Tag: Kevan Jones

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of providing phase two training for the regular Army band at Kneller Hall in 2013-14.

Anna Soubry

The requested detail for Financial Year 2013-14 is provided below:

No personnel undertook phase two training with the RAF Music Services. The RAF recruits are fully trained musicians who undertake a rigorous audition process and are only admitted once their playing ability is proven.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-02-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the possible risk of Greek sovereign default and subsequent effects on the UK banking sector.

Andrea Leadsom

The Treasury regularly monitors global economic developments and their impact on the UK as part of the normal process of policy development. The UK is one of the most open economies in the world through trade and financial channels, and we are not immune to developments in the global economy. The best way to insulate the UK economy from any such instability is to stick to our long term economic plan.

The exposure of UK banks to Greece is small. Moreover the Bank of England’s recent stress tests showed that our banking sector is far stronger and better capitalised than before.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new apprenticeship starts there were in each year since 2010, in the age groups (a) 25 to 34, (b) 35 to 44, (c) 45 to 59 and (d) and over 60.

Nick Boles

Information on Apprenticeship starts by age is published in a supplementary table, entitled Breakdown by geography, equality & diversity and sector subject area: starts 2002/03 to 2013/14, to a Statistical First Release (SFR).

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/324021/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Twitter accounts are run by his Department; how much his Department spends annually on (a) Twitter accounts and (b) all social media; and how many people in his Department are employed to work on social media.

Mr Francis Maude

A list of official Twitter accounts run by Cabinet Office, including those used by senior officials, can be found at https://twitter.com/cabinetofficeuk/cabinet-office-teams/members. The department also runs the @Number10gov and @Number10press accounts.

No member of staff is employed to specifically work on social media.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of pay outs under the War Pensions Scheme to forces personnel and veterans on the grounds of mental ill health has been in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry

It is not possible to provide the total value of payouts under the War Pensions Scheme to forces personnel and veterans on the grounds of mental ill health as the information is not held in a format that would enable us to easily answer the question and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

However, between 2011-12 and 2013-14 there were a total of 1,655 awards made under the War Pension Scheme for a mental health condition related to Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total value of payouts to armed forces veterans and their families under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as a result of service in Afghanistan has been in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry

It is not possible to provide the value of payouts made to Armed Forces veterans and their families under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as a result of service in Afghanistan as the information is not held in a format that would enable us to easily answer the question and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The AFPS is primarily an occupational pension scheme, the Pensions Computer system does not identify the conflicts in which Service Personnel have served.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of time taken to process settlements for the War Pensions Scheme has been in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry

The average length of time taken to process claims under the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010 has been;

2010-11 – 39 working days
2011-12 – 51 working days
2012-13 – 82 working days
2013-14 – 110 working days
2014-15 year to 31 July – 102 working days

In the majority of cases deadlines for progressing cases are met. The War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Schemes are jointly resourced and administered. The impact of the implementation of the Boyce Review on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (Cm 7798, published February 2010) and its subsequent publicity campaign, combined with an increase in the number of applications for War Disablement Pension (linked to more people with pre-April 2005 service reaching the end of their engagement), led to delays in processing prospective claims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to rectify the (a) inconsistent understanding of Army staffing requirements, (b) limited use of management information and (c) unsystematic approach to improvement in relation to the Recruiting Partnering Project referred to on pages 36 and 37 of the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014.

Anna Soubry

The National Audit Office made a number of observations and recommendations in their report into Army 2020. The Department will respond to these in due course. Part of the reason the Army has entered a recruitment partnership with Capita is to harness the benefits of an integrated recruiting system to help the Army drive more effective end to end recruiting and training activity. As the Capita IT systems and applications and the Recruitment Partnering Project reaches Full Operating Capability, and can interact with other IT tools available to the Army, we would expect to see these benefits realised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page eight, when Ministers in his Department first established that reserves cost around 87 per cent of the cost of regulars when mobilised.

Anna Soubry

The figures used by the NAO in paragraph 11 of their report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, were taken from Future Reserves 2020: The Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom’s Reserve Forces. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 97. This involved considerable work to develop a Regular: Reserve Cost Comparison Model.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page eight, if he will provide a breakdown of the costings used to work out that reserves cost around 87 per cent of the costs of regulars when mobilised.

Anna Soubry

The figures used by the NAO in paragraph 11 of their report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, were taken from Future Reserves 2020: The Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom’s Reserve Forces. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 97. This involved considerable work to develop a Regular: Reserve Cost Comparison Model.