Tag: Kevan Jones

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the level of retention in the Royal Navy.

Mike Penning

The Naval Service utilises a wide range of mechanisms to aid the recruitment and retention of personnel. For recruitment these include targeted marketing, specific recruitment events and staged remunerative awards to attract recruits in specialist areas. A number of initiatives have also been developed in order to retain experienced personnel, such as the use of targeted retention incentives and career extensions. Further developments under the Defence People Programme, such as flexible engagements, will help ensure that this process continues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the £1.8 million expenditure on mental health services for armed forces veterans by his Department in 2014-15 was spent.

Alistair Burt

NHS England has £1.8 million per annum baseline (recurrent to 2019/20) funding for veterans mental health services. This funding is used to provide 10 veterans mental health teams across England to meet locally identified needs of veterans and manage the network of providers of NHS commissioned veterans mental health services.

The funding also provides access for veterans to on-line mental health counselling services provided by the Big White Wall.

In addition, NHS England provides £3.2 million a year to commission the Armed Forces service charity Combat Stress to provide specialised inpatient services for the treatment of complex post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In 2014/15 further funding of £1.68 million was used to fund three pilots to develop and test enhanced models of care for veterans.

The pilots will:

– develop a joint substance misuse and mental health service model for veterans;

– develop an outpatient service for veterans with moderate to severe PTSD; and

– develop a modal of care to address the barriers that some veterans experience in accessing mental health services.

Veterans are also able to access the full range of NHS mental health services in the same way as the wider public.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs in each region and part of the UK that (a) have been and (b) will be created by the Successor submarine programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

The nuclear deterrent is the cornerstone of the UK’s defence security policy. Maintaining the UK’s defence nuclear enterprise supports over 30,000 jobs across the UK and makes a significant contribution to the economy.

In the UK, four key suppliers directly support the delivery of the Trident programme. The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) managed and operated by AWE Management Limited is based in Aldermaston and Burghfield; BAE Systems Maritime-Submarines at Barrow-in-Furness; Babcock at Devonport; and Rolls-Royce at Raynesway, Derby. There are thousands of jobs sustained across these sites.

There are also 6,800 Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian and Royal Navy jobs at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde including contractors from Babcock, Lockheed Martin UK and Rolls-Royce. This figure is due to grow to 8,200 in the 2020s. Rolls-Royce also operate the site at the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, Dounreay, supporting the Trident programme and other nuclear-powered submarines. Also the Defence Equipment and Support’s military and defence civilian personnel are based at MOD Abbey Wood and other sites in the UK.

The ability of these key areas to deliver their programmes depends heavily on an extensive network of sub-contractors who are working indirectly in support of the Trident programme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are expected to be deployed in support of the UN and African Union missions to South Sudan.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK is preparing to deploy approximately 300 troops to the UN mission in South Sudan, focussed on providing vital engineering support. Up to 70 troops will also deploy to Somalia, as part of UN support for the African Union force building stability in the country and countering the threat posed by the terrorist group al-Shabaab.

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 senior military officers ranked one star and above, and the civil service equivalent, 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, what the current value of contracts is between his Department and Boeing and Boeing UK; and what proportion of work under those contracts is carried out in the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne

The current value of contracts between the Ministry of Defence and Boeing and Boeing Defence UK Ltd is approximately £665.75 million and £2.49 billion respectively. Contracts are also held with the Boeing subsidiaries Aviation Training International Ltd and Jeppesen UK Ltd amounting to £415.91 million and £6.59 million respectively.

The proportion of work by value carried out in the UK is around 53 per cent. This figure is based on direct contracts where the location of work code indicates that work is undertaken in the UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Royal Navy about further extending the out-of-service dates for the Type 23 frigate.

Harriett Baldwin

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor (Philip Dunne) on 27 June 2016 to Question 39922 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mrs Flick Drummond).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Royal Navy is taking to maintain its warship repair capability after the sale of RFA Diligence.

Harriett Baldwin

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 September 2016 to Question 45203 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Flick Drummond).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 73 of his Department’s Defence Equipment Plan 2015, what the reasons are for the increase in planning spending on information systems and services; and on what items that additional funding will be spent.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the Defence Equipment Plan 2015, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-equipment-plan-2015. Paragraph 11 explains the movements in the high level elements of the equipment plan from the previous financial year. Each of the operating centre breakdowns in Section C of the Equipment Plan contains an explanation of any increase or decrease in spending from the previous financial year.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on ensuring that UK-produced steel is used in items being procured by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Government’s policy is to provide our Armed Forces with the best capabilities we can afford and, in doing so, to obtain the best possible value for money. It is the responsibility of contractors to obtain steel at a competitive price, at the required time and quality. Steel for defence programmes is sourced from a range of suppliers, including steel-producers in the UK.