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  • Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to renew the capabilities provided by the former RFA Diligence for repair and maintenance of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Forward Repair Ship, RFA DILIGENCE, is one part of a system providing support facilities to deployed ships and submarines. This support is regularly supplemented by commercial arrangements and international agreements and, when bespoke afloat capabilities are required, these are contracted on the open commercial market.

    We continue to consider all our capability requirements depending on the operational task.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure serving Scottish soldiers’ qualifications are recognised by civilian contractors when they wish to undertake trade training while stationed in England.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence, Scottish Ministers and Skills Development Scotland have made representations on this issue previously to the responsible department, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The issue is being discussed with Department for Education, who now have responsibility for apprenticeships.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what vessels of all types are available to the Royal Naval Reserve for training.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Royal Naval Reserve has access to all types of Royal Navy vessels to deliver effective and quality training opportunities for all Royal Naval Reservists, depending on their specialisation.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) reservists, (b) Cadet Forces adult volunteers and (c) cadets of the three services there are in West Sussex.

    Mark Lancaster

    As at 1 July 2016 there were an estimated 100 personnel in the Future Reserves 2020 stationed in West Sussex.

    The MOD publishes annual information on Cadets and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFVA) through the MOD Sponsored Cadets Statistics. The latest publication was as at 1 April 2016 and can be accessed at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526131/MOD_sponsored_cadet_forces__statistics_2016.pdf

    This data is not broken down by region so information on the number of Cadets and CFAV in West Sussex is not held in the format requested.

    “

  • 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 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the strategic military importance of Gibraltar to the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The UK continually monitors our defence presence in Gibraltar and routinely adjusts our force posture and resources as appropriate. Gibraltar is, and will remain a key centre for the UK’s Defence interests and the UK Government takes its responsibility for protecting the sovereignty of Gibraltar very seriously. The UK maintains a permanent military presence in Gibraltar in recognition of its enduring geo-strategic importance as the gateway to the Mediterranean, assuring maritime transit routes and maintaining access to Cyprus and the Suez Canal in support of UK national interests.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraphs 5.36 to 5.38 of the Cabinet Manual, what the Government’s policy is on whether the convention that a debate in Parliament should be held before troops are committed in military action applies if troops are deployed in a non-combat role but then subsequently become involved in sustained and proactive combat activities as a result of a change in circumstances or a change in mission.

    Michael Fallon

    The Government has been clear that before troops are committed, the House of Commons should have an opportunity to debate the matter except when there was an emergency and such action would not be appropriate. We will continue to ensure that Parliament is kept informed of significant major operations and deployments of the Armed Forces. In observing the convention, we must ensure that the ability of our Armed Forces to act quickly and decisively, and to maintain the security of their operations, is not compromised.

  • 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 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the level of defence spending that goes to small firms.

    Harriett Baldwin

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor (Philip Dunne) gave on 27 June 2016 to Question 905485 to the hon. Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris).

    “

  • 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 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the change in defence spending has been since May 2015.

    Michael Fallon

    The Spending Review 2015 set out the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) budget for the rest of this Parliament reflecting the Government’s commitment to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence. The MOD budget will increase by 0.5% above inflation each year from 2016-17 to 2020-21, during which time the Department will have access to the new Joint Security Fund.

    The Defence Budget for 2016-17 is £35 billion.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK’s vote to leave the EU on the relationship between the European Investment Bank and UK universities.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UK is and continues to be a shareholder of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the EIB has publically stated that its engagement in the UK is unchanged. All existing loan contracts signed between UK promoters and the EIB remain in force, and the EIB has continued to sign and approve new projects since the EU referendum.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial resources are available to schools from (a) her Department and (b) local authorities for the installation of automatic fire sprinklers.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government will invest £23 billion in the school estate over this Parliament to create additional places and for essential maintenance, rebuilding and refurbishment. Within this, there is no ring-fenced funding dedicated to the installation of sprinklers in schools, but where it is concluded that sprinklers must be fitted to protect property or keep children safe, they will be. Their cost will be included in the overall funding for the project.