Tag Archives: HM Government

INTRODUCTION

CONSTANT COMPETITION

It’s a great pleasure to be here and to return as the Defence Secretary.

I have a slightly strange record in that this is the fourth time in three years I’ve been appointed for this job.

Truly, as our conference theme reminds us, we are living in an age of constant competition!

Yet, if we really want to understand what the phrase means, we need to take a step back.

100 years ago our main dangers came from rival nations threatening us with conventional war.

The Army was expected to play a pivotal role fighting at close range.

It did so with unprecedented courage amidst the mud and blood of monumental battles such as Passchendaele which we will commensurate shortly.

But the Cold War introduced another level of threat – the shocking prospect of nuclear war.

Our deterrent relied not just on nuclear submarines, or NATO partnerships, but also we shouldn’t forget the physical presence of our troops, ranging ever ready along the frontiers of the iron curtain.

Yet globalisation and the relentless advance of technology are today posing our nations a very different set of problems.

We have state aggressors like Russia testing our allies along Europe’s eastern border using proxies to destabilise Ukraine and annex Crimea and deploying hybrid means to undermine democracy in countries far and wide.

And then we have non-state actors.

Those lacking the power to threaten our nation as a whole, but intent on causing us as much carnage as possible as we’ve seen so recently – in Westminster, Manchester, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

And we have anonymous cyber foes – often sponsored by state or non-state entities, lurking behind a veil of encryption targeting our national infrastructure as we saw with the recent cyber strike on Parliament.

That is not a Cold War.

It is a grey war. Permanently teetering on the edge of outright hostility. Persistently hovering around the threshold of what we wouldn normally consider acts of war.

IMPLICATIONS FOR LAND POWER

What does that mean for land power?

We will still look to you to seize and hold territory to fight in close proximity with…and among the population since our willingness to employ land power is critical to our deterrent.

Yet the question is neither about how or when we respond with appropriate force since we will do so at a time and in the manner of our choosing.

Instead the real question is how we retain enough room for manoeuvre, as equipment costs escalate and the demands, from a multitude of diverse, complex and concurrent dangers, grow.

And my thesis today is that the only way our armies can prepare for the battlefields of tomorrow is by placing innovation and adaptability at their core.

INVESTMENT

That will require investment.

We’ve chosen in UK to spend on bigger, bolder defence, increasing our budget year on year…at 0.5 per cent ahead of inflation.

In 2016 our forces received some £35bn.

This year it will be £36bn.

And next year it will be £37bn.

But having more money doesn’t mean we can do everything we want

It has always been, it always will be a question of prioritisation.

Thanks to the delegated model Service Chiefs have responsibility, accountability and authority for their own budgets.

And I know that the Army feels incentivised to review its processes and structures to find more efficient, smarter and more productive, ways of doing things so they can reinvest in new projects to keep us on the cutting edge.

At the same time, the Service Chiefs know that delivering some programmes will be contingent on making efficiency savings.

This helps us focus so, by the time, we reach our Annual Budget Cycle we are concentrating not on the nice-to-haves but having more money for the things we need the most.

And thanks to those decisions we now have a much clearer sense of the things that really matter:

1. PLATFORMS

First, platforms.

The history of landwarfare is punctuated by moments of brilliance, instances where innovation and imagination changed the course of operations.

So the longbow, became the musket, became the machine gun.

The chariot gave way to the cavalryman.

And then a century ago at Cambrai the tank reached the Hindenburg line, triggering another revolution in warfare.

So today we’re using our £178bn equipment programme as the catalyst for a further step-change in capability as we introduce Ajax.

Ajax is more than just a piece of armour.

Ajax is an Information Age sensor. Able to hoover up data from the ground and air for miles around. Capable of detecting the invisible signs of cyber disturbance. Able to offer a more complete picture of an increasingly dispersed battle space, while co-ordinating our response with the wider force.

And AJAX isn’t the only bit of capability we’re bringing on line.

We are using our rising budget to invest in a whole raft of high-tech capability, unmanned aerial systems, autonomous vehicles and Apache attack helicopters.

Today I’m delighted to announce we have awarded a £48m six-year contract extension with Aviation Training International, to enable our ground crews to master all there is to know about this mighty flying machine. From avionics and armaments, to refuelling and rearming.

In a couple of months’ time we will be showcasing some of this next generation kit at DSEI.

These investments are not just about replacing old kit.

We now are buying equipment that gives us far more bang for our buck.

In a data driven era investment in vehicles of course must go hand in hand with an investment in networks

That’s why we’re enormously augmenting our processing power to handle the massive upload of new information

We’ve already taken the first step.

