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

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) status and (b) purpose is of the Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme established in September 2013.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme (DDIP) is a high priority change programme aimed at increasing the diversity of our workforce – both military and civilian. The Defence Board agreed in 2014 that the DDIP should be regarded as core business, on a par with other Defence Transformation activities.

    The main purpose of the DDIP is to ensure that Ministry of Defence outputs are delivered by the right mix of capable and motivated people that appropriately represent the breadth of the society we exist to defend, now and in the future. The programme continues to drive real change in the core areas of leadership and culture; recruitment; retention and progression; and outreach, seeking to remove barriers where they might exist.

    The benefits of this will be better access to talent for Defence’s workforce and improving the Armed Forces’ ability to achieve overall recruitment levels; improved decision making as a result of the different perspectives that come from a more diverse workforce; greater levels of cultural understanding so that we are more effective and trusted in our international operations and activities; improved workforce engagement and morale; and better relations with, and support from, the wide range of communities within British society as a result of a more representative workforce.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Russian language (a) speakers, (b) interpreters and (c) translators are employed in the intelligence department of his Department; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of such experts in that Department.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Russian language needs for intelligence, or for any other purposes, are met from the Departmental pool of approximately 180 Armed Forces and civilian personnel with Russian language skills (and from contractors when needed). The Department reviews its future operational and other requirements for linguists regularly and trains its personnel accordingly.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times he has attended public meetings of the Defence Committee since his appointment.

    Michael Fallon

    I have attended each of the three public oral evidence sessions to which I have been invited since my appointment. I have agreed to appear before the Committee on 24 May on Russia and 8 June on Syria and Iraq.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what data his Department collects on allegations made against service personnel accused of committing (a) sexual assault and (b) rape.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence routinely provides figures about allegations which are handled within each component part of the Service Justice System. This includes cases dealt with by the Service Police, the Service Prosecuting Authority, and the Military Court Service. As we have made very clear during the passage of the Armed Forces Bill 2015-16, we are currently looking at how to improve the way in which we gather and produce such information with the aim of producing an official statistic.

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

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the intake of BAME servicemen and women was as a proportion of total intake for each year from 2006 to the latest available figures.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The information held by the Ministry of Defence is as follows:

    Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) intake as a proportion of Total UK Regulars1 Intake each year April 2008-April 2015.

    12 Months ending

    1 April 2008

    1 April 2009

    1 April 2010

    1 April 2011

    1 April 2012

    1 April 2013

    1 April 2014

    1 April 2015

    % BAME

    8.3

    9.4

    6.8

    5.6

    7.3

    7.9

    7.0

    5.7

    Source: Defence Statistics (Tri-Service)

    Older information is not available as the current systems date back to 2007 only. Information on Reserves intake is due to be released as part of the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics on 26 May 2016. The most recent data can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015

    Notes

    1UK Regular Forces comprises Full-time personnel but does not include Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel and Reservists. Percentages exclude those personnel with an unknown ethnicity.

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

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of servicemen and women recruited from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 April 2016 to Question 33630 to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis).

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many challenges to the new Service Family Accommodation gradings have resulted in a change of banding since 1 February 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    Between 1 February 2016 and 17 April 2016 a total of 1,675 challenges to the Combined Accommodation Assessment System (CAAS) were received by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation – 24 of these resulted in changes to CAAS bandings.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many challenges to the new Service Family Accommodation gradings have been received by the Cost Assurance and Analysis Service since 1 February 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    Between 1 February 2016 and 17 April 2016 a total of 1,675 challenges to the Combined Accommodation Assessment System (CAAS) were received by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation – 24 of these resulted in changes to CAAS bandings.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are embedded in foreign armed forces; and with which forces such personnel are embedded.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement released by the Defence Secretary on 17 December 2015 (HCWS431) which details "UK service personnel embedded in another nations’ armed forces, who are deployed on operations, together with those who work on operations in deployed coalition or single nation headquarters roles". It also explains that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) intends to publish details annually through the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARAC). The MOD will publish the latest version of its ARAC shortly which will include an update about embeds.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia on the designation of the Yemeni cities Sa’da and Marran as military targets by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition on 8 May 2015.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government takes all allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations very seriously and we have emphasised the importance of full compliance with IHL to the Saudi Government and other members of the military coalition on several occasions. We have provided training and advice to the coalition to support continued compliance with IHL and minimise civilian casualties.