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  • 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 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Queen Elizabeth remains on schedule to be handed over and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 2017.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The approved cost of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers is £6.2 billion, as announced by the previous Defence Secretary on 6 November 2013 (Official Report, column 251). Whilst there are cost pressures, the Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with Industry to drive the programme to remain within the approved cost.

    We expect the First of Class, HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, to be accepted from the Aircraft Carrier Alliance in 2017 and, as reported in the NAO’s Major Project Report 2015, the ship remains on schedule to enter service with the Royal Navy in February 2018. We remain on course to undertake Platform Sea Trials in 2017, commence Fixed Wing Flying Trials with the F35B Lightning II in 2018 and deliver Initial Operating Capability (Carrier Strike) in 2020.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British military personnel have been embedded with US military personnel flying drones or planes over Libya in the last six months.

    Penny Mordaunt

    None.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the speed of development of unmanned underwater vehicles on the capability of Trident submarines to evade detection.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The submarines that carry our trident missiles will not be rendered obsolete by new technologies, including developments in unmanned underwater vehicle technology. We dedicate considerable resource to horizon scanning to assess the threats from emerging capabilities and will apply any necessary mitigations throughout the lifetime of both the Vanguard Class and the future Successor Class of nuclear deterrent submarines, to combat these future challenges. We assess that the ocean will remain a complex and challenging environment in which through the conduct of large scale anti-submarine warfare our adversaries may seek to threaten our submarines, despite advancements in technologies.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the UK’s financial commitment to the EUFOR has been in each of the last three years.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    EUFOR ALTHEA is a European Union Common Security and Defence Policy operation, conducted under EU-NATO Berlin Plus arrangements, that contributes to a safe and secure environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The Government regards it as a central part of its policy towards BiH. The UK committed £3.1 million in 2013, £2.8 million in 2014, and £1.9 million in 2015 to the operation.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the armed forces on contingency plans in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

    Michael Fallon

    None.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s naval contribution to EU anti-people trafficking operations in the Mediterranean.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK is contributing HMS ENTERPRISE to Operation SOPHIA and eight staff to the Operational Headquarters. HMS ENTERPRISE has been valuable in developing a picture of the maritime environment and smuggling routes. UK assets have destroyed 27 vessels to prevent re-use and identified nine smugglers to the Italian authorities. Furthermore, UK ships have rescued over a quarter of the total number of migrants saved by the entire operation – 3,700 out of 13,700. More broadly, we assess that Operation SOPHIA has left the smugglers unable to operate with impunity in international waters. This is progress on which we can build. We remain committed to working with the Libyan Government of National Accord to move to the later phases of the operation once the right conditions are in place and prevent the smugglers from putting people to sea.

  • 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 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are not registered to vote in the EU referendum; and what steps his Department is taking to improve accessibility to register for that vote for armed forces personnel.

    Mark Lancaster

    The number of Service personnel who are registered to vote was published in the 2016 Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS), Table B22.1-3:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-continuous-attitude-survey-2016

    The Department takes a number of steps each year, with assistance from the Electoral Commission, to inform Service personnel of the arrangements for electoral registration. The annual information campaign encouraging Service personnel and their families to register to vote was launched on 1 February 2016, in conjunction with the National Voter Registration Drive. We have issued an updated, separate instruction for the EU Referendum and are conducting further internal communications to once again encourage Service personnel to register to vote.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of UK military staff posted to (a) Eurocorps and (b) other EU institutions.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The UK is not a member of Eurocorps and has no military staff posted to it. The UK currently has 17 military staff posted in the EU institutions.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the value of the UK defence industry’s total exports to the EU in each of the last three years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Official Government statistics do not differentiate exports to the European region between EU and non-EU countries. In 2013, UK defence exports to the European region accounted for 12% of total sales by value, approximately £1.3 billion. In 2014, UK defence exports to the European region accounted for 10% of total sales by value, approximately £800 million. Official statistics for 2015 will be released later this year.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) applicants to (b) successful applicants to and (c) successful graduates from the Troops to Teachers scheme in each year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    For Cohort One (January 2014), 293 applications were received and 41 trainees began the programme.

    For Cohort Two (September 2014), 196 applications were received and 52 trainees began the programme.

    For Cohort Three (September 2015), 62 applications were received and 51 trainees began the programme.

    For Cohort Four (September 2016), recruitment is still underway.

    The first cohort of trainees completed the training programme in December 2015. 29 trainees completed the programme and achieved Qualified Teacher Status.