Tag: Emily Thornberry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, at which military bases unauthorised entries were reported in 2015.

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 unauthorised 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 MOD for 2015 are set out below.

Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth (three incidents)

HMNB Devonport

HMS TEMERAIRE, Portsmouth

Royal Marine Reserves Unit, Bristol

Priorswood Army Cadet Force Detachment, Taunton

Imjin Barracks, Gloucester

Denison Barracks, Hermitage

Caen Barracks, Hohne

Mansergh Barracks, Gutersloh

Invicta Park Barracks, Maidstone

Imjin Barracks, Gloucester

Allenby Barracks Army Reserve Centre, Bovington

Gibraltar Barracks, Minley

Cherrytree Camp, Colchester

Cwmbran Army Reserve Centre, Cwmbran

Westward House Army Reserve Centre, Grimsby

Westdown Camp, Tilshead

Kinloss Barracks, Kinloss

Kendrew Barracks Cottesmore

Redford Cavalry Barracks, Edinburgh

Fox Barracks Army Reserve Centre, Chester

Gorleston Army Cadet Force Detachment, Gorleston-on-Sea

Livingstone Army Reserve Centre, Livingston

Stanley Barracks, Wareham

Normanby Army Cadet Force Detachment, Middlesbrough

Aliwal Barracks, Tidworth

Tamworth Army Cadet Force Detachment, Tamworth

Merville Barracks, Colchester

Canal Street Army Reserve Centre, Wigan

Batley Army Cadet Force Detachment, Batley

RAF Waddington

RAF Marham

RAF Uxbridge

RAF St Mawgan

RAF Brampton

RAF Lossiemouth

RAF Cosford

RAF Leeming (two incidents)

RAF Akrotiri

MOD Lyneham

DSTL Porton Down Range Area

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Defence Procurement on 24 November 2015, Official Report, column 1254, in what ways his Department plans to exercise oversight of the Successor submarine programme.

Greg Hands

The Successor delivery organisation that was announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review will be overseen by the Ministry of Defence. As with any major programme of this scale an appropriate scrutiny process is in place.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military and (b) civilian personnel have been employed as security guards (i) directly and (ii) by external third parties contracted by his Department in each of the last six years.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) employs the MOD Guard Service (MGS) and the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) to guard some of their establishments.

Over the last six years the following numbers have been employed:

FY	MPGS	MGS
2010-11	2,310	3,593
2011-12	2,510	3,439
2012-13	2,630	3,110
2013-14	2,770	2,734
2014-15	2,810	2,064
2015-16	2,940	2,035

The MOD also uses commercial civilian guarding at some sites where this is more cost effective. However, the numbers of security guards employed by third parties is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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:

Ship	Out of Service Date
HMS Argyll	2023
HMS Lancaster	2024
HMS Iron Duke	2025
HMS Monmouth	2026
HMS Montrose	2027
HMS Westminster	2028
HMS Northumberland	2029
HMS Richmond	2030
HMS Somerset	2031
HMS Sutherland	2032
HMS Kent	2033
HMS Portland	2034
HMS St Albans	2035

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Chinooks, (b) Sea King and (c) Lynx helicopters HMS Ocean carried on her most recent deployment.

Penny Mordaunt

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 3 February 2016 to Question 24276.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=24276

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release, UK to step up NATO maritime commitment, of 10 February 2016, which Type 45 Destroyers he expects will be deployed to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 in October 2016.

Penny Mordaunt

I refer the hon.Member to the answer I gave her on 29 February 2016 to Question 28003.

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 financial contribution his Department has made to each of the 16 UN peacekeeping operations which are underway.

James Duddridge

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays the United Kingdom’s assessed financial contributions to 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations. These payments are mandatory under the United Nations Charter. The United Nations apportions the UK’s share of contributions in accordance with United Nations General Assembly resolutions that determine the annual budget for each peacekeeping operations and the ‘Scale of Assessments’, which sets every United Nations member state’s percentage share of the United Nations Peacekeeping Budget. At present, the United Kingdom pays 5.8% of the cost of each mission, with the exception of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. These missions are funded from the United Nations Regular Budget, to which the United Kingdom currently contributes 4.5% of costs.

The table below provides the total budget and United Kingdom contribution to the 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations currently operational for financial year 2015/16:

Name of Peacekeeping Operation	Total PKO budget in FY2015/16 (UK contribution) in £ millions
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara	38.5 (2.0)
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic	571.6 (31.8)
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali	668.5 (37.5)
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti	305.3 (15.5)
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo	1001.3 (54.4)
African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur	812.9 (39.9)
United Nations Disengagement Observer Force	40.7 (2.2)
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus	40.1 (1.2)
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon	376.8 (20.9)
United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei	208.9 (8.7)
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo	30.3 (1.4)
United Nations Mission in Liberia	271.8 (14.1)
United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan	793.9 (43.0)
United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan	6.9 (0.3)
United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire	316.5 (16.2)
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization	24.6 (1.2)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on special forces in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the total amount was spent on equipment 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, whether his Department has updated estimates of the cost of the Successor submarine programme since the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

Mr Philip Dunne

No. As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, our latest estimate is that manufacturing the four Successor submarines is likely to cost a total of £31 billion, including inflation over the lifetime of the programme. We will also set a contingency of £10 billion.

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 9 February 2016 to Question 25082, how many unauthorised entries were recorded in relation to each of the bases listed in the 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 2015 is set out in the attached table. None of these incidents resulted in any significant ramifications for Defence security.

In drafting the answer to these questions, it has become apparent that the answer to Question 24141 was incorrect, understating the number of unauthorised entries to military bases in 2015 by one, the correct number is 45; a second security incident of this category occurred at MOD Lyneham. The information has been corrected in this answer.