Tag: Brendan O’Hara

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 11029, whether assessment of the necessary infrastructure adaptations to update the facilities at HM Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport has been completed.

Mr Philip Dunne

Assessments are currently under way to inform decisions and refine programme costs of the individual projects at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the circumstances were of the collision involving HMS Ambush near Gibraltar on 20 July 2016; and whether there will be a board of inquiry investigation into that incident.

Harriett Baldwin

It is UK policy that we do not comment on matters relating to submarine activity or operations as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

HMS AMBUSH is undergoing repairs at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, the duration of which is under review.

On 28 July 2016, the Director General of the Defence Safety Authority convened an independent Service Inquiry to investigate the circumstances of this incident. It would be inappropriate to comment further while this investigation is on-going.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether there have been any unintentional violations of international humanitarian law carried out by Saudi coalition forces in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by all sides to the conflict and take these very seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached. As the Saudi Arabian authorities announced on 31 January, they have mechanisms in place to investigate alleged incidents and to learn lessons if things go wrong. The Ministry of Defence also monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using a range of available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. At this stage, looking at all the information available to us, we have not assessed that there has been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but we continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for permission to be given to use the Vertical Launching System at Benbecula as a commercial launch pad.

Mr Philip Dunne

The current facilities at the Ministry of Defence Hebrides Range near Benbecula do not have vertical launch capability. The Department has not investigated whether the site could be used as a commercial launch pad.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to review the eligibility for the operational allowance for service personnel.

Mark Lancaster

We review eligible locations every six months as standard but Ministers have no plans to change the qualifying criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 14252, what estimate he has made of his Department’s likely strength of civilian personnel based in Scotland on 1 April (a) 2016 and (b) 2020 for each top level budget.

Michael Fallon

It has not been possible in the time available to provide a geographical breakdown of projected estimated civilian personnel strengths by Top Level Budget. Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials will investigate what information can be provided and I will write in due course.

As at 1 July 2015 the MOD employed 3,770 civilian personnel at locations in Scotland. A breakdown by Unitary Authority can be found in the Quarterly Locations Report, the latest edition of which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-quarterly-statistics-2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British military advisers have been present in control rooms of the Saudi-led coalition engaged in conflict in Yemen.

Penny Mordaunt

We have deployed a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers in Saudi headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control. These liaison officers are not involved in the targeting process – whether it be the selection, decision making or directing.

British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to mitigate the costs of and time taken for International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) applications related to the UK spaceport in order to facilitate investment and involvement from the US; and what steps the Government is taking to work with the US to ensure that ITAR is applied in a way that precludes a need for multiple applications to be made for discrete systems and single vehicle types.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The 2014 Government Spaceplane Review provided the groundwork for enabling spaceplane operations from the UK, including identifying key criteria for locating a UK spaceport, and identifying potential locations based on these. The Government tested the conclusions of this review through consultation and published its response in March 2015. This confirmed Campbeltown, Glasgow Prestwick and Stornoway in Scotland, Llanbedr Airfield in Wales and Newquay in England as potential spaceport locations.

Further information on the Spaceplane review and the Government consultation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/spaceport-locations-and-criteria

Commercial spaceflight is a complex, international, and evolving market. The Government is considering a range of options on next steps that would best deliver our ambition of a spaceport, and the supporting regulatory environment for spaceflight, within this Parliament.

The Government is in discussion with the US Government on ITAR-related issues. However, ITAR applications are not a factor at this stage for potential spaceport locations but may become so if a US spaceplane operator seeks to operate from the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Brimstone missiles have been used in Syria in each month since December 2015.

Mike Penning

The following number of Brimstone missiles have been released by UK aircraft engaged on Operation SHADER in Syria.

Year	Month
2015	December	0
2016	January	17
February	2
March	0
April	0
May	0
June	1
July	0
August	6

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department will meet the revised December 2015 target for upgrading air defence radars at RRH Benbecula and RRH Buchan to the TPS-77 radar standard.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Type 92 radars at Remote Radar Heads Buchan and Benbecula have both been upgraded to the TPS-77 standard; the Buchan upgrade was completed on 30 March 2015 and the Benbecula upgrade on 3 July 2015.