Tag: Emily Thornberry

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which assets his Department plans to decommission over the next 12 months.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Ministry of Defence manages a wide range of assets to support the UK Armed Forces. A list of equipment due to be decommissioned in the next 12 months is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, the following major equipment platforms are planned to be taken out of service in 2016:

Sea King Mk3, 3a, 4 and 5;

RFA Black Rover – Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fleet Support Tanker.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 27 January 2015 to Question 221410, when he expects the concept phase of the development of a collision warning system for the Typhoon aircraft to be complete; and when he expects an investment decision to be made.

Mr Philip Dunne

We remain committed to reducing the risk of aircraft-to-aircraft collision through exploiting technology and reviewing operating procedures on Typhoon aircraft.

Two possible equipment solutions have been demonstrated and will be part of formal assessment in the coming months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23290, whether it is his policy for the House to be given an opportunity to debate in advance any decision to (a) launch airstrikes against ISIL/Daesh targets outside Syria and Iraq and (b) deploy UK military personnel, embedded within other nations’ armed forces, on military operations against ISIL/Daesh targets outside Syria and Iraq.

Michael Fallon

The Government is committed to the convention that, before UK troops are committed to conflict, Parliament should have an opportunity to debate the matter, except when such action is necessary in an emergency. The Government will inform the House of any exceptional operation where there has not been prior debate in Parliament, as the Prime Minister did on 7 September 2015 in relation to the precision airstrike that took place on 21 August 2015.

The embedding of UK forces in the armed forces of allies is a valuable and commonplace activity governed through long standing and frequently reciprocal international arrangements. Although it is not policy for the House to be given the opportunity to debate their deployment we are committed to continued transparency about UK Service personnel embedded in other nations’ armed forces on operations and I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 17 December 2015 (Official Report, column 97-98WS) which updated the House on this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24285, how many times (a) Brimstone missiles, (b) Hellfire missiles and (c) Paveway IV guided bombs were deployed against targets in Iraq between 2 December 2015 and 29 January 2016.

Penny Mordaunt

The number of weapons fired by each weapon type in Iraq during the period requested is shown below:

Weapon Type	Number of weapons fired at targets in Iraq
Hellfire	39
Dual Mode Seeker Brimstone	15
Paveway IV	230

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in receipt of a war disablement pension are also in receipt of the (a) age-related tax allowance, (b) allowance for lowered standard of occupation and (c) unemployability supplement.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on how many people in receipt of a War Pension are also in receipt of the age-related tax allowance, as this is administered by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. However, as at 31 March 2015 (the latest date information is available) there were 41,470* disablement pensioners born before 6 April 1938 who may meet the eligibility criteria to receive age-related tax allowance.

As at 31 March 2015 (the latest date information is available) there were 116,050 disablement pensioners in receipt of an ongoing pension under the War Pension Scheme. Of these, 10,195 were in receipt of an allowance for lowered standard of occupation, and 6,250 were in receipt of unemployability supplement. All payments made under the War Pension Scheme are tax free.

These figures can be found on the Gov.uk website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/war-pension-recipients-index

* In line with Defence Statistics’ Rounding Policy for War Pension Scheme data, all figures of five or more have been rounded to the nearest five.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) funding the Government will provide to the Joint Security Fund, (b) funding his Department will receive from that fund, (c) funding Defence Intelligence will receive from that fund and (d) proportion of the funding his Department will so receive will be passed onto the armed forces.

Michael Fallon

The Treasury has allocated £3.5 billion to departments over this Parliament to provide joint security funding across government: the Ministry of Defence will benefit from £2.1 billion of that funding to deliver the investment for our Armed Forces set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 3.58 of the 44th Report of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, published in March 2015, when the review of military commitment bonuses was completed; and if he will publish that review.

