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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the decline in defence exports.

Dr Liam Fox

Defence export figures fluctuate on a year to year basis given the long term nature of defence acquisition. In the context of an increasingly competitive global market, the UK’s defence exports were £7.7 billion in 2015. Based on past performance, over a five year period, the figures demonstrate that the sector’s core business is strong.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many trained regular army soldiers there were in each of the Army’s regiments and corps in each year since 2010.

Mike Penning

The number of trained Regular Soldiers as at the 1 April, each year from 2010 to present, broken down by corps, is shown in the table below. These figures do not include Gurkhas or Full Time Reserve Service who are part of the Full Time Trained Strength but are not counted as Regular Soldiers.

	April 2010	April 2011	April 2012	April 2013	April 2014	April 2015	April 2016
Total	98,040	97,280	94,800	90,530	84,250	79,540	77,100
General Staff	840	810	760	740	730	720	690
Household Cavalry & Royal Armoured Corps	5,990	5,840	5,520	5,230	4,770	4,600	4,520
Royal Artillery	7,720	7,550	7,350	7,050	6,560	6,220	6,080
Royal Engineers	9,520	9,630	9,450	8,970	8,120	7,810	7,460
Royal Signals	7,570	7,670	7,540	7,180	6,680	6,320	5,910
Infantry	24,940	24,210	24,080	23,280	21,710	20,130	19,630
Army Air Corps	2,140	2,120	2,020	1,900	1,760	1,690	1,640
Royal Army Chaplin’s Department	140	130	140	140	140	140	130
Royal Logistic Corps	15,300	15,020	14,080	12,980	12,100	11,130	10,660
Royal Army Medical Corps	3,060	3,010	2,990	3,100	3,110	3,030	2,940
Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers	9,830	10,030	9,700	9,010	8,060	7,770	7,570
Adjutant Generals Corps	6,000	6,050	6,030	5,760	5,470	5,210	5,200
Royal Army Vetinary Corps	350	340	370	400	410	380	360
Small Arms School Corps	160	160	160	150	150	150	150
Royal Army Dental Corps	370	370	350	360	310	250	220
Intelligence Corps	1,500	1,580	1,650	1,750	1,750	1,720	1,700
Royal Army Physical Training Corps	490	480	470	440	420	410	430
Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps	900	900	890	910	890	870	860
Corps of Army Music	800	770	740	720	740	710	690
Other (including SSCP)	410	620	540	460	370	280	260

The figures are for Trained Regulars only and so exclude Ghurkhas, Reserve services and Untrained Regulars.

"Other" includes those with unknown Cap badges and those in Senior Soldier Continuity Posts (SSCP).

Figures have been rounded to "10". Figures ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s target is for reducing the defence estate in each year until 2020.

Mark Lancaster

As set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Ministry of Defence is aiming to reduce the size of its built estate by 30% by 2040 and is committed to release land to accommodate 55,000 houses by 2020 in support of the Government’s public sector land release agenda. This year I have announced the release of 35 sites which will provide land for potentially some 39,000 homes, of which approximately 20,000 are expected in this Parliament. We do not have an annual target for a reduction in the defence estate each year.

I will announce the results of the Department’s Estate Optimisation Strategy later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned expenditure is for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in each year until 2020.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence’s planned expenditure, paid through a Grant-In-Aid, for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) until Financial Year (FY) 2020-21 is given below:

FY 2017-18	FY 2018-19	FY 2019-20	FY 2020-21
£49,908,705	£50,775,774	£51,763,497	£52,877,790

The figure paid by the UK is approximately 78% of the Commission’s annual budget; the remainder is paid by five other Commonwealth Governments – Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, in proportion to the number of their war graves. Additionally, the Department also asks the CWGC to maintain a number of non-war graves within the UK and overseas. For the FY 2016-17, £1.75 million will be paid to the Commission for this work; the planned annual increase to this sum is in line with that of the Grant-In-Aid.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the US’s decision to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system in South Korea.

Mike Penning

The Secretary of State for Defence has not discussed this issue with his US counterpart.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many trained soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Division (UK) in each year since 2010.

Mike Penning

The Full Time Trained Strength of 3 Div as at the 1 April, from 2010 to present, is shown in the table below.

	Total	Officers	Other Ranks
1 April 2010	26,180	2,030	24,150
1 April 2011	25,100	1,880	23,220
1 April 2012	23,990	1,840	22,140
1 April 2013	21,790	1,760	20,030
1 April 2014	19,030	1,520	17,510
1 April 2015	17,960	1,500	16,460
1 April 2016	14,540	1,200	13,340

The figures are for Full Time Trained Strength comprising Trained Regular, Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Gurkhas.

Figures have been rounded to "10". Figures ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

The reduction in the number of personnel assigned 3rd (United Kingdom) Division (3 Div) follows the creation of Force Troops Command under Army 2020. This saw the transfer of many personnel previously assigned directly to 3 Div being transferred to this new formation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to transfer the Army Air Corps’ Islanders and Defenders to the RAF in 2018; and what plans his Department has for 5 Regiment’s Army Air Corps command organisation.

Harriett Baldwin

It has been agreed that the governance of the Fixed Wing Manned Aerial Surveillance Capability will be transferred from the Army to the RAF. Detailed implementation plans, including timescales and the implications for 5 Regiment Army Air Corps, or other Units have yet to be finalised.