The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s (a) operational and (b) crew costs were in each year from 2008-09 to 2015-16.
Penny Mordaunt
The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many merchant seafarers were employed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in each year from 2008-09 to 2015-16.
Penny Mordaunt
The number of Royal Fleet Auxiliary employees on 1 Apr for each year 2008-09 to 2015-16 are as follows:
|
2008-09 |
2009-10 |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
|
2,245 |
2,275 |
2,300 |
2,330 |
1,975 |
1,890 |
1,810 |
1,895 |
All totals are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many merchant seafarers employed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary took voluntary redundancy in each year from 2008-09 to 2015-16.
Penny Mordaunt
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will assess the effect of the use of Lariam on the quality of performance of military personnel on operations.
Mark Lancaster
Mefloquine (commercially known as Lariam) is an effective anti-malarial that is used by many militaries to protect their personnel while on operations. There is no defined caveat from any advisory body in the world that suggests the use of mefloquine should be restricted in military personnel or people who handle weapons.
Although there is no evidence that mefloquine impairs function, in accordance with guidance from Public Health England, the Civil Aviation Authority and others, the drug is not used by military aircrew. Mefloquine is also not used by divers, as its side effects could potentially be confused with decompression or narcosis events.
In October 2015, the results were published of a Ministry of Defence questionnaire-based study of anti-malarial use by UK Service personnel training in Kenya during 2012 and 2013. This found that significantly more doxycycline than mefloquine users reported that one or more adverse effects had interfered with their ability to do their job.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the factors underlying decisions to leave the armed forces early; and what he is doing to address the most significant factors behind such decisions.
Mark Lancaster
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continually monitors the reasons for voluntary outflow of Service personnel through methods such as the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS). We recognise that the impact of Service on family and personal life remains the most important factor influencing an intention to leave. The New Employment Model Programme (NEM) is at the centre of activity being developed to address the underlying reasons individuals leave the Armed Forces and to help mitigate the impact of Service life on the family. The NEM was established to review the Terms and Conditions of Service to deliver a more modernised offer that allows personnel and their families more choice and reduce the impact of Service life on individuals and their families whilst still meeting the Services’ needs.
The NEM has already introduced a number of changes to address personnel concerns about better opportunities outside the Service, including a set of Career Management Principles and Practices designed to support greater consistency in how careers are managed and realistic lifestyle choice based on employment, stability and location factors. This will enable personnel to access employment readiness training for spouses/civil partners through the new Career Transition Partnership contract; pilots are now running in the Royal Air Force and Joint Forces command. The Department has also secured LIBOR funding to support a business start-up programme designed specifically for Armed Forces families and a course to deliver vocational assessment and employability training for Service spouses. We are also working with financial services providers to tailor their products for the Armed Forces community including banking, insurance and credit history and have also introduced loans for deposits for Service personnel to either buy their own home or for a rental deposit.
At the beginning of the year, the MOD published its first UK Armed Forces Families’ Strategy. The Strategy recognises that to recruit and retain capable and talented Service personnel that Defence must do more to listen, talk to and empower Service families. The Strategy is based on the principles of supporting fairness in line with the Armed Forces Covenant. It aims to provide greater choice where possible, empowering families by providing information and access to support when they need it, and engendering resilience in families, supporting self-determination and independence preparing families for their eventual transition from Service life.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s future requirement for (a) officer cadets and (b) ratings.
Penny Mordaunt
Under current planning assumptions the Royal Fleet Auxiliary expects to recruit the following number of Officer Cadets and Apprentice Ratings in each of the next five years:
|
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
|
|
Cadet |
32 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
|
Apprentice |
128 |
128 |
117 |
117 |
93 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on morale among members of the armed forces of the transition from Pay 2000 to the new Pay 16 pay structure.
Mark Lancaster
The new Pay 16 structure was specifically established in response to Service personnel criticisms of the old pay model. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has developed the new pay model as a simpler, more transparent system which provides Service personnel with greater pay predictability. It addresses some of the concerns about the previous pay model reported by personnel through both the Service Complaints system and the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) and in feedback from the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB). I fully expect these changes to be positive for morale overall.
Many personnel will experience an increase in pay as a result of the new pay model, and no one will take a cut in core pay on implementation. We have taken steps to ensure that personnel are aware of the range and nature of the pay reforms that began on 1 April 2016 and comprehensive internal communications activity has been undertaken to explain the changes. This included Departmental guidance to help personnel understand their new pay statement and any changes. Personnel, including those under pay protection, continue to remain eligible for any Government-approved pay award. Pay protection has been put in place to ensure that no one will take a pay cut on implementation of Pay 16 and this arrangement will exist for at least the first three years to ensure that no one is disadvantaged.
The new pay model is not designed as a cost saving exercise, but is a rebalancing of pay to make more efficient and effective use of the Armed Forces pay bill; the AFPRB will continue to recommend pay rates for all personnel. As we go forward the Service Complaints Process and AFCAS will be primary sources which inform our assessment of the benefits realised through the pay reforms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what health and safety assessment his Department has conducted on military personnel or contractors loading or unloading equipment from his Department’s vessels onto the pier head at Ascension Island.
Mr Philip Dunne
The loading and unloading of freight from Ministry of Defence chartered vessels is conducted by the Ascension Island Government. A Health and Safety and Environmental Risk Assessment of loading/unloading equipment at the Ascension Islands pier head was undertaken by the Joint Forces Command Health and Safety lead in September 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Royal Navy assets on global maritime patrol are used to maximum effect in combatting illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
Penny Mordaunt
The Ministry of Defence supports the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in combatting illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing through a support agreement between the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Royal Navy (RN), whereby naval assets conduct fishery protection activities. The RN and MMO work closely to maximise the effectiveness of these fishery protection activities within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the UK.
RN and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels also conduct maritime security operations at all times while at sea, this includes monitoring and reporting maritime activity to relevant UK authorities. Reporting of fishing and other maritime activity to local UK authorities in Overseas Territories and the relevant authorities of other nations is routinely undertaken whenever a RN or RFA vessel is operating in the vicinity of UK Overseas Territories.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average cost is to the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary of training (i) an officer cadet and (ii) a rating.
Penny Mordaunt
The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.