Tag: Kevan Jones

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned expenditure is on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Royal Air Force and (b) Royal Air Force Reserve in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, (iii) 2017-18, (iv) 2018-19 and (v) 2019-20.

Penny Mordaunt

The expenditure, or planned expenditure, of each Service on television recruitment campaigns in Financial Year (FY) 2015-16 is as follows:

Naval Service – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £4.3 million for Regular personnel and £0.72 million for Reserves.

Army – planned expenditure is £0.94 million for Regular personnel and £0.65 million for Reserves.

Royal Air Force (RAF) – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £3.46 million. It is not possible to differentiate between Regular and Reserve spend as the majority of RAF advertisements are targeted towards both cadres.

Plans for expenditure in FY 2016-17 and onwards have not been finalised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Romanian government about a NATO Black Sea fleet.

Mr David Lidington

The UK holds regular discussions with our NATO Allies, including Romania, about security issues across the Euro-Atlantic space, including in the Black Sea region. In July 2015 the Deputy Permanent Representatives Committee in Brussels held a session on the security situation in the Black Sea in which the UK, Romania and a large number of NATO Allies participated.

In November 2015 HMS Duncan, the Royal Navy’s newest destroyer, visited Romania and provided a visible British and NATO presence in the Black Sea. HMS Duncan also participated in a Passing Exercise with the Romanian navy with the aim of increasing NATO interoperability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in Ukraine; and from which units they are drawn.

Penny Mordaunt

In addition to the three members of the UK Armed Forces permanently based in Ukraine, as at 29 February 2016, there were 53 UK military personnel deployed in Ukraine providing training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The majority of these personnel, 40, are from the 1st Battalion, the Mercian Regiment. The remaining personnel are drawn from a number of different Army units.

The number of UK personnel in Ukraine will vary dependent on the specific training, visits and exercises we may be conducting at the time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what proportion the number of armed forces personnel and civilian staff employed by his Department changed between 2011 and 2015.

Mark Lancaster

At 1 April 2011, 38.8 per cent of Senior Personnel in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were Senior Civil Servants (SCS) and 61.2 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star (Army Brigadier and equivalent) and above. At 1 April 2015, 39.2 per cent were SCS and 60.8 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star and above.

At 1 April 2011, there were 480 UK Regular personnel ranked One Star and above; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 6.9 per cent to 450.

At 1 April 2011, there were 300 SCS personnel in the MOD; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 5.3 per cent to 290.

The following tables provide the requested breakdown, by year, of UK Regular Strength at One Star and above, and SCS headcount:

UK Regular Strength at One Star and above

1 April 2010	1 April 2011	1 April 2012	1 April 2013	1 April 2014	1 April 2015	1 Oct 2015
500	480	470	440	440	450	440

SCS Headcount

1 April 2010	1 April 2011	1 April 2012	1 April 2013	1 April 2014	1 April 2015	1 January 2016
320	300	270	280	280	290	310

The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2011 was 186,360. The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2015 was 153,720. This represents a 17.5 per cent decrease between 2011 and 2015.

The MOD civilian staff (CS) headcount at 1 April 2011 was around 87,000. The CS headcount at 1 April 2015 was 59,900. This represents an estimated decrease of 31.2 per cent between 2011 and 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of the UK’s allies has aircraft which are capable of refuelling P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be procured by the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne

The P-8 Poseidon is currently undertaking air-to-air refuelling trials in the United States to clear the aircraft to receive fuel in flight. The initial clearance will be against the Boeing KC-135 operated by the United States Air Force. In addition, the Royal Australian Air Force is expected to conduct trials using their Airbus KC-30A multirole tanker aircraft in 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects the Brimstone 2 missile system for Typhoon aircraft to be in service.

Harriett Baldwin

The planned in service date for the integration of the Brimstone 2 missile system on the Typhoon aircraft is December 2018, as previously published in the Major Projects Report 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s target is for reducing the defence estate in each year until 2020.

Mark Lancaster

As set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Ministry of Defence is aiming to reduce the size of its built estate by 30% by 2040 and is committed to release land to accommodate 55,000 houses by 2020 in support of the Government’s public sector land release agenda. This year I have announced the release of 35 sites which will provide land for potentially some 39,000 homes, of which approximately 20,000 are expected in this Parliament. We do not have an annual target for a reduction in the defence estate each year.

I will announce the results of the Department’s Estate Optimisation Strategy later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on integrating the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft with (a) Storm Shadow missiles, (b) Meteor missiles, (c) the DASS radar system and (d) other avionics.

Mr Philip Dunne

The UK is committed to a series of phased enhancement programmes for Typhoon to increase its overall capability. Under current plans, the in-service dates on Typhoon will be August 2018, for Storm Shadow, and June 2018 for Meteor. Integration trials on both weapons are continuing. The Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS) is an existing part of the UK Typhoon fleet and is subject to continued review and enhancement. Separate development of an Active Electronic Scanned Array radar for Typhoon also continues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Navy Reserve in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 , (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.

Penny Mordaunt

The table below details how much each of the three Services spent on television recruitment campaigns for both Regular and Reserve Armed Forces personnel in each of the last five financial years.

Financial Year/Service	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
£ millions
Royal Navy	1.80	1.50	2.80	4.45	7.46
Army	Not held	Not held	2.99*	1.28	1.42**
Royal Air Force	–	3.1	2.25	2.67	3.92

*From 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013

**Figure for Financial Year 2014-15 is less than previously reported. This is because the previous figure included production and other costs.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet on 16 November 2015, what equipment his Department plans to procure under the £2 billion programme of new investment in the special forces.

Mr Philip Dunne

As the Department announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review in November 2015, the additional investment in the UK Special Forces will include the acquisition of advanced communications equipment, information capabilities, specialist weapons and clothing and see upgrades to helicopters and transport aircraft. It is long standing policy not to comment on further detail of Special Forces. This programme of investment will enhance UK Special Forces’ counter-terrorism capabilities and their ability to operate covertly around the world, and allow them to deploy further and faster.