Blog

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been spent on (a) maintenance of and (b) upgrade works for (i) Tornado, (ii) Typhoon and (iii) Reaper drones in each of the last six years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The costs of maintenance and capability upgrades for Tornado, Typhoon and the Reaper Unmanned Air System, in each of the last six financial years, are shown in the table below.

    Financial year (£ million)

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Tornado: capability upgrade work

    87.2

    69.3

    33.3

    28.9

    58.2

    45.6

    Tornado: maintenance

    311.0

    303.8

    369.7

    344.2

    247.7

    184.9

    Typhoon: capability upgrade work

    0

    0

    0

    0

    66.8

    178.4

    Typhoon: maintenance

    392.7

    475.3

    499.6

    294.8

    313.1

    460.2

    Reaper: maintenance

    4.8

    4.8

    4.8

    9.8

    27.1

    23.5

    Reaper: capability upgrade work

    0.2

    0.4

    0.4

    0.6

    1.3

    1.3

    Note: Costs for all platforms are extracted from the equipment support programme budget.

    “

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Tornado and (b) Typhoon aircraft have been temporarily taken out of service as a result of weather damage sustained during (i) combat operations and (ii) training exercises in each of the last six years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Data on weather damage to Typhoon and Tornado aircraft is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of (a) Tornado and (b) Typhoon aircraft in the Forward Available Fleet are classed as short term unserviceable as a result of undergoing (i) short term maintenance and (ii) other short term works.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is detailed in the attached table.

    The Forward Available Fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable. Short-term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other rectification or technical inspection work that can arise on a day-to-day basis. Dependent on the nature of the work, aircraft may be designated as requiring either ‘short-term maintenance’ or ‘short-term works’.

    The Sustainment Fleet numbers represent those aircraft in the Depth Fleet, which comprises aircraft which are undergoing planned depth maintenance or upgrade programmes.

    Decommissioning and disposal are part of the same process and are therefore grouped together.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Tornado and (b) Typhoon aircraft are (i) in the Forward Available Fleet, (ii) in the Sustainment Fleet and (iii) awaiting decommissioning or disposal.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is detailed in the attached table.

    The Forward Available Fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable. Short-term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other rectification or technical inspection work that can arise on a day-to-day basis. Dependent on the nature of the work, aircraft may be designated as requiring either ‘short-term maintenance’ or ‘short-term works’.

    The Sustainment Fleet numbers represent those aircraft in the Depth Fleet, which comprises aircraft which are undergoing planned depth maintenance or upgrade programmes.

    Decommissioning and disposal are part of the same process and are therefore grouped together.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Statement of 20 July 2015, HCWS 149, whether UK personnel embedded with the US military are subject to US military and domestic criminal law, or UK law, or both.

    Michael Fallon

    Under the Armed Forces Act 2006, UK personnel embedded with other nations’ armed forces remain subject to Service law (including the criminal law of England and Wales) at all times. Whether UK personnel embedded with US armed forces are also subject to US law will depend on the exact nature of their deployment.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what coordination he is undertaking with other EU member states on the deployment of military assets to rescue migrants and refugees at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Royal Navy is not currently involved in a Search and Rescue Mission in the Mediterranean. However, HMS Enterprise, which is currently deployed as part of the EU Naval Forces Operation in the Mediterranean, will coordinate with assets from other EU member states in order to respond to vessels in distress.

    In addition, a Royal Marine force protection team is deployed on board the Border Force chartered vessel MV VOS GRACE currently in the Aegean Sea, supporting the EU’s FRONTEX-led search and rescue operation.

    In total, the UK has rescued over 12,500 people in the Mediterranean.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the UK red card policy for personnel embedded in other nations’ armed forces.

    Michael Fallon

    There is no single red card policy for UK personnel embedded in other nations’ armed forces as their permissions will be specific to the operation in which they will be deployed. It is long-standing Government policy that we do not release details of our Rules of Engagement; to do so would give our enemies detail that would put our Armed Forces at greater risk.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Statement of 20 July 2015, Official Report, columns 1233-4, on Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy, if he will publish the location of UK personnel, other than special forces, embedded in other nations’ armed forces on a monthly basis.

    Michael Fallon

    I refer my right hon. Friend to my Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2015 (Official Report, column WS431).

    For operational security reasons we will not routinely identify units, location or dates.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of (a) Tornado and (b) Typhoon aircraft in the Sustainment Fleet are (i) undergoing planned maintenance, (ii) undergoing upgrade work and (iii) held in temporary storage.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is detailed in the attached table.

    The Forward Available Fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable. Short-term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other rectification or technical inspection work that can arise on a day-to-day basis. Dependent on the nature of the work, aircraft may be designated as requiring either ‘short-term maintenance’ or ‘short-term works’.

    The Sustainment Fleet numbers represent those aircraft in the Depth Fleet, which comprises aircraft which are undergoing planned depth maintenance or upgrade programmes.

    Decommissioning and disposal are part of the same process and are therefore grouped together.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.75 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, whether his Department has recruited an experienced, commercial specialist to lead the new nuclear enterprise sponsor team.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Options for the new team continue to be developed and assessed. We expect to announce further details later this year once decisions have been made.