Tag: Emily Thornberry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Review of childcare costs: the analytical report, published by her Department on 25 November 2015, if she will publish the responses to her Department’s call for evidence on childcare costs in full.

Mr Sam Gyimah

It is not the Department’s policy to publish individual responses to a consultation or to a call for evidence, some of which may have been submitted to the Department in confidence. The Department published the findings of the call for evidence on 8 October 2015 and the report is available from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/cost-of-providing-childcare-review-call-for-evidence

The call for evidence was an important part of the government’s review of the cost of childcare and it is one of the sources of evidence that informed the final report which was published on 25 November 2015.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Tornado aircraft are fitted with the Honeywell Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System II; and how many are currently being fitted with that system.

Mr Philip Dunne

As at 28 January 2016, 43 Tornado GR4 aircraft had been fitted with a Traffic Collision Avoidance System capability. A total of 61 Tornado GR4 aircraft will be fitted with this capability by the end of 2016, when the project is planned to be completed.

It should be noted that as far as we are aware, this is the first time ever a Collision Avoidance System has been fitted to a combat fast jet, anywhere in the world.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the operational capacity of the (a) Royal Navy and (b) RAF to extend military operations against ISIL/Daesh beyond Syria and Iraq.

Penny Mordaunt

The future operational capacities of the UK Armed Forces are set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Should there be a requirement for new military operations against Daesh beyond Syria and Iraq, these would need to be balanced against the commitments at the time and the capabilities available.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.61 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, whether civilians employed by (a) the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, (b) Defence Equipment and Support and (c) trading funds are included in his Department’s calculation of the size of the workforce he expects to cut by 30 per cent by the end of this Parliament.

Mark Lancaster

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Defence Equipment and Support and the Trading Funds were included in the baseline workforce calculation.

The Ministry of Defence is managing a range of change programmes designed to deliver Defence outputs more efficiently and effectively, including Army 2020 and outsourcing logistics to Leidos. A Business Improvement Review has been set up to identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of support activities across Defence. This Review will look at the total shape, size and structure of our civilian workforce, the functions and processes that they are engaged in, and how those can be made more efficient.

The Department expects the civilian workforce to reduce to around 41,000 by 2020. However, the timing and reductions associated with individual programmes are still to be determined and final decisions will be subject to consultation with employee representatives, value for money considerations and, where appropriate, commercial negotiation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) military and (b) civilian personnel are deployed on UN peacekeeping operations in each operational theatre.

Penny Mordaunt

The tables below show the numbers of military and civilian personnel the UK has deployed to UN mandated peacekeeping and special political missions in the last six years, as at 26 February 2016:

Military Personnel

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
UNFICYP (Cyprus)	271	273	270	274	274	274
MINUSMA (Mali)			1	2	2	2
UNMISS (South Sudan)		3	2	4	3	3
MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of Congo)	5	4	5	5	5	5
UNSOM (Somalia)					2	2
UNSMIL (Libya/Tunisia)					1	1
TOTAL	276	280	278	285	287	287

Civilian Personnel

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
MONUSCO	1	1	1	1	1
UNMISS		4	4	2
UNSMIL					1	1
MINUSTAH (Haiti)				3	3	3
UNMIL (Liberia)					1	1
TOTAL	1	1	1	8	10	7

The civilian figures represent deployments from the Stabilisation Unit; other Government Departments also deploy civilians on UN Peacekeeping missions.

The figures do not include deployments to UN Agencies.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on replacement of Vector protected patrol vehicles.

Mr Philip Dunne

Vector was finally removed from service in 2015 and is currently awaiting disposal. Protected mobility capability is currently provided by a range of vehicles from the existing core fleet, including former Urgent Operational Requirement platforms retained in service following their return from Afghanistan. In the longer term, the Multi Role Vehicle (Protected) series of platforms will provide a light to medium protected vehicle capability.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence of 9 December 2015, HCWS372, on War Pension Scheme – Uprating 2016, if he will make an estimate of the cost of uprating war pensions in line with average earnings in 2016.

Mark Lancaster

The Department uprates War Pensions annually in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), ensuring a consistent approach to social security disability benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions. This is in keeping with other public service schemes and reflects the measure of inflation used by the Bank of England. Therefore the Ministry of Defence has no plans to estimate the cost of uprating compensation payments made under the War Pension Scheme in line with average earnings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what occasions Border Force Cutters seized contraband goods while on patrol in UK waters in each of the last six years; and what the (a) volume and (b) type of goods intercepted was in each such case.

James Brokenshire

Border Force does not provide seizure information specific to ports or mode of activity as to do so is likely to compromise border security.

Such information in the public domain is highly likely to inform those who seek to defraud or smuggle, how and where to target their activity in order to evade border controls.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy for the House to be given an opportunity to debate in advance any decision to use his Department’s cyber strike capability.

Penny Mordaunt

We continue to develop the ability of our Armed Forces to deploy a broad range of offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of military operations. As with other sensitive defence capabilities, we do not reveal specific details in order to safeguard national security. As we have previously made clear in the context of the war powers convention, we do not propose to define the circumstances in which we would consult Parliament about the use of particular military capabilities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, at which military bases unauthorised entries were reported in each year from 2014.

Mark Lancaster

The figures for unauthorised entries to military bases include drones and air balloon flying at low altitude over military sites but do not include failed attempts at authorised access. None of these incidents resulted in any significant ramifications for Defence security.

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

The locations of security incidents of this category recorded within the Ministry of Defence for 2014 are set out below.

Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth

HMNB Clyde

Royal Marine (RM) Stonehouse

Army Reserve Centre, Bristol

Army Reserve Centre, Blackburn

Army Careers Centre, Glasgow

RAF Halton

RAF Kirton on Lindsay

RAF Wyton

RAF Linton on Ouse

RAF Brize Norton

RAF Scampton

RAF Benson

RAF Honington

RAF Mona

RAF Leeming

DSTL Porton Down Range Area

With regard to the locations of security incidents of this category within the MOD for 2015 I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 9 February 2016 to question number 25082.

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