Tag: Angus Robertson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made by UK forces in the search for the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Mark Simmonds

The UK is working with the US, France, Nigeria, its neighbours and international partners to provide advice and assistance to the Nigerian Government to help them secure the safe release of the schoolgirls and defeat Boko Haram. Our SENTINEL aircraft, as part of a number of allied surveillance assets, continues to conduct over-flights of Nigeria and a team of UK experts is working alongside US and French counterparts in Nigeria in the Intelligence Fusion Cell to assist the Nigerians in locating the abducted students. I look forward to taking further stock of this activity, and wider work to tackle Boko Haram, with Foreign Minister Wali and representatives from Nigeria’s neighbours, the US, France, Canada, UN, AU and EU at this week’s ministerial meeting on security in northern Nigeria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse to date is of the Recruiting and Partnering Project.

Anna Soubry

The cost of the Recruiting & Partnering Project to date (for the three years from March 2011-2014) is around £300 million. This figure includes the costs of the service provider, CAPITA and costs to the Ministry of Defence such as military and civilian manpower, Information Communication Technology provision and infrastructure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the near cash projected spending on the Equipment Plan and Equipment Support Plan is for each year to 2018.

Mr Philip Dunne

Projected spending on the Equipment Plan and Equipment Support Plan is detailed in the annual Defence Equipment Plan. The most recent edition was published on 12 February 2014.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279440/defence_equipment_plan_2013.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any RAF pilot has flown the Joint Strike Fighter B at (a) supersonic speeds, (b) above 18 degrees angle of attack and (c) past 4.5 g-force.

Mr Philip Dunne

The RAF test pilot at NAS Patuxent River routinely flies the Joint Strike Fighter B at supersonic speeds, above 18 degrees angle of attack and past 4.5 g-force.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made towards negotiating a peaceful solution with Iran on the nuclear issue.

Hugh Robertson

The November interim agreement between the E3+3 and Iran was a significant first step to resolving the nuclear issue. It has created time to negotiate a comprehensive agreement. On this we are making progress although we are under no illusion about the difficulty of reaching a successful outcome. Talks resume on 16 June in Vienna, with the aim of reaching an agreement by the 20 July which is when the interim deal currently expires.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the initial estimate of the additional costs of reverting to the fallback position of a hosting solution provided by Capita for the Recruiting Partnering Project increased from £47.7 million to £70 million; and who was responsible for these estimates.

Anna Soubry

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) set out on 14 January 2014 (Official Report, column 716) the cost of Capita providing a new Information Technology platform as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project. At the time, these costs were expected to be around £47.7 million directly linked to the change of hosting provision. Since this statement, the £47.7 million has reduced to £42.9 million.

As previously stated by the Secretary of State on 14 January, there has been an additional cost of around £1 million per month to run the Capita system. This includes costs for additional manpower.

The Recruiting Partnering Project remains within the overall agreed cost of £1.360 billion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what deviations or exemptions from the Military Air Systems Certifications Process were made for the Airseeker aircraft; when those deviations or exemptions were made; and who authorised each such deviation or exemption.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 June 2014, (Official Report, column 364W), to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Alison Seabeck).

Ongoing work will progressively refine this release as additional information becomes available and further analysis is conducted.