Tag: Emily Thornberry

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new recruits who have joined the Army Reserve since 1 April 2015 have (a) started and (b) finished phase (i) one and (ii) two training.

Mr Julian Brazier

Both Reserve and Regular recruits undertake initial Phase 1 training in order to become effective soldiers and then proceed to Phase 2 training, where they receive the specific training they need to carry out their defined role. On successful completion of Phase 2, they join the Army Reserve Trained Strength.

For Reserve recruits, Phase 1 initial training consists of two components; Phase 1(A) is delivered as a single week long course or over four weekends. Phase 1(B) is a 15.5 day long course. Phase 2 role-specific training courses are delivered over one period not exceeding 16 days.

Army Reserve recruits are expected to commence Phase 1 training as soon as possible after enlistment. However, factors such as arranging time off work, exam attendance, family commitments, injury or medical clearance can delay a recruit from starting Phase 1 training. Some new soldier entrants are enlisted at risk whilst waiting to be declared medically fit. These entrants are described as Phase 0.

Army Reservists are required to attend at least one period of annual continuous training per year not exceeding 16 days. It is therefore expected that Army Reservists will complete Phase 1 during their first year of service and Phase 2 during their second year of service. Some Army Reservists however are able to complete Phase 1 and Phase 2 training during their first year of service, as demonstrated by the information in the table below concerning the 2015 entrants.

The figures in the table below are as at 1 January 2016 and have been rounded to the nearest 10.

	January-December 2015	April- December 2015
New Entrants to the FR20 Army Reserves	3,640	2,740
Phase 0/Phase 1 Trainee	2,700	2,250
Phase 2 Trainee (completed Phase 1)	500	280
On Trained FR20 Strength (completed Phase 2)	310	130
Left Army Reserves	140	70

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 informed after his Department’s cyber strike capability has been used in cases where urgent action has been required such that it has not been possible to inform the House in advance.

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, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25082, how many unauthorised entries to military bases were (a) investigated by a military police force, (b) investigated by Ministry of Defence Police and (c) referred to a local civilian police force for investigation in 2015.

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 how unauthorised entries to military bases recorded within the MOD for 2015 were investigated is set out below.

Unauthorised Entries recorded in 2015

Investigated By Military Police Force 14

Investigated By Ministry of Defence Police 5

Referred to a local Civilian Police Force 27

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) serving military personnel and (b) civilian staff were seconded to (i) the Joint Intelligence Organisation’s Assessments Staff and (ii) the National Security Secretariat within the Cabinet Office during 2015.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence is able to confirm that one member of civilian staff was seconded to the Joint Intelligence Organisation’s Assessments Staff and two members of civilian staff were seconded to the National Security Secretariat within the Cabinet Office during 2015. For information on Service personnel seconded to these bodies, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class submarines for under-ice operations.

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 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Earl Howe, House of Lords Official Report, 27 April 2016, column 1201, and his announcement of a review by the Service Justice Board into the procedures for handling allegations of sexual assault in the armed forces, what the (a) current membership of the Service Justice Board is and (b) terms of that review are.

Mark Lancaster

The established membership of the Service Justice Board is as follows:

Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans – Chair

Minister of State for Policing, Fire, Criminal Justice & Victims

Solicitor General

Judge Advocate General

Director of Service Prosecutions

Chief of Defence People

2nd Sea Lord

Deputy Chief of the General Staff

Air Member for Personnel

MOD Central Legal Services

Director Army Legal Services

Commander Navy Legal Services

Director RAF Legal Services

Provost Marshal (Army)

Provost Marshal (RAF)

Provost Marshal (Navy)

Chief Constable Ministry of Defence Police

Director Military Courts Service

Other officials may be invited to attend as and when necessary.

The review into the procedures for handling allegations of sexual assault in the Armed Forces is to consider whether all, or any, of the offences of: sexual assault, exposure, voyeurism, or sexual activity in a public lavatory should be added to Schedule 2 to the Armed Forces Act 2006. The views expressed in both Houses during the passage of the Armed Forces Act 2016, and by external organisations such as Liberty, are an important factor in the on-going work on this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s press release Hancock: Every young person should be earning or learning from April 2017, published 17 August 2015, (a) what the evidential basis is for the effectiveness of each of the proposals of the Earn or Learn taskforce referred to in that press notice; (b) what he plans the criteria for referral to the three-week programme referred to in that press notice to be; (c) by what measures the success of that programme will be assessed; (d) when he plans for contracts for that programme to be put out to tender; (e) if he will launch a consultation on the design of such contracts; (f) what additional funding he plans to make available for skills training for programme participants lacking basic qualifications; (g) how much his Department has set aside to fund that programme; and (h) whether he plans for funding for skills training to be ring-fenced within the overall grant made to providers.

Priti Patel

The Youth Obligationfor 18-21 year olds includes a 3 week intensive activity programme at the start of the claim to Universal Credit. The detailed policy design is still under development.

All spending decisions on skills training for 2016-17 and beyond will be taken as part of the Spending Review, which is due to be concluded in November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of its total budget each local authority Adult Social Services department in England spent on employment support services in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Marcus Jones

Information on expenditure by local authorities in England on employment support services is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much and what proportion of its budget each clinical commissioning group in England has spent on employment support services in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt

NHS England has advised that this information is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are in receipt of employment and support allowance in (a) the work-related activity group and (b) the support group were initially assessed by a work capability assessment as being fit for work.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.