Tag: Julian Lewis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent reports he has received on the state of disrepair of (a) the Block Mills, (b) numbers 1, 4, 5 and 6 dry docks, (c) the South Office Block, (d) the Old Naval Academy, (e) the Parade, (f) the former Iron Foundary and (g) other scheduled monuments and Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings at HM Naval Base Portsmouth; and what steps he is taking to prevent further deterioration of those monuments.

Mark Lancaster

All historical buildings are subject to quadrennial inspection.

Quadrennial inspection reports are held for the following listed buildings;

No 6 Dock, Portsmouth

Old Naval Academy, Portsmouth former Naval Academy and railings, Buildings No 1/14, 1/16-19

Block Mills Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth Building 153

South Office Block, HMNB Building 088

Dockyard Wall and Extension Wall, Portsmouth Naval Base Building NBW 1, 2 and 3

Former Iron Foundry (Buildings 1/140, 1/139 and 1/136) HMNB Portsmouth

No 1 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 2 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 3 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 4 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 5 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 6 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 7 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 8 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth

No 9 The Parade, HMNB, Portsmouth (Mountbatten House)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the four desks allocated in his Department’s main building to the Defence Police Federation are being withdrawn; whether those allocated to Defence trades union representatives are also being withdrawn; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon

The decision to ask the Defence Police Federation to relocate their Head Office function was made as part of our plans to make more efficient use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) Main Building and will generate substantial savings. An offer of alternative office accommodation at the MOD Police Headquarters has been made to the Defence Police Federation. This follows the standard approach taken by Home Office police forces where local Police Federation officials are collocated at the Force Headquarters for business reasons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the planned locating of future aircraft carriers at Sheer Jetty and Victory Jetty has resulted in reconsideration of the transfer of nearby land and buildings to the Portsmouth Naval Base Trust; what assessment his Department has made of the merits of preserving such assets; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, confirmed that both carriers will be operational concurrently. This changes the level of activity, security and safety considerations for Victory and Sheer jetties. Such operational consideration and financial challenges faced by the Department have resulted in the need to plan a deferral of the transfer, the Department is working to identify and limit the length of this delay.

Consideration is being given to deferring the transfer of some elements of the adjoining estate until the Naval Base better understands the challenges of maintaining the flow of logistics through the area in question and the security and safety aspects of operating two carriers in the vicinity of what could potentially become a tourist zone.

We have not made an assessment of the merits of preserving the historic assets now that the project has been delayed. The assessment made previously was that their preservation would be best delivered by transferring them to the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust (PNBP).

The Department remains committed to preserving these assets and will examine how best to do so in light of this delay and will work with the PNBP in doing so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason callers to the International Enquiry Service of UK Visas and Immigration are charged £1.37 per minute.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office sets fees at a level that ensures it has sufficient resources to control migration for the benefit of the UK.

Income from fees helps provide the resources necessary to operate the immigration system. The remainder is provided through general taxation. The Home Office aims to reduce the overall contribution of funding that comes from general taxation and increase the proportion of income generated from fees. We estimate that about 60 per cent of immigration system costs will be recovered through fees, a slight increase from last year. The remainder of the costs will be met by the UK taxpayer.

To ensure that the system is fair and equitable, the government believes it is right that those who use and benefit directly from the UK immigration system make an appropriate contribution towards meeting the costs, thereby reducing the cost to the UK taxpayer. Customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of replacing civilian Ministry of Defence police by soldiers.

Michael Fallon

Our security policy is to focus Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) resources on those areas of Defence business where civil policing powers can best mitigate the crime and security risks faced by the MOD. MDP officers have full constabulary powers (when operating within their permitted jurisdiction and in certain specified situations) and can therefore operate, armed, inside and outside the wire. However, the MOD has several security providers and can deploy Service personnel, with the flexibility to perform both armed and unarmed guarding, and the unarmed MOD Guard Service in roles where constabulary powers are not deemed essential.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were medically discharged from the (a) Royal Navy excluding the Royal Marines, (b) Royal Marines, (c) Army and (d) Royal Air Force in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster

Information on the number of UK Regular Armed Forces personnel medically discharged by Financial Year and Service since 2010 is given in the attached.

Defence Statistics release annual updates on medical discharges in the UK Regular Armed Forces as an Official Statistic publication. The next statistical release is due in July 2016 which will present data for financial year 2015-16. The latest report for 2014-15 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/medical-discharges-among-uk-service-personnel-statistics-index

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy for the free email service offered by the International Enquiry Service automatically to acknowledge safe receipt of messages sent to it by enquirers.

James Brokenshire

The International Enquiry Service currently handles approximately 12,000 emails a week and continues to answer all emails within the published service standards. All email enquiries receive an auto response which states “Your email has been submitted – We have received your email. You will receive a response within one working day.”

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to his oral contribution of 21 January 2016, Official Report, column 1556, whether he has since been advised of the date on which the House will hold its debate on the maingate for the successor to the Trident programme.

Chris Grayling

Future business of the House will be announced in the usual way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length is of the transition period for personnel of each of the Armed Forces between a decision of the Medical Board recommending discharge and that discharge taking place; and what support is given to personnel during that period to support the transition to civilian life.

Mark Lancaster

This information is not held in the format requested. However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does hold information on the average length of time between attendance at a medical board and the date of medical discharge for UK Regular Armed Forces personnel.

For those UK Regulars discharged between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2015, the median averages are as follows:

Service	Median average number of days between a medical board and subsequent medical discharge
Royal Navy	132
Royal Marines	133
Army	223
Royal Air Force	173

Those who are medically discharged are entitled to the highest level of resettlement provision through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), regardless of how long they have served or the nature and cause of injuries. We also offer specialised support for wounded, injured and sick personnel and those with the most complex barriers to employment to ensure they receive the most appropriate support within their recovery pathway. This is delivered through the Defence Recovery Capability and is supported by the Career Transition Partnership Assist (CTP Assist) programme. The purpose of CTP Assist is to deliver an individualised, needs-based service to those Service personnel who face the greatest barriers to employment given their medical condition.

The MOD Veterans’ Welfare Service (VWS) provides welfare support automatically to those medically discharged, with an ‘on request’ service for all other members of the veterans community.

The Transition Protocol is an established practice to ensure the effective transition of health and social care for injured Service leavers to local public providers. There is regular and close co-operation between the MOD, the Department of Health, NHS England and the Devolved Administrations in order to ensure that it is working successfully.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what remedy exists for enquirers whose electronic communications with the International Enquiry Service are not answered.

James Brokenshire

The International Enquiry Service currently handles approximately 12,000 emails a week and, from management information received, continues to answer all emails within the published service standards (100% of emails responded to within one working day (24 hours)) . In addition, all email enquiries receive an auto response which states “Your email has been submitted – We have received your email. You will receive a response within one working day.”