The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Boeing Poseidon P8s acquired by the UK will use Mk 54 torpedoes.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department (a) has allocated and (b) plans to allocate resources to study the potential threat posed by unmanned underwater vehicles to the SSBN fleet.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Government takes its responsibilities for maintaining the integrity of our submarine fleet extremely seriously and dedicates considerable resource to ensuring that the credibility and standards for operational effectiveness will continue to be met. Our submarine fleet will not be rendered obsolete by new technologies, including developments in unmanned underwater vehicle technology. I am withholding further details as publication would prejudice or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for negotiations on the bilateral agreement regulating flights between the UK and the People’s Republic of China.
Mr John Hayes
Bilateral UK/China air services negotiations took place in London on 10 and 11 October 2016. An agreement was signed on behalf of the UK by the Minister for Aviation, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. This agreement significantly increases the traffic rights available to airlines from both countries and enables airlines to operate more services to a wider range of destinations in each country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-11-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost will be of the safe landing modifications required to the flight deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth; and what the implications for those additional costs are for the total cost before operational use of that carrier.
Mr Philip Dunne
The ability of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) Aircraft Carrier to support F-35B vertical landings has been incorporated into the design from the outset. The cost of preparing the flight deck was included in the revised cost of £6.2 billion announced by the previous Defence Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond), on 6 November 2013, (Official Report, column 251-254).
For information on the modifications being made to the flight deck of the QEC Aircraft Carrier, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 June 2014 (Official Report, column 237W) to the right hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has sent a letter of request to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency for the purchase of P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence can confirm that a letter of request has been sent to the appropriate United States authorities for the procurement of the P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft and its associated support systems.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sorties of the Watchkeeper UAV have been flown from RAF Ascension in each month since January 2015.
Mr Philip Dunne
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans for work to begin on rectifying electrical and propulsion faults on the Daring Class Type 45 Destroyer; which ships such rectification work will involve; and when his Department plans for such work to end for each such ship involved.
Mr Philip Dunne
A number of measures to improve the reliability of the Type 45 Power and Propulsion systems have been identified and the ongoing programme to implement these changes continues to deliver positive results, with the majority of work undertaken so far being at Her Majesty’s Naval Base, Portsmouth.
In addition, and as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we are committed to improving system resilience by adding upgraded diesel generators to provide further electrical generation capacity. Alternative technical options and a variety of delivery models are currently being explored with several competing industrial partners. The total cost and timetable for implementing the diesel generator upgrade will be determined at the main investment decision. I am withholding details of our current time and cost estimates as premature disclosure of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which UK assets were supporting the USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf on 12 January 2016.
Penny Mordaunt
On 12 January 2016 HMS Defender, a Type 45 destroyer, was providing air defence to the US carrier USS Harry S Truman as part of her recent role supporting both the French and American carriers in the Gulf.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 27968, what the opening and closing dates are for the public consultation of the UK National Screening Committee’s review of group B streptococcus policy; and on what date the meeting at which a decision will be made is planned.
Ben Gummer
In December 2015 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) commissioned an update review into antenatal screening for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) as per its published process. A public consultation is expected to be held in the autumn for a three month period. The UK NSC will then review the recommendation for GBS at the successive meeting. Specific dates will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what investigatory methods his Department uses for reports of potential breaches of international humanitarian law by UK allies in Yemen.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations using all available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of information from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations regarding reports of potential breaches of IHL.
We regularly raise the importance of compliance with IHL with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. The UK is not a member of the Saudi-led Coalition. 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. However we have provided training and advice to Saudi Arabia to ensure continued compliance with IHL and minimise civilian casualties.