The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the total cost of disposal of Nimrod MR4A associated material at RAF Kinloss.
Mr Philip Dunne
The current net cost of removal of Nimrod MR4A material is £86,000. However, we expect the final net cost to be lower since some of the material removed from site has yet to be sold.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what interruption to commercial and recreational shipping traffic is expected during the dredging of Portsmouth Harbour.
Mr Philip Dunne
Portsmouth is a busy military port, which also manages commercial and recreational traffic flows, and the maintenance of harbour facilities, including dredging, around harbour users’ requirements is routine business.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who authorises the public release of photographs of aircraft that are intercepted during Quick Reaction Alert flights.
Mr Mark Francois
Photographs are routinely taken during Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) interceptions. There is strong public and media interest in the RAF Quick Reaction Alert deterrent capability. MOD policy is to release a limited amount of non-sensitive information on QRA launches, sometimes including photographs. This provides the public with strong examples of how the RAF is able to respond to this kind of incident. It also provides public awareness of the RAF’s ability to defend the UK through the effectiveness of its air defences and to maintain the full deterrence value of the QRA mission. Media enquiries regarding QRA launches also often include requests for photographs.
Consequently, RAF Operations Staffs in coordination with MOD officials, including the MOD Directorate of Media and Communications, will occasionally consider these photographs for public release.
Photographs of a recent QRA mission were released on 25 April 2014. The previous release of photographs of intercepted aircraft from a recent mission was in March 2010; additionally for other QRA information releases in the last three years, MOD have utilised stock images from the Defence Image Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has provided top-cover fixed-wing search and rescue assets for a search and rescue mission in each of the last two years; and what aircraft were used in each case.
Mr Mark Francois
Information on the occasions when Ministry of Defence (MOD) aircraft have provided top-cover fixed wing search and rescue (SAR) assets for a SAR mission is provided in the following table:
| Year | Aircraft Type | Number of SAR Missions |
| 2012 | E3-D Sentry | 1 |
| 2013 | None | 0 |
| 2014* | C130 | 1 |
*To 5 June 2014
Aircraft provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency or overseas Governments may also be tasked by MOD to participate in rescue missions.
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 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraphs 7.22, 7.21 and 7.7 of Joint Service Publication 832, if he will place in the Library and on his Department’s website a copy of the Service inquiry regarding the collision of two Tornado aircraft over the Moray Firth on 3 July 2012.
Dr Andrew Murrison
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right Hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mark Francois) on 3 December 2013, (Official Report, column 639W). It would be inappropriate to comment on any details relating to this incident prior to the publication of the Service Inquiry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what consideration his Department gave to procuring the Rangeless Airborne Instrumented Debriefing System with Collision Warning software for installation on the Tornado aircraft.
Mr Philip Dunne
The requirement of the Ministry of Defence was for an Instrument Debriefing System. Records of any consideration given to the procurement of additional capabilities are no longer centrally held and the retrieval of this information would be possible only at disproportionate cost.
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.