Tag: Kevan Jones

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with how many new Scout land vehicles each of the new Strike Brigades, referred to in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 will be equipped.

Mr Philip Dunne

The two Strike Brigades will provide a rapidly deployable agile force, with enhanced range, speed, protection and firepower, significantly enhancing the UK’s ability to respond to international crises.

As previously announced on 3 September 2014 by My right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary (Michael Fallon) (Official Report, column 19WS) a contract has been awarded to deliver 589 Ajax vehicles. Detailed allocation plans have yet to be finalised. Fielding of Strike Brigades will start from 2018, delivering an initial operating capability in 2021 and moving towards Full Operating Capability from 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on the future of Sheffield Forgemasters and the successor programme.

Anna Soubry

My Department is in regular contact with MoD on a wide range of supply chain issues including in the steel sector. These discussions include individual steel plants such as Sheffield Forgemasters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has been informed of any defects relating to the reliability of the Rolls-Royce MT-30 marine gas turbine engines for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Mr Philip Dunne

There are no indications of reliability problems with the MT-30 gas turbine engines, which are used for electrical power generation on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what audit checks have been made on projects and organisations that have received funding from Libor fines.

Mark Lancaster

All £35 million of LIBOR funding has been allocated to projects which support the Armed Forces Community. For details of the organisations and projects which benefited from this money, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 June 2015 to Question 428 to the hon. Member for St Helens North (Mr McGinn). http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-05-28/428/

Organisations that have received LIBOR funds are required to provide a monthly report of progress; these are reviewed and monitored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Armed Forces Covenant Team and, where appropriate, action taken to ensure that the project is on track. At the end of each project, recipients of LIBOR funding also complete a close of project report and an assessment is conducted against the original terms and conditions. This enables the MOD to confirm the closure and record lessons learnt for future grants. Where appropriate, the MOD Armed Forces Covenant Team have engaged with projects on a one-to-one basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the proportion of workshare which the UK will undertake on those Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft being procured by his Department.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock) on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of training UK crew and maintenance personnel for the P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be procured by the UK; and where he expects that training to take place.

Mr Philip Dunne

The training programme for UK crew and maintenance personnel for the P-8 Poseidon, once it has been procured, is currently being developed. Consequently, no costs are currently available.

Training for the P-8 Poseidon aircraft will initially be undertaken at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, USA, from 2018 prior to relocating to RAF Lossiemouth at a future date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many horses have been euthanized by his Department in each of the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster

The numbers of horses euthanised by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in each month up to June 2016 are provided in the table below.

2015	July	August	September	October	November	December
	2	0	0	2	0	1
2016	January	February	March	April	May	June
	0	0	2	2	1	0

Decisions to euthanise any animal in military service are only taken by a veterinarian officer after all possible treatment avenues have been exhausted and where it is considered to be the most humane option for the animal. The only other scenario where an animal would be euthanised is where it is considered to pose a risk to public safety.

Where possible, Military Working Animals (MWAs) at the end of their service life will be rehomed however sadly there are some occasions where veterinary reasons indicate that re-homing would compromise the welfare of the animal, or rehoming would pose an unacceptable risk to public safety as a result of the animal’s service life. The decision to euthanise an MWA must always be balanced and pragmatic, and consider a range of factors including the MOD covenant with society which allows us to use animals in Defence. This covenant requires us to:

Make decisions regarding animal care, use, and welfare by balancing scientific knowledge and professional judgment with consideration of ethical and societal values; and

Ensure animals are treated with respect and dignity throughout their lives and, when necessary, provided a humane death.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend on specialist kidnap negotiation and hostage rescue capabilities in British consulates in the next 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Government’s response to overseas hostage taking brings together skills and capabilities across a range of Departments. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the lead Department where British nationals are kidnapped by a terrorist group. Expenditure can be dependent on factors including the number of incidents. In the current Financial Year the FCO will spend around £253,000 on specialist hostage negotiation capability, and on training for the staff in the FCO and our global network who coordinate the Government’s response to the kidnap of British nationals overseas. This training programme ensures our overseas network is prepared to respond effectively when British nationals are taken hostage by terrorists. The FCO’s exact expenditure on kidnap response in the year ahead will depend in part on the number of live cases, but is likely to be of a similar magnitude.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel who have taken Mefloquine have been treated for psychiatric problems in the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster

Between 1 April 2007 and 30 September 2015 a minimum of 17,623 UK Regular Armed Forces personnel were prescribed mefloquine.

For the year 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015 (the latest date for which information is available) a minimum of 354 (2%) with a history of mefloquine prescription subsequently were assessed as having a mental health disorder at their initial assessment at a Ministry of Defence (MOD) Department for Community Mental Healthcare, or admission to the MOD in-patient provider.

It must be noted that this numerical association does not prove direct causation. Further, a comparison of personnel prescribed other antimalarial chemoprophylactic agents with those prescribed mefloquine has shown no statistical difference between these groups in terms of the amount of time between antimalarial prescription and the presentation for mental healthcare.

This emphasises it is not possible from centrally held data to identify whether a mental health episode is associated with being prescribed mefloquine, nor whether personnel have taken or continued to take mefloquine after they were prescribed it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the situation on the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Mr David Lidington

The UK is concerned about regular ceasefire violations and the increasing use of heavy weaponry both on the line of contact around Nagorno-Karabakh and on the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We encourage both Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise restraint and accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated settlement of the conflict.