Blog

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were permanently excluded from school during Key Stages 1 and 2 in (a) academies and (b) community schools in each of the last five years.

    Nick Gibb

    Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions

    “

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to his Question 31527 on 22 March 2016.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of gaps in maritime capability.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Given the constantly evolving nature of the threats we face, maritime capabilities are regularly reviewed and assessed. I am witholding the details of those assessments as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has received reports of Russian submarine activity in sea lanes considered vital to the UK.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the former Armed Forces Minister (Mark Francois) on 24 March 2015 to Question 225944.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what he plans the size of the Frigate fleet will be in 2025.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that we will maintain our fleet of 19 frigates and destroyers whilst also conducting a concept phase for the design and build of a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigate so that by the 2030s there is potential to increase the total number of frigates and destroyers.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the Future Solid Support Programme; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to procure three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) logistic ships to begin entering service from the mid-2020s.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the order of battle is of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As at 22 March 2016 the Order of Battle for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is as follows:

    Order of Battle

    Fleet Tanker

    2

    Small Fleet Tanker

    2

    Fleet Replenishment Ship

    3

    Landing Ship Dock

    3

    Aviation Training Ship

    1

    Forward Repair Ship

    1
  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military exercises UK armed forces have been involved in that have (a) included other EU member states and (b) been EU-led.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Exercises with international Allies and partners are critical to improving our Armed Forces’ interoperability on deployment and enhancing collective Defence through NATO. Last year we saw an excellent example of this in NATO’s Exercise Trident Juncture, the biggest military exercise in 10 years. Although the EU does not lead large scale military operations like NATO, it does support the interoperability of our Armed Forces through its battlegroup framework and small scale exercises led by its Member States. The UK will hold the leadership of the battlegroup in the second half of this year.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military operations UK armed forces have been involved in that have (a) included other EU member states and (b) been EU-led.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The security and stability of the UK has long depended on our strong partnerships in the Euro-Atlantic area, and we have worked alongside our Allies both in NATO and EU operations. The UK Armed Forces are currently deployed alongside European partners in many environments, including the NATO Operation in the Aegean and the EU-led Operation in the Central Mediterranean, both providing critical support to the international efforts to destroy the illegal smuggling networks putting thousands of lives at risk. Additionally, UK Armed Forces are deployed in other EU Operations and Missions in Mali, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia, as well as the anti-piracy operation off the Horn of Africa.

  • Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of building the new general purpose frigate class in parallel with the Type 26 programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence has commenced pre-concept work on the new class of light General Purpose Frigate (GPFF) which will help inform the overall approach to the surface maritime programme following Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

    As this work is in its very early stages it is not possible to make an assessment of the feasibility of building the GPFF in parallel with the Type 26 Global Combat Ships, or what the potential merits of that approach would be.