We are investing in MORPHEUS, a next-generation tactical communication and information system that will give us faster and easier connectivity.

In the longer-term, our Land environment tactical command and information system will eventually connect all of our sensors and systems.

2. PEOPLE

Of course, great kit alone doesn’t guarantee an agile and adaptable Army.

So the second major investment has to be in people.

Before I continue I want to say that our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of Corporals Matthew Hatfield and Darren Neilson of the Royal Tank Regiment who died after a live firing exercise in Castlemartin on 14th June, and the other two soldiers who were injured in the same deeply sad incident.

The investigation is on-going but we are determined to get to the bottom of this tragic accident because our people are our greatest asset.

That’s why we remain committed to maintaining the overall size of the Armed Forces and an Army capable of fielding a warfighting division.

Mass will always be a vital part of our deterrence.

So we will maintain an Army that remains one of the very few nations in the world capable of fielding that warfighting Division.

And when it comes to Reserves our confidence in our Reserves plans is reflected by the fact that the Infrastructure and Projects Authority has recently taken the Army Reserves Programme off its books – the only programme to be so assured in the last 5 years.

But, in a more competitive labour marketplace, it becomes even harder to retain, retrain and recruit the right people with the right mix of skills.

So let me say a word on each of these.

On retention – our flexible engagement reforms championed by Sir Nicholas Carter…are key. Our new legislation will be published tomorrow.

We are going to make it easier for personnel to temporarily change the nature of their service, to give them a chance to work part-time or be temporarily protected from deployment to support an individual’s personal circumstances where operational need allows. That’s retention.

On to training.

The battle for information and influence will increasingly matter, so our soldiers will need to have a raft of new skills.

Becoming more adept at crunching the data churned out by their equipment.

More aware of what that information means.

More able to make swifter, better informed decisions

And we will need to increase our training in counter reconnaissance, because the information environment is far from being a passive space is now a hotly contested battleground, where we are constantly competing to correct the false narrative of our adversaries with a faster truth.

For that to happen, the Army will need to keep adapting its structures.

We’re starting today.

I can announce that we are now bringing the Royal Signals and Intelligence Corps together under a shared command.

The Intelligence Corps off course packages, collates and analyses vital information on the battlefield.

The Royal Corps of Signals provides the state-of-the-art technology to disseminate information quickly, in an agile way.

Working together those two Corps will bring a laser-like focus and co-ordination to our cyber efforts.

That’s retention and retraining, finally to recruitment.

There is a challenge here that I want to set before this conference.

We know we will need to reach out to the brilliant brains of tomorrow

Those who put apps above artillery, who pride brains above bayonets.

We know we have to maintain the Army as an attractive proposition for those who might not have normally considered a military career – the cyber geeks and tech wizards.

The question is how do we attract that element in the new generation?

Let me put forward a few initial thoughts to frame your discussions.

We’ll need to do more with our Reservists, more with our Whole Force of civilians and industrialists because they bring a fresh injection of new ideas, new approaches and outside expertise.

Second, we must also be more open to challenge from the younger generation

The Army is an institution. rightly reveres its great traditions but when they tell us, for example, that there are savvier ways for us communicate – let’s listen.

I’m glad that in the earlier session we laid down a marker here by inviting our juniors delegates to come up and show us a thing or two.

3. PARTNERSHIPS

My final point is that an agile Army of the future requires strong partnerships sharing the burden of complex global challenges.

Our 2015 SDSR set us the challenge of becoming more international-by-design.

So, even as we step back from the political framework of EU, you will find us sticking by that plan and stepping up to confront those global challenges.

That’s why we will strengthen our commitment to NATO, the cornerstone of defence.

By increasing our budget year on year, we’re not just about fielding a division but to put our troops at the service of the Alliance.

Currently, the Army is heading up NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Taskforce.

A couple of weeks ago I saw it in action in Romania, partnering with 14 other nations in Exercise Noble Jump.

At the same time, our troops are leading our Enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia and Poland. By the end of this month we’ll have 10,000 soldiers supporting the NATO Alliance in one way or another.

Yet our efforts here show how we’re getting smarter as we adapt to the new era of competition.

We are not just using training and exercises to get our people in shape, but to deliver strategic effects

Messages of reassurance to our allies.

Messages of deterrence to our adversaries.

But if we want to be really smart we have to be able to spot a crisis before it turns into a catastrophe.

Or better still before it even arises.

That’s why we’re creating those Specialised Infantry teams.

