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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, from which branches of the armed forces the 10,000 military personnel on standby to assist civil authorities in case of significant terrorist incidents referred to in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 are to be drawn.

Michael Fallon

Of the 10,000 military personnel on standby in the UK, some units are placed on standby on a rolling basis, while others have specific geographic responsibilities which they meet from their available manpower.

Military personnel will be drawn from all three Services, with the majority being supplied from the Army.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what he plans the force generation ratios to be for the expeditionary force of 50,000 personnel announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

In the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cm9161) we have increased our ambition so that for Joint Force 2025 we will be able to deploy an expeditionary force of around 50,000 including greater contributions from the air and maritime domain. This is is the largest scale operation that Defence plans to be able to deliver whilst continuing to conduct a range of concurrent "fixed" tasks such as defending the homeland, running military bases and training our military personnel. The scale and nature of the deployment means that there is no specific force generation ratio associated with it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs likely to be sustained by the Apache helicopter upgrade.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Apache Capability Sustainment Programme is currently in the Assessment Phase and the investment decision is anticipated in summer 2016 to enable orderly upgrade of our existing fleet as they reach their out-of-service date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the Apache helicopter upgrade.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Apache Capability Sustainment Programme is currently in the Assessment Phase and the investment decision is anticipated in summer 2016 to enable orderly upgrade of our existing fleet as they reach their out-of-service date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, when he plans for the Apache helicopter upgrade to take place.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Apache Capability Sustainment Programme is currently in the Assessment Phase and the investment decision is anticipated in summer 2016 to enable orderly upgrade of our existing fleet as they reach their out-of-service date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft will be capable of being refuelled by RAF Voyagers aircraft.

Mr Philip Dunne

The P-8A uses the ‘boom and receptacle’ method of in-flight refuelling. As such, the P-8A will not be able to refuel from RAF Voyager Aircraft, which use a different configuration for air-to-air refuelling.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of UK-based jobs in each region likely to be sustained by his Department’s decision to procure the Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.

Mr Philip Dunne

The UK is in negotiations with Boeing on the route to contract for P-8, which will determine how the programme will affect UK-based jobs. It is expected the P-8 will have a significant impact on the UK economy: P-8 is based on the Boeing 737, the supply chain for which already includes UK industry, and the UK also manufactures subsystems of the P-8. Purchase of the aircraft will also create opportunities for UK industry to bid for training and support contracts, and basing of this fleet at RAF Lossiemouth will bring significant economic benefits to Scotland. Boeing estimates that in total, its entire P-8 programme could generate over US$1 billion to the UK supply chain and economy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria his Department used to procure the Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.

Mr Philip Dunne

As with any acquisition programme, the Boeing P-8A – along with a number of other potential platforms – was assessed against the system’s ability to meet the Department’s Key User Requirements, using a combination of scientific, technical and operational analysis, as well as industry’s ability to deliver the programme in a timely and cost-effective manner, to meet the capability need within budget.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military assets his Department propose to use to undertake maritime patrol functions between the Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft comes into service.

Mr Philip Dunne

The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) announced the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 which was 11 years late and nearly £800 million over budget. It acknowledged what would result in a capability gap that would be mitigated by using a combination of other surveillance aircraft, including those from Allies, as well as ships and submarines. SDSR 2015 announced we will buy nine new Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the annual running cost of the proposed fleet of Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft when they first enter service.

Mr Philip Dunne

We are unable to release this information publicly while commercial negotiations are continuing.