The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sustainability impact assessment was conducted of the measures in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
Michael Fallon
It will be the responsibility of each Government department to carry out sustainability impact assessments as the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is implemented, as included in section 7.4 of the SDSR.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 3.3 of National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, published by the Government in November 2015, which challenges set out in that paragraph he plans to tackle by the maintenance and replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
Michael Fallon
The UK nuclear deterrent has a vital role to play in the security challenges for the coming decade and beyond. It safeguards against state-sponsored nuclear terrorism; provides the ultimate insurance policy against potential Weapons of Mass Destruction threats from states to the UK and its vital interests including our NATO Allies, and helps to maintain the rules based international order.
As stated in paragraph 4.64 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, other states continue to have nuclear arsenals and there is a continuing risk of further proliferation of nuclear weapons. There is a risk that states might use their nuclear capability to threaten us, try to constrain our decision making in a crisis or sponsor nuclear terrorism. Recent changes in the international security context remind us that we cannot relax our guard. We cannot rule out further shifts, which would put us, or our NATO Allies, under grave threat.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to trace the sources of financial support for (a) ISIS and (b) other terrorist networks.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international legal regime to cut off support, including financial support, for Daesh and other terrorist groups. This regime is underpinned by UN Security Council Resolutions 2178 (on foreign fighters), 2199 (on squeezing Daesh’s funding sources) and 1267 (which imposes sanctions on individuals and groups associated with Al-Qaida and its affiliates, including Daesh). We are actively involved with Global Coalition partners in identifying companies and individuals that breach any aspect of this regime, including the financial ones.
UK law enforcement agencies have a well established and sophisticated system for investigating and shutting off sources of finance for terrorists, including Daesh. The Government also works closely with the private sector to crack down on terrorist-related money laundering.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which (a) organisations and (b) individuals responded to the public online consultation his Department held on the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR); and for what reasons the SDSR does not mention such responses.
Michael Fallon
The Government received more than 2,000 full responses from members of the public to the online form, as detailed in section 7.5 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). All comments were considered by officials as part of the SDSR process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to paragraph 4.79 of the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what steps the Government has taken since 2010 to achieve the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons; and what initiatives the Government has taken to date to work with the UK’s international partners to tackle proliferation and to make progress on multilateral nuclear disarmament.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK National Report submitted in February in advance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference set out steps we have taken to support the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. This includes support to the international monitoring system designed to detect nuclear tests, efforts to build trust and confidence with other Nuclear Weapon States through the P5 process, and initiatives with Norway and the US on how to verify disarmament of nuclear weapons. We have also met our commitment to reduce the number of operationally available warheads to no more than 120. We have worked to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime, most notably through our role in securing an agreement involving strict limits and inspections on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.66 of the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what criteria he has for determining the minimum amount of destructive power needed to deter any aggressor.
Michael Fallon
The Government continually conducts assessments to ensure that the UK maintains a minimum, credible nuclear deterrent capability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 7.6 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, how he plans to meet the £11 billion of efficiency savings; and what assumptions have been made when calculating that figure.
Michael Fallon
The Ministry of Defence plans to deliver £9.2 billion of savings through a number of measures as set out in para 2.4 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015. All of these savings will be directly reinvested to fund the Strategic Defence and Security Review commitments.
The balance of the £11 billion savings will be delivered by the security and intelligence agencies and from cross-Government counter-terrorism spending.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department holds on the number of British military personnel embedded with foreign armed forces; and if he will make a statement.
Michael Fallon
Given the routine nature of embedding, this information has not been coordinated centrally. The Ministry of Defence is in the process of compiling data on UK personnel embedded with other nations’ armed forces and deployed on operations, as well as those who work on operations in deployed coalition or single nation headquarters roles. I intend to update the House after this process is complete.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many pirate radio broadcasting installations have been taken off air by enforcement action in each of the last five years.
Mr Edward Vaizey
As part of Ofcom’sresponsibilityfor protecting and managing radio spectrum, enforcement operations arecarried out every year to remove pirate radio broadcasts. After the success of these operations, and the combined effort of local authorities, the number of pirate stations still broadcasting has significantly reduced, explaining the decline in number of pirate stations taken off air in 2014. This success has led Ofcom to launch a new initiative involving local authorities and other owners of high rise residential buildings to remove the presence of illegal broadcasters. The results have already been positive, with the complete removal of pirate radio broadcasters in the London Boroughs of Haringey and Islington.
| Year |
Number of Pirate Radio Stations Taken off the air |
| 2010 | 104 |
| 2011 | 96 |
| 2012 | 99 |
| 2013 | 102 |
| 2014 | 69 |
Background
This year Ofcom began a new initiative involving local authorities and other owners of high rise residential properties to remove the presence of illegal broadcasters from their buildings. Ofcom has implemented this strategy with a number of London boroughs already. The results have been positive, with the complete removal of pirate broadcasts in the London Boroughs of Haringey and Islington. Ofcom intends to pursue this further.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr Edward Vaizey
As part of its long-term economic plan, this Government has reduced the size of the Civil Service by 22%, adjusting for Machinery of Government changes that moved staff into and out of the Civil Service since the 2010 General Election, representing a significant increase in efficiency and productivity that helped save taxpayers £2.8 billion last year alone.
In the past five years, Department costs for using external agencies in the recruitment of two Senior Civil Service posts are recorded as below:
|
Financial Year |
Recruitment Costs (£) |
|
2011/2012 |
|
|
2012/2013 |
|
|
2013/2014 |
|
|
2014/2015 |
£33,019.00 |
|
2015/2016 |
£26,300.00 |
Background Information
We hold no records for years 2011/2012, 2012/2013, 2013/2014.The Department has used external agencies to recruit for specialist SCS roles. Departments have a number of routes available to them to procure recruitment agency services. These include their own departmental procurement processes and the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), which has been in place since April 2014.
The roles recruited for were Chief Executive of BDUK and Deputy Director of Telecoms Business Intelligence Centre