Invested with specialist skills relevant to different parts of the globe.

There to sense danger, to provide early warning, to build the partnerships that head off trouble down the track.

And for proof of our commitment to keep reaching out you only need to look around the room.

This might be a UK land warfare conference, but we have here a huge number of guests drawn from our allies around the world.

You’re very welcome.

PUBLIC

So platforms, people and partnerships are the key to us, the agile edge we need in this era of constant competition.

But we need to take the public with us on this journey.

Since the end of our Afghanistan and Iraq fighting campaigns, the public no longer has the same level of awareness about what our Armies are up to.

As the threats become ever greyer and murkier, as our responses necessarily become sometimes more opaque, as our adversaries become ever more effective at using misinformation to play upon public fears, it’s all the more incumbent on us to shine the light of transparency.

On this new greyer dawn, reassuring people that we’re on the case, showing them we do have the means to respond, that there is not simply a cost but a real value to what we do.

That’s why the public discourse, why open debate and why conferences such as this are so vital.

CONCLUSION

A century ago, after years of stalemate, that Mark IV tank burst through the Hindenberg Line.

An event that wouldn’t just lead to the Allied Armies winning the war but to war itself being transformed.

Today we are living in an age of instability, an age of constant competition.

But the answer is for our Armies keep adapting, to keep becoming truly agile.

ENDS

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A decision by the Marine Management Organisation to grant a marine licence relating to development in Brighton Marina has been upheld in the High Court following a Judicial Review.

On Friday 23 June the Hon. Mr Justice Holgate handed down his judgement at the High Court, London, following a hearing which took place on 22 and 23 March 2017. In doing so he concluded the MMO had fulfilled its obligation under section 69(1) of Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (the 2009 Act) ‘admirably’.

In bringing a Judicial Review lawyers acting on behalf of a local resident challenged the way in which the MMO reached its decision in February 2016 to grant a marine licence for phase 2 of the development under section 71 of the 2009 Act.

Lawyers claimed that MMO had acted unlawfully in giving consent to the Brighton Marina Company Limited whose subsidiary, the Outer Harbour Development Company Partnership LLP, is carrying out the development. In particular they argued that MMO failed to consider whether phase 2 of the Brighton Marina development would amount to an actionable interference with public rights of navigation.

They also claimed that in instances where works unlawfully interfere with public rights of navigation MMO is not empowered to issue a marine licence unless a harbour revision was also made, extinguishing public navigation rights or permitting interference with the same.

The judgement

In his judgement Mr Justice Holgate stated that ‘the Claimant’s argument involves a fundamental misunderstanding of MCAA 2009, and of section 69(1) in particular…’ finding that MMO had gone to ‘substantial lengths to collect evidence on the relevant navigation issues’ and ‘had consulted and re-consulted on the relatively narrow points raised by the claimant’.

The judgement made clear that the MMO’s decision that the proposed activities would not interfere with navigation or safety of navigation in the entrance to the marina so as to justify refusing the application was a correct application of the relevant legislation. It also set out that ‘there was no statutory requirement or need to consider whether the effect on public rights of navigation would also be actionable’.

The judge also denied the claimant the right to appeal the judgement.

More information

The marine licence and related documents are available to view on the public register (case reference MLA/2015/00349/2). The MMO has also updated the relevant selected cases page of its website.

The Judicial Review process considers the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body. They are a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made, rather than the rights and wrongs of the conclusion reached. More information about the Judicial Review process is available on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

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A drawing of the Schmadribach Waterfall is at risk of being exported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match the asking price of £68,750.

Arts Minister John Glen has placed a temporary export bar on the drawing, by Austrian Romantic artist Joseph Anton Koch, to provide an opportunity to keep it in the country.

The preparatory study was made for J.A. Koch’s most celebrated composition, The Schmadribach Waterfall near Lauterbrunnen, which is famed for its spectacular scenery.

Dating from around 1793, the work is typical of the highly precise studies Koch made for compositions, using black chalk and heightening the contours in black ink.

The drawing is an important work by a major figure of early 19th century painting. Koch’s depictions of Switzerland were extremely influential and helped to popularise Alpine scenery among European artists.

He was especially popular with British collectors during his lifetime, but only seven of his drawings remain in UK public collections.

Arts Minister John Glen said:

This striking study for Joseph Anton Koch’s most celebrated landscape shows why this leading Romantic painter was so highly regarded by British artists.

I hope that a buyer comes forward to help keep it in the UK so that more people can learn about this artist’s creative process and the development of his art.

