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  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what timeline has been proposed for publication of the revised Joint Doctrinal Note on UK Unmanned Systems.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Joint Doctrine Publication (JDP) 0-30.2, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, (which will replace Joint Doctrine Note 2/11, The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems) was endorsed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Joint Doctrine and Concepts Board in November 2015 with an agreed timeline for the MOD Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre to produce it in mid-2016. On current plans JDP 0-30.2 is expected to be published in July 2016.

  • 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 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard Royal Navy submarines from risks posed by underwater drones.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Government takes its responsibilities for maintaining the integrity of our submarine fleet extremely seriously and dedicates considerable resource to ensuring that the credibility and standards for operational effectiveness will continue to be met. Our submarine fleet will not be rendered obsolete by new technologies, including developments in unmanned underwater vehicle technology. I am withholding further details as publication would prejudice or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • 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 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33645, how many Puma Mk2 helicopters are fitted with the Wire Strike Protection System; and whether the Puma Mk2 that crashed in Afghanistan on 11 October 2015 was fitted with such a system.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Seven Puma Mk2 helicopters have been fitted with the Wire Strike Protection System. The remainder of the fleet will have the system fitted by the end of summer 2017.

    The helicopter you refer to (XW229) was not fitted with the Wire Strike Protection System. The Service Inquiry into the incident is on-going and findings are yet to be published.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 on access to housing for veterans.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act on 20th July 2015. It set out its assessment of the impacts of the social rents policies in the Act on 28th September 2015.

    A link to the impact assessments is included:

    http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html

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  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 35103, what the role is of the Liaison Officers deployed in Saudi coalition headquarters.

    Michael Fallon

    UK Liaison Officers located in Saudi Headquarters exchange information between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to give the UK a better degree of insight into Saudi processes.

    They remain under UK command and control and are not embedded with the Saudis. They do not provide training or advice on International Humanitarian Law compliance, and have no role in the Saudi targeting chain.

  • 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 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate the cost of upgrading the mission software on F35B Lightning II aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force after the completion of Block 3F testing.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The UK is part of a collaborative partnership on F-35 and therefore pays a shared contribution to the development of capability beyond the Block 3F capability. The cost of this activity, although provisionally estimated, has yet to be finalised with industry and is the subject of on-going discussion with the eight Partner Nations. As these costs will be the subject of commercial negotiations over the coming year, they cannot be made public at this time.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support the armed forces is providing to Iraqi forces related to the conflict with Daesh in Falujah.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As part of Coalition forces, the RAF is conducting airstrikes against Daesh targets in support of ISF operations in Fallujah.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received on the extent of the withdrawal of Russian forces from the conflict in Syria.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Russia withdrew some close air support aircraft and associated engineering capacity earlier this year. However, around the time of their withdrawal, Russia increased its attack helicopter fleet and, therefore, our assessment is that the net effect on Russian deployed capability in Syria has been low.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken to adhere to the Armed Forces Covenant.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Covenant is a promise from the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly. The Covenant is delivered by Government Departments, Local Government Authorities, the Charitable Sector and Companies.

    Recent steps taken by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) include setting up a network of Armed Forces Covenant champions across the services and the launch of a new Covenant website and branding in January this year. We have been running the application process for the annual £10 million Covenant fund and the £25 million Aged Veterans Fund as well as reviewing applications for LIBOR funding. Work is also being undertaken with financial services providers to tailor their products for the Armed Forces community including Banking, Insurance and Credit History. Our engagement with Local Government Authorities to ensure that the Armed Forces Community can access the same services as other local residents has continued.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were medically discharged from the (a) Royal Navy excluding the Royal Marines, (b) Royal Marines, (c) Army and (d) Royal Air Force in each year since 2010.

    Mark Lancaster

    Information on the number of UK Regular Armed Forces personnel medically discharged by Financial Year and Service since 2010 is given in the attached.

    Defence Statistics release annual updates on medical discharges in the UK Regular Armed Forces as an Official Statistic publication. The next statistical release is due in July 2016 which will present data for financial year 2015-16. The latest report for 2014-15 can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/medical-discharges-among-uk-service-personnel-statistics-index

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