Blog

Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel handed in a formal notice of resignation in each month since January 2014.

Mark Lancaster

Details of the number of Armed Forces personnel who have handed in a formal notice of resignation since January 2014 are given in the tables below. The information provided is an estimate of the number of applications made by Service personnel to leave before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period. It relates to those who have an application to leave recorded on their personnel record on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system.

Voluntary Outflow (VO) is defined as all exits from trained personnel which are voluntarily generated by the individual before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period.

It should be noted that the figures do not include people who request to leave but have their application refused, or their application is not completed appropriately.

ROYAL NAVY

Month	Number of Voluntary Outflow applications
January 2014	30
February 2014	370
March 2014	190
April 2014	150
May 2014	240
June 2014	130
July 2014	190
August 2014	110
September 2014	220
October 2014	170
November 2014	170
December 2014	70
January 2015	150
February 2015	140
March 2015	140
April 2015	140
May 2015	140
June 2015	150
July 2015	120
August 2015	100
September 2015	180
October 2015	140
November 2015	140
December 2015	110
January 2016	130

In accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy, all figures are rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.

ARMY

Month	Number of Voluntary Outflow Applications
January 2014	510
February 2014	570
March 2014	510
April 2014	480
May 2014	460
June 2014	510
July 2014	420
August 2014	320
September 2014	680
October 2014	520
November 2014	460
December 2014	230
January 2015	680
February 2015	470
March 2015	400
April 2015	460
May 2015	450
June 2015	470
July 2015	410
August 2015	340
September 2015	580
October 2015	450
November 2015	400
December 2015	210
January 2016	210

In accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy, all figures are rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.

ROYAL AIR FORCE

Month	Number of Voluntary Outflow Applications
January 2014	260
February 2014	210
March 2014	240
April 2014	180
May 2014	200
June 2014	190
July 2014	220
August 2014	180
September 2014	250
October 2014	220
November 2014	210
December 2014	150
January 2015	240
February 2015	170
March 2015	220
April 2015	200
May 2015	160
June 2015	190
July 2015	170
August 2015	160
September 2015	210
October 2015	190
November 2015	270
December 2015	130
January 2016	250

In accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy, all figures are rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.

01/01/2023

Sir David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir David Amess on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s Written Statement of 10 March 2016, HCWS605, on Air Cadet Aviation Re-launch, whether a decision has been taken to close MDP Wethersfield airfield; and if he will make an assessment of the potential contribution of that facility to supporting 614 Volunteer Gliding Squadron operations in the future.

Mr Julian Brazier

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Mark Lancaster) on 24 March (Official Report, column 75WS) which confirmed the release of MOD Wethersfield. It is intended that the site will close before this Parliament ends in 2020.

All units based at the site, including 614 Volunteer Gliding Squadron, will be provided for elsewhere.

Work to identify the potential future location for these units will be completed later this year.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of introducing no-fly zones over parts of the Syrian border.

Penny Mordaunt

While the UK would consider any option compliant with international law which might save lives in Syria, and have considered the feasibility of attempting to create safe zones, our priority is to support UN-brokered intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva. We believe this offers the best hope of bringing an end to the conflict and relief to civilian populations.

01/01/2023
Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date a MR44 aircraft was delivered to and accepted by the RAF; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

None of the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft were delivered and accepted by the RAF. At the time the programme was cancelled it was 114 months late and nearly £800 million over budget.

01/01/2023
Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected value is of offset work resulting from contracts for the (a) F35 and (b) P-8A; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

For P-8A I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33059 to the hon.Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock). There are no offset agreements in relation to the UK’s F-35 programme. However, studies have estimated that through competition UK industry has won approximately 15% by value of each F-35 aircraft that is manufactured. The F-35 programme is predicted to reach a fleet size of circa 3,000 aircraft.

01/01/2023
Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of the (a) production and (b) subsequent support elements in the (i) UK and (ii) US of the Poseidon P-8A contract is; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33059 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

01/01/2023
Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what value of munitions and sonobuoys he expects his Department to purchase for use on the P-8A aircraft (a) in each year of the life of that aircraft, (b) from each country of manufacture and (c) of each product name; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33059 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

01/01/2023
Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the proportion of defence spending that goes to small firms.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a crucial engine for growth and innovation in this country. In 2014-15, the MOD spent almost £4 billion both directly and indirectly with SMEs, equating to around 19.4 per cent of our procurement spend.

We are taking steps to increase the proportion of defence spending with smaller companies and have committed to ensuring that 25 per cent of our procurement spend, both direct and indirect, is with SMEs by 2020. To help achieve this challenging goal, the MOD last month refreshed its SME policy, reflecting three core objectives:
- Engaging throughout the supply chain, not just with direct contractors;
- Reducing bureaucracy associated with procurement; and
- Making engagement more simple and straightforward.
The refreshed SME policy can be found on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-policy-for-small-and-medium-enterprises.
01/01/2023
John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) flying hours and (b) air shows were flown by the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft prior to their decommissioning.

Mr Philip Dunne

As the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft was never in RAF service, the Ministry of Defence does not hold information regarding the aircraft’s flying hours or appearance at air shows when operated by BAE Systems.

01/01/2023
John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timescale is for procurement of a new Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 December 2015 to Question 19776 to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle).

The Ministry of Defence has not yet made a final decision on the method for contracting for delivery of the P8-A Poseiden aircraft to the UK. Therefore the information requested is yet to be determined.

01/01/2023