The decision to defer the export licence follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by The Arts Council.

RCEWA member Lowell Libson said:

Joseph Anton Koch is a pivotal figure in the European Romantic movement at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and enjoyed a significant relationship with British patrons and collectors who particularly appreciated his ‘heroic’ Alpine landscapes.

Very few of Koch’s many important works originally in British collections now remain in the UK. This unusually highly elaborate drawing was made in preparation for the painting that is considered to be his masterpiece.

The retention in this country of this beautiful and important drawing would greatly add to the way in which British institutions can tell the story of European Romanticism and of the development of British taste and patronage.

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the drawing’s outstanding significance for the study of Romantic landscape art and Swiss scenery.

The decision on the export licence application for the drawing will be deferred until 27 September 2017. This may be extended until 27 December 2017 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of £68,750 (plus VAT of £2,750).

Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the drawing should contact the RCEWA on 0845 300 6200.

An image of the drawing can be downloaded via our flickr site

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Details of the drawing are as follows: The Schmadribach Waterfall near Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland A faint sketch of a mountainous landscape Black chalk, pen and black ink, lightly squared in black chalk, indented for transfer, 44.3 x 35.8cm (17 ½ x 14 1/8 in.) Dated around 1793 The drawing is un-faded and in good condition for a work of its date and technique
2. Collection of Brian Sewell (1931-2015); his sale, Christies, King Street, London, 27 September 2016, lot 60 (estimate £20,000-30,000); sold at £68,750.
3. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by The Arts Council, which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.
4. The Arts Council champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. www.artscouncil.org.uk.

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Introduction

I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak this morning (28 June 2017).

If there’s one thing that ABTA seems to be good at, it’s timing.

Last year you scheduled the Travel Matters conference on what turned out to be the day before the EU referendum.

I trust that gave you plenty to talk about.

This year’s was timed even better:

• right after a general election
• just as we kick off formal Brexit negotiations with the rest of the EU
• and just in time — I am pleased to say — for me to deliver my very first speech to industry as a DfT minister

It’s a real privilege to have been asked to serve in this role.

And at such an important time for our aviation and travel industries.

Right at the outset, I’d like to make something clear.

Amid all the change and inevitable uncertainty of the moment — and I’ll talk more about that shortly — one thing isn’t going to change.

This government will remain a pro-aviation, pro-travel government.

Before the election, the government had already set a clear direction.

One of its first actions last summer was to approve a major expansion of City Airport.

Next we negotiated the first ever UN Security Council resolution on aviation security.

To confront the terrorist threat with all the co-operation, training and technical assistance available.

A month later, we signed a deal with China to allow many more flights between our countries.

We followed that up by announcing our support for a new runway at Heathrow.

Then we ran a consultation on modernising our airspace.

Let me be clear.

Our airspace is a piece of national infrastructure as important as our roads and railways.

I know that our proposals matter to this industry and we are grateful for your support.

A week after we began that consultation, we signed a deal in India to allow more flights between our countries.

Soon we’ll be publishing a call-for-evidence for the government’s aviation strategy — our plan for how we can best support the industry in future.

So the direction is clear: we’re a government that recognises the vital importance of air travel to our country.

But we also recognise that this is a challenging time for the industry.

A year ago, the British people voted to leave the European Union.

And last week we began formal negotiations to do just that.

Now, I know that this industry wants certainty, and quickly.

So does the government.

So does the rest of the EU.

It’ll be some time yet before we can deliver that certainty.

We’ve only had 1 full day of negotiations so far.

But what I can say is that the early signs are encouraging.

Michel Barnier — the European Commission’s Chief Negotiator — said last week that an orderly UK withdrawal is his priority, along with an end to uncertainty .

And his concluding comment at the end of that first day of negotiation was that, and I quote:

For both the EU and the UK, a fair deal is possible and far better than no deal.

That is why we will work all the time with the UK, and never against the UK.

And as we proceed with those negotiations, securing the best possible access to European aviation markets is a priority.

And I believe we should be confident.

Our aviation market is the biggest in Europe.

You serve millions of EU nationals and every year carry millions of UK holidaymakers to EU destinations.

It’s in the interests of the UK, the EU, European countries, and everyone who travels between them that we seek an open, liberal arrangement for aviation.

Of course, the final outcome will have to await the conclusion of negotiations.  

Long-term prospects for aviation

But whatever happens, the long-term prospects for this industry are strong.

Earlier this year, PWC published a detailed report, looking at how the global economic order will change by 2050 .

