Tag: Kevan Jones

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on safeguarding the future of the UK helicopter industry.

Anna Soubry

We are working with the UK aerospace industry to sustain and grow helicopter capability through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Defence Growth Partnership, both of which bring Government and industry together to tackle barriers to growth, boost exports and grow high value jobs.

Through this work we are supporting the industry’s private investment in technology, competitiveness, productivity, manufacturing capability and skills. For example, we have supported Finmeccanica Helicopters’ investment in new civil helicopter capability at Yeovil, safeguarding employment through diversification into the growing civil aerospace market. In addition, we are co-investing with industry in collaborative R&D projects led by Finmeccanica Helicopters and Airbus Helicopters on new technologies including advanced rotor blades and lightweight structures.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) flight crew, (b) ground crew and (c) intelligence analysts have served on US P-8 Poseidon aircraft under the Seedcorn exchange programme; and what the cost to the UK public purse has been of deploying those people since the start of that programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Seedcorn programme in the US on P8 aircraft started in 2012 with 20 personnel involved and has remained at 20 for each subsequent year (allowing for minor fluctuations during transitory periods). As the Seedcorn programme is an aircrew initiative, no ground crew or intelligence analysts have served on US P8 under it.

The total cost of the Seedcorn programme since inception is some £14.1 million. It is not possible to break out actual costs for personnel by location and aircraft type.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planning assumptions are for formulating the in-service date for the first of the Vanguard-successor submarines.

Harriett Baldwin

As set out in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we expect the first Successor submarine to enter service in the early 2030s. I am witholding details of the planning assumptions for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) senior officials and (b) Ministers of his Department are over the age of 45.

Harriett Baldwin

A total of 235 of the 315 Senior Civil Servants (SCS), including those in equivalent posts and SCS personnel in DE&S Trading Entity employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were aged 46 or above as at 1 July 2016. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. All MOD Ministers are over the age of 45.

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.