning II Squadrons for operational purposes would be taken by the Chief of Defence Staff, as the military strategic commander responsible for the planning, direction and conduct of all military operations. The Front Line Commands remain responsible for force generation and for ensuring that training requirements are met for all carrier assets.