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  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Lancaster is in a state of extended readiness.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    HMS LANCASTER is presently alongside in Portsmouth and is maintained with a minimal Ship’s Company on board until her refit.The Royal Navy has determined that HMS LANCASTER is not required as a training platform ahead of her refit, therefore a number of her Ship’s Company have been redeployed in support of operational units and tasks.

    Such planned programming enables the Royal Navy to optimise the use of its ships and personnel through the operational cycles. The normal operating cycle of every ship includes periods of low readiness, and a number of ships will enter periods of ‘low’ or ‘very low’ readiness depending on their programmes and departmental planning requirements. It remains Ministry of Defence policy not to publish details of the readiness states of individual Royal Navy vessels for reasons of safeguarding national security.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department established the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE); who has been appointed as Senior Responsible Owner for that programme; who the key stakeholders for that programme are; how many scientists from the US national nuclear weapons laboratories are seconded to work on that programme; how many AWE scientists have visited the US national nuclear weapons laboratories as part of that programme; what that projected full cost of that programme is; how many scientists are working on that programme; how much has been spent on that programme to date; and what estimate he has made of the cost of that programme to completion.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme (NWCSP) commenced following an announcement on 19 July 2005 (Official report col 59WS). The current Senior Responsible Owner is Dr Paul Hollinshead. The key stakeholders in the NWCSP are the Ministry of Defence and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). Since 1 April 2008, financial planning for AWE has made no distinction between management and operation costs and those associated with the NWCSP. Expenditure at AWE since 2005 is as follows:

    £ million at outturn prices

    2005-06

    493

    2006-07

    687

    2007-08

    894

    2008-09

    800

    2009-10

    870

    2010-11

    944

    2011-12

    941

    2012-13

    861

    2013-14

    961

    2014-15

    998

    Spending plans beyond this Parliament will be set as part of the Government’s spending review process.

    The NWCSP draws on the skills of all 5,000 AWE employees. No scientists from the US national nuclear weapons laboratories are seconded to the programme, but a US engineer and serviceman are seconded. The information on how many AWE scientists have visited the US national nuclear weapons laboratories as part of the programme is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Dauntless is being used as a harbour training and accommodation ship.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The introduction of Engineering Training Ships is an important component of the Royal Navy’s comprehensive programme to improve training and career development opportunities by increasing training capacity.

    Ships in the operating cycle immediately ahead of refit will be used to deliver training alongside home Bases and Ports. HMS DAUNTLESS entered this profile in February this year. A reduced Ship’s Company reside on board as normal, augmented by trainees who use the opportunity to gain experience through development activities in a realistic environment.

  • Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide field surgical teams for the Peshmerga Regional Government.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK keeps its contribution to the Global Counter-Daesh Coalition in Iraq (including the Kurdish region) under review with wider Coalition partners, but has no plans to deploy a field hospital to the region. Any such deployment would need to be carefully balanced against medical commitments to current and future planned operations.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how old the (a) women and (b) men in the army were who told the Sexual Harassment Report 2015 survey that they had been a victim of a sexual assault in the previous 12 months.

    Mark Lancaster

    The table below gives the age range by gender for Regular and Reserve Army personnel who answered ‘yes’ to Question 12 of the Sexual Harassment Survey 2015: ‘In the past 12 months have you had an experience involving any of the behaviours in Question eight which made you feel particularly upset?’ and who then specified in Question 13 that one of these experiences was ‘Made a sexual assault on you’:

    Gender

    Minimum Age (in years)

    Maximum Age (in years)

    Average (Mode) age

    Men

    29

    37

    See note 4

    Women

    18

    52

    23

    This information should be considered with the following caveats:

    The data captured in the Sexual Harassment Survey 2015 represents the attitudes and opinions of serving personnel, not the number of sexual assaults recorded through the formal complaints process.

    Participants were not given a definition of sexual assault in the survey, therefore answers were based on subjective interpretations of the term. It is not known whether the behaviour experienced was consistent with the legal definition of sexual assault.

    Because a sample, rather than a census, was taken, the data may not be representative of the whole serving population.

    Not available due the small sample size.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff at the Army Foundation College Harrogate who have direct contact with children have yet to be cleared by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

    Mark Lancaster

    There are currently 393 permanent members of staff that have direct contact with Junior Soldiers (U18s) at the Army Foundation College Harrogate. All 393 staff have been cleared by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what methods are used to immobilise fissile material removed from dismantled nuclear warheads withdrawn from operational service; what that cost is of that immobilisation programme; and where that process is carried out.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) stores and re-uses fissile material removed from dismantled nuclear warheads which have been withdrawn from operational service as part of routine stockpile management. This material is not immobilised.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to publish post-occupancy evaluations of primary and secondary schools built under wave 1 of the Priority Schools Building Programme.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education is collecting a range of post-occupancy data on schools built under wave 1 of the Priority Schools Building Programme. This data considers all potential benefits realised including user satisfaction and building performance. The results of this exercise will be published once it is complete.

  • Steve Brine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve Brine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Brine on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidelines her Department issues on inset days at schools in England.

    Nick Gibb

    This is a matter for schools to decide. We have empowered schools to lead the delivery of high-quality professional development for their teachers through the creation of the national network of teaching schools, and we are supporting this through the development of a new Standard for Teachers’ Professional Development. Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rest with schools, head teachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements.

    The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document specifies that teachers must be available for work for 195 days each year and that they may only be required to perform duties other than teaching pupils on five of those days. It is for schools to decide for themselves how best to make use of those five days, including whether they should be used for in-service training.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on creating a £10 million fund for small schools to secure expert support and advice on converting to academy status.

    Edward Timpson

    This Government recognises the particular challenges facing small and rural schools and is committed to supporting them. We have announced a package of measures to guarantee the continued success of these schools, including £10 million to secure expert support and advice. Details on how this will be administered, and further information, will be available in due course.