Tag: Emily Thornberry

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects each of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates to be withdrawn from service.

Mr Philip Dunne

Current planning assumptions are:

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26719, what change programmes are underway which are expected to reduce the number of his Department’s civilian employees.

Mark Lancaster

The main change programmes which are in progress and expected to deliver significant civilian workforce reductions are Army re-basing, the US Visiting Forces restructuring, and transformation of Information Systems and Services.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is also considering further programmes which are intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of defence outputs and the support provided to the Armed Forces. These include plans to reduce the overall Defence Estate; provision of Defence Fire and Emergency services; transforming the provision of hard and soft facility management, arrangements for infrastructure policing, options for the delivery of the MOD Guard Service and for the provision of shared corporate services. Each of these further programmes may impact on civilian staff. As I stated in my previous answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26719, the timing and reductions associated with individual programmes are still to be determined.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on how much and what proportion of the total budget for UN peacekeeping was spent in support of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in each of the last six years.

James Duddridge

The table below sets out how much the UN General Assembly allocated to the gross budget for the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for the last six UN budget years (which run from 1 July to 30 June); the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus net budget, following the deduction of voluntary contributions from the Governments of Cyprus and Greece; how much the total UN Peacekeeping Budget was for each year; and the percentage of the UN Peacekeeping Budget allocated to UNFICYP’s gross budget. The UN budgets in US dollars, therefore all the figures below are in that currency.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new recruits joined (a) 22 Special Air Service Regiment, (b) Special Boat Service, (c) Special Reconnaissance Regiment, (d) 18 Signal Regiment, (e) Special Forces Support Group and (f) Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing in each of the last 10 years; and how many personnel left each of those units in each such year.

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 Ministry of Defence Police officers were deployed to support civilian police forces in each of the last six years.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) do not have any designated police stations as defined by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.The MDP work collaboratively with Home Office forces, Police Scotland and Police Service Northern Ireland in locations where the force is deployed.

The MDP has regularly collaborated to provide support to national police operations. However the information requested will take time to collate and I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 33821, how many unauthorised entries were recorded in relation to each of the bases listed in that Answer; what form of unauthorised entries were recorded in each case; which cases were investigated by (a) the Ministry of Defence Police, (b) a military police force and (c) a local civilian police force; and which such investigations led to a prosecution.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) treats all unauthorised entries to military bases very seriously. They are investigated to a level commensurate with their complexity and impact by Military Police, MOD Police or local constabulary.

A breakdown of unauthorised entries to military bases recorded within the MOD for 2014 is set out in the attached table. None of these incidents resulted in any significant ramifications for Defence security.

In drafting the answer to this question, it has become apparent that the answers to Questions 24141 and 33821 were incorrect, understating the number of unauthorised entries to military bases in 2014 by one, the correct number is 25, and in the list of the locations of such security incidents, RAF Leeming was omitted. The information has been corrected in this answer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions a Royal Navy submarine was deployed to the Arctic region in each of the last six years.

Penny Mordaunt

The Astute class submarines are the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy, combining world-leading sensors, design and weaponry in a versatile vessel. The Royal Navy maintains world-wide deployability with its submarines, this includes under-ice capability.

We do not discuss the detail of such submarine operations, as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 1 December 2014 to Question 216015, what criteria her Department sets for eligibility for free school meals for households in receipt of universal credit.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Universal Credit is being rolled out in stages and the vast majority of households with children whose parents who are receiving in-work benefits will not transfer to Universal Credit until late 2016. The Department for Education is currently considering how the eligibility rules should change, and will consult on proposals ahead of their introduction.

While this work is on-going, any child whose parent or guardian is receiving Universal Credit will continue to be entitled to free school meals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the average hourly earnings of working people in receipt of universal credit.

Priti Patel

The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who made a claim for support for mortgage interest in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13, (e) 2013-14 and (f) 2014-15 went into arrears on their (i) interest repayments and (ii) capital repayments during the 13-week waiting period.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested regarding the number and proportion of people who made a claim for support for mortgage interest from 2009 to date who were in arrears on the interest or capital repayment during their waiting period is not available.