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  • Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the number of lorries travelling through Calais to the UK were scanned by lorry body scanners in each month of 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border, Her Majesty’s Government cannot provide port specific statistics.

    Border Force operates a multi-layered search regime using a range of interventions to screen all freight vehicles entering the UK through the juxtaposed ports. This includes the use of specialist technologies such as Passive Millimetre Wave Imaging devices, heartbeat monitors and carbon dioxide detectors as well as physical searches by sniffer dogs, Border Force staff and specialist search contractors.

  • Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many weapons have been seized at the UK border by (a) type of weapon and (b) port of entry in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The tables attached show the number of weapons seized by Border Force at the UK border by type, from 2010/11 up to the end of November 2015. These tables do not include firearms as they are treated as a separate category for statistical purposes.

    In relation to the port of entry, Border Force does not release port specific figures due to security issues .

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic benefits to Todmorden and Hebden Bridge following the planned improvements to the railway stations in both towns as part of the new Northern rail franchise.

    Andrew Jones

    The Calder Valley route between Manchester and Bradford will see more trains and faster journeys, with the weekday service frequency between Bradford and Manchester being enhanced by 50% (from two to three trains per hour), a significant increase in evening services, a doubling of Sunday service frequency from one to two trains per hour, and new direct links from Bradford to Manchester Airport and from Bradford to Liverpool.

    These enhancements will bring benefits to Calder Valley towns such as Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. Taking these improvements alongside other existing services, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will each be served by a total of four trains per hour for the main part of the day (Monday to Saturday) and three trains per hour (Sundays). In addition, both Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will also become “Northern Connect” stations, benefiting from new or refurbished trains on longer-distance services, faster journeys and stations staffed daily with catering services and free Wi-Fi.

    Add this to the withdrawal of all Pacers by the end of 2019, an investment of £400 million in 281 brand newcarriages (some of which will operate on the existing Blackpool-York services and the new Bradford-Manchester Airport and Bradford-Liverpool services), and the refurbishment of the rest of the Northern fleet, we expect these enhancements to result in very substantial economic benefits for the area.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Boeing P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft he expects to enter service in 2019-20.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence is currently engaged in detailed negotiations on the Boeing P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft. As the Prime Minister announced to the House on 23 November 2015 (Official Report, column 1059), we intend for at least three of the aircraft to be in place by the end of the Parliament.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government’s planned contributions are to the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence network in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The UK’s contribution to the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence network for future years will form part of our contribution to NATO in accordance with our agreed cost share. As outlined in the SDSR, we will support research, development initiatives and multinational engagement through the UK’s Missile Defence Centre. The specific expenditure for the years requested has not yet been identified

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on bonuses for regular Army personnel who have been transferred to the staff and personnel support branch in each year since 2010.

    Mark Lancaster

    Since 2010 the numbers of trained regular officers and soldiers transferring to the Adjutant General’s Corps Staff and Personnel Support Branch, AGC(SPS), each calendar year are as follows:

    2010 – 130

    2011 – 160

    2012 – 50

    2013 – 40

    2014 – 60

    2015 to 31 October – 150

    Where there is a shortage of key personnel, the Army offers a transfer bonus which is payable to soldiers upon successful completion of the transfer into the specified trade.

    From 2010 to 2013, transfer bonus payments of £1,500 each were made to 73 soldiers who transferred into the AGC(SPS) as Military Clerks or Combat Human Resource Specialists. No payments were made from 2014 onwards. The amount spent each calendar year since 2010 is as follows:

    2010 – £52,500

    2011 – £51,000

    2012 – £3,000

    2013 – £3,000

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many serving members of the regular Army have been transferred to the staff and personnel support branch in each year since 2010.

    Mark Lancaster

    Since 2010 the numbers of trained regular officers and soldiers transferring to the Adjutant General’s Corps Staff and Personnel Support Branch, AGC(SPS), each calendar year are as follows:

    2010 – 130

    2011 – 160

    2012 – 50

    2013 – 40

    2014 – 60

    2015 to 31 October – 150

    Where there is a shortage of key personnel, the Army offers a transfer bonus which is payable to soldiers upon successful completion of the transfer into the specified trade.

    From 2010 to 2013, transfer bonus payments of £1,500 each were made to 73 soldiers who transferred into the AGC(SPS) as Military Clerks or Combat Human Resource Specialists. No payments were made from 2014 onwards. The amount spent each calendar year since 2010 is as follows:

    2010 – £52,500

    2011 – £51,000

    2012 – £3,000

    2013 – £3,000

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) armed forces personnel, (b) civilian staff, (c) equipment and (d) other military assets have been withdrawn from Germany since 2014.

    Mark Lancaster

    We remain on track to meet the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 commitment to withdraw our forces from Germany by 2020. The proportion of Armed Forces Regular personnel and civilian staff who have been withdrawn from Germany between the period 1 January 2014 and 1 December 2015 is 40% and 43% respectively. So far 74% of Service personnel based in Germany have relocated to the UK, which exceeds our 2010 SDSR target to relocate 50% of Service personnel by 2015.

    Units are responsible for returning their equipment and other assets to the UK as required. Some equipment, for example left-hand drive vehicles and Main Battle Tanks, has remained in Germany and is managed on a fleet basis. Other equipments have been moved from the UK to Germany to be held in existing UK climate controlled facilities as part of our high readiness posture. As a result the overall proportions withdrawn from Germany are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the length of time it would take to deploy 10,000 armed forces personnel in the event of a civil emergency.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence has developed a comprehensive deployment plan for this force in cooperation with the police and Home Office; this includes timescales to deploy.

    I am withholding information about response times for reasons of operational security.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the equipment procured by his Department was sourced from UK small and medium-sized enterprises in each year between 2010 and 2015.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Cabinet Office Data published in February 2015 shows that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) combined direct and indirect expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a proportion of total procurement spend was 19.4%. This represents some £3.9 billion in 2013-14 and £3.8 billion in 2014-15.

    The MOD published details of its direct contracts with SMEs in the Finance and Economics Annual Statistical Bulletin: Trade Industry and Contracts. Details for each year since financial year 2010-11 can be found at the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015

    It should be noted that the statistics are for all contracts placed with SMEs, including those for equipment and other services.

    It is the MOD’s ambition to spend 25% both directly and indirectly with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.