Tag: Kevan Jones

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel have received region-specific culture training at the Defence Centre for Languages and Culture in each year since 2013; and to which regions such training related.

Penny Mordaunt

The Defence Centre for Languages and Culture (DCLC) has delivered specific cultural training to over 621 military students since 2013. This information is not available by year.

The DCLC has provided cultural training for the Middle East, North Africa and specific courses on Afghan, Kurdish, Gulf States and Moroccan culture; cultural training is also incoporated into all of the DCLC language courses.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which organisations and projects have received funding from the £35 million transferred to his Department from HM Treasury derived 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 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to sustain aerospace engineering capability and capacity in the South West region.

Anna Soubry

We work closely with aerospace companies and their representative organisations, in particular the West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF), in the South West through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) to tackle barriers to growth, boost exports and grow high value jobs. As part of this work we are investing heavily in the sector to support the industry’s private investment in technology, competitiveness and productivity, manufacturing capability and skills.

The work of the AGP includes businesses of all sizes in the South West region including large players such as Airbus, Finmeccanica Helicopters, GE Aviation, GKN, Rolls-Royce, Safran Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, UTC Aerospace Systems, as well as their many medium and small sized suppliers, and other specialist aerospace businesses.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of procuring an alternative to the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft before the decision on that procurement was made.

Mr Philip Dunne

As my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces said on 23 June 2015 in response to Question 3244 to the hon. Member for East Lothian (George Kerevan) the capabilities required from a Maritime Patrol Aircraft were studied by the Department for two and a half years before the UK’s requirement for the capability was confirmed in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. During that time the Boeing P-8 Poseidon and a number of other potential platforms were assessed against their ability to meet the Department’s Key User Requirements, using a combination of scientific, technical and operational analysis, as well as industry’s ability to deliver the programme in a timely and cost-effective manner.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian redundancies are planned in his Department in each year to 2020.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence is committed to meeting its obligations set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, including reducing our civilian workforce. Work is ongoing to develop detailed plans.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many trained soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Division (UK) in each year since 2010.

Mike Penning

The Full Time Trained Strength of 3 Div as at the 1 April, from 2010 to present, is shown in the table below.

	Total	Officers	Other Ranks
1 April 2010	26,180	2,030	24,150
1 April 2011	25,100	1,880	23,220
1 April 2012	23,990	1,840	22,140
1 April 2013	21,790	1,760	20,030
1 April 2014	19,030	1,520	17,510
1 April 2015	17,960	1,500	16,460
1 April 2016	14,540	1,200	13,340

The figures are for Full Time Trained Strength comprising Trained Regular, Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Gurkhas.

Figures have been rounded to "10". Figures ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

The reduction in the number of personnel assigned 3rd (United Kingdom) Division (3 Div) follows the creation of Force Troops Command under Army 2020. This saw the transfer of many personnel previously assigned directly to 3 Div being transferred to this new formation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the announcement by BAE Systems on jobs, related to production of the Eurofighter Typhoon on 12 November 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in each production location that will be lost which are related to the production of that aircraft.

Mr Philip Dunne

BAE Systems issued a statement on 12 November 2015 confirming that the company was taking action to reduce the Eurofighter Typhoon production rate; it also confirmed its intention to reduce the workforce within its Military Air and Information business by up to 371 roles. The majority of the affected posts are based at the company’s Samlesbury site, with the remainder at its Warton facility.

Decisions on the capacity and capability of any company, including the division of work between sites, primarily rests with the company concerned.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what expenditure has been allocated to the Ministry of Defence Police in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Budget for the Ministry of Defence Police is as follows:

Financial Year	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
Budget £ millions	132.536	138.367	137.161	136.960	138.126

Notes

Budget figure for 2015-16 includes In-Year Savings adjustment

Figures for 2016-17 onwards are provisional control totals until the implications of the Strategic Defence and Security Review have been worked through

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel in (a) the Army, (b) the RAF and (c) the Royal Navy are classed as level 3 or higher linguists in (i) Arabic, (ii) Polish, (iii) Russian, (iv) Ukrainian, (v) Estonian, (vi) German, (vii) French, (viii) Pashto, (ix) Dari, (x) Farsi and (xi) Spanish.

Penny Mordaunt

The numbers of personnel in the UK Armed Forces in the Army, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy classed as level 3 or higher linguists in Arabic, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Estonian, German, French, Pashto, Dari, Farsi and Spanish is as follows:

	Army	RAF	Navy	Total
Arabic	31	16	4	51
Polish	1	2	0	3
Russian	6	4	5	15
Ukrainian	0	0	0	0
Estonian	0	0	0	0
German	16	4	3	23
French	96	28	22	146
Pashto	48	42	8	98
Dari	30	4	8	42
Farsi	21	12	6	39
Spanish	21	11	15	47
Total	270	123	71	464

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £35 million transferred to his Department from Libor fines has been spent on projects supporting the armed forces community.

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.