Penny Mordaunt

Following our initial evidence to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) in 2014 we undertook to conduct a more fundamental review of commitment bonuses during 2015, once New Employment Model proposals had matured. Our intention was to submit further evidence to the AFPRB. However, as announced on 23 November 2015, and detailed in the Government’s National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, a decision was taken as part of this wider review to phase out commitment bonuses. This decision reflected the view that there was insufficient evidence to prove a tangible retention benefit from these payments. All such payments will now cease from 1 April 2021, providing affected personnel time to adjust their financial plans to take account of any payments for which they are no longer eligible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions RAF personnel were embedded with US forces during (a) operational deployments and (b) training exercises in each of the last six years; and how many such occasions involved the use of the P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Penny Mordaunt

The use of the P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft in the US is predominantly limited to those personnel embedded with the US Navy as part of the Seedcorn Initiative. The Seedcorn programme in the US on P8 aircraft started in 2012 with 20 personnel involved and has remained at 20 for each subsequent year (allowing for minor fluctuations during transitory periods).

Outside of the Seedcorn Initiative, the total number of RAF personnel embedded with US forces over the past six years is as follows:

2010 – 52

2011 – 52

2012 – 48

2013 – 49

2014 – 46

2015 – 47

2016 – 46

Once personnel are embedded with another nation the RAF retains no command relationship with those personnel. Therefore, information on training exercises undertaken is not held.

With respect to operational deployments, I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by the Defence Secretary on 17 December 2015: (Official Report, column 98WS) where he provided data on the UK Service personnel embedded in other nations’ armed forces and deployed on or in support of operations. This will be updated in the next Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts. Information specific to RAF personnel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Information on whether any of these deployments involved the P-8 aircraft is not available. However, I am able to confirm that one of the US embed posts does involve flying the P-8A outside of the Seedcorn Initiative.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether special forces deployments are discussed at meetings of the National Security Council.

Penny Mordaunt

This Government has demonstrated its commitment to our Special Forces by announcing a £2 billion programme of investment over the course of this Parliament. All military operations, including the activities of the Special Forces, are discussed and scrutinised at the highest levels of Government, including at the National Security Council. However, as it is the longstanding policy of the Government not to comment on our Special Forces, or to release information relating to them, I cannot comment on specific questions about personnel, equipment, discussions or activities in relation to these units.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) new contracts and (b) amendments to existing contracts placed by his Department in 2015 were not referred to the Single Source Regulations Office because the approval of the (i) Ministry of Defence and (ii) supplier was not granted.

Mr Philip Dunne

Each year the Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes an analysis of all new contracts which sets out whether they were placed competitively or non-competitively. This analysis appears in the Department’s Statistical Bulletin Trade, Industry and Contracts and the most recent period for which data is available can be found through the link below. Table six in the excel tables and page 11 of the pdf refer to the relevant information.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015

Figures for amendments to existing contracts are not held centrally and, due to the large number of such cases, an analysis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

All single source procurement contracts which met the criteria set out in Part two of the Defence Reform Act 2014 (DRA) are subject to the new single source procurement framework, apart from a very small number which have been specifically exempted from the framework by the Secretary of State for Defence, using the powers granted to him under section 14(7) of the DRA. The Department does not release details of these exemptions in order to avoid influencing future decisions.

Contracts which were signed prior to the new single source procurement framework coming into force can become subject to the regulations on amendment by agreement between the MOD and the contractor. To maximise the benefits from the regulations, the MOD intends to seek such agreement where appropriate, except where there are well founded commercial or practical reasons not to. However, the Department does not hold a central record of the number of contracts which have, on amendment, not been converted to Qualifying Defence Contracts, and the data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Contracts which fall under the Regulations are only referred to the Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) when there is a disagreement between the supplier and the contracting authority which cannot be resolved through negotiation between these two parties. The subjects that can be referred to the SSRO are set out in the DRA, and include whether or not costs are allowable, attributable to the contract and reasonable. Should a referral be made by either the MOD or the supplier, the consent of the other party is not required. One such referral was made in 2015, by the MOD.

The MOD is currently pursuing the recruitment of a Chair for the SSRO. The SSRO has an Interim Chairman in post and the Department plans to advertise this substantive position shortly.