Their forecast is that:

• the UK will be the fastest growing economy of the G7 over the period to 2050
• we should grow faster than the EU average
• and that we should do better than other big economies, such as France and Germany

Clearly, that growth is going to create new demand for international travel.

But it is also predicated on more international travel.

As PWC’s report makes clear future growth requires deeper links with the world’s other fast-growing economies, many of which are not on our doorstep.

That’s why in the years ahead the aviation and travel industries will be so vital.

That’s why we were keen to sign those deals with China and India to allow many more flights between our countries. And that’s why we took the decision to support a new runway at Heathrow.

Heathrow

Let me say a little more on that decision.

None of us like to see our airports being overtaken by competitors.

But that’s what has increasingly happened in recent years.

Unless we get this runway built, that slide could continue.

Yet when built, it could increase passenger choice, lower fares, and give the UK room to grow our travel links for decades to come.

Of course, one reason we opted for Heathrow is its potential for strengthening our domestic links too.

That means strong surface access links — but also new domestic flights.

The years I spent working as a member of the European Parliament gave me a real appreciation for how domestic links serve international travel.

So it’s good news that Heathrow Airport has promised 14 domestic routes, and that’s what we’ll make sure the airport delivers — for the good of the whole United Kingdom.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who responded to our consultation on the draft airports national policy.

We’re making good progress analysing those responses and will set out the next steps as soon as possible.

ATOL Bill

But finally, I’d like to touch on 2 regulatory issues that I know are of interest to the sector, both of which were addressed in the Queen’s Speech.

First, the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing Bill.

Every year, ATOL protects over 20 million people from losing money or being stranded if their tour operator goes out of business.

It’s an important scheme, and it gives consumers confidence in this industry.

But in an evolving travel marketplace, we need to ensure the scheme keeps pace.

For instance, online booking means that customers have a wider choice of providers – including those based overseas.

Yet not every European travel provider is covered by the same level of protection.

That is why the EU is now updating its regulations.

To bring much of the rest of Europe closer to the model we have operated since we updated ATOL in 2012.

At the same time, it makes sense for us to harmonise our domestic regulations with those coming in across the EU — making it easier for you to trade across Europe.

That’s what the ATOL bill will do.

It’s a sign that, even as we ready to leave the EU, we will still be working in close partnership in the years to come.

I am grateful for the support we have already received from the industry on this.

And look forward to more of that support as the bill makes progress through Parliament.

Financial Guidance and Claims Bill

And finally, our Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, which is being taken forward by the Department for Work and Pensions, should address a very current concern and one that I know you are discussing later today: false sickness claims.

Many claims of sickness are made following contact by claims management companies.

Now, it would be wrong to tar all such companies with the same brush.

The number of rogue operators may be relatively small.

And, in any case, the government will always remain firmly on the side of the passenger.

That is what the public would expect.

Genuine claimants must be protected.

But the evidence suggests that there is a real issue here.

In one recent year, almost a quarter of claims companies faced regulatory intervention of some kind.

And the public seems to agree that there’s a problem.

A 2015 survey by the Legal Ombudsman found that over three quarters of people do not believe that claims companies tell the truth.

So our bill proposes to bring claims companies under the proper oversight of the Financial Conduct Authority for the first time.

It also provides the FCA with a new power to cap the fees that claims companies charge, protecting consumers and reducing the incentive for rogue firms to fuel exaggerated claims.

We think that giving the FCA these new powers should help tackle the worst of the behaviour we’ve seen.

I’d be very interested to hear the result of your discussion later today.

And the government would be grateful for your support as the bill progresses through Parliament.

Conclusion

But in conclusion, I’d like to repeat what I said at the beginning.

This is a pro-aviation, pro-travel government.

The country needs this industry.

For our economy and for the global links that you provide.

So I’ll be a minister who wants to see this industry delivering.

Not just for our customers, but for the UK as a whole.

Thank you for your time.

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Following the conclusion of the regular talks, Minister Mark Field welcomed their contribution to the UK’s relationship with China.

Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field said:

I am pleased that the 24th Round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue has taken place. Senior officials discussed the full range of our human rights concerns, including freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, access to justice and ethnic minorities’ rights. They also discussed areas where the UK and China could collaborate more closely, including modern slavery and women’s rights.

The UK strongly believes that respect for human rights is vital for growth and stability, and that these regular talks are an important part of our relationship with China. The dialogue has, once again, been held in a constructive and open manner. I am grateful for the valuable contribution made by civil society organisations before and during this exchange.

The 23rd UK-China Human Rights Dialogue took place in October 2016 in London.

Further information

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