Tag: Kevan Jones

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of the UK’s allies has aircraft which are capable of refuelling P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be procured by the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne

The P-8 Poseidon is currently undertaking air-to-air refuelling trials in the United States to clear the aircraft to receive fuel in flight. The initial clearance will be against the Boeing KC-135 operated by the United States Air Force. In addition, the Royal Australian Air Force is expected to conduct trials using their Airbus KC-30A multirole tanker aircraft in 2017.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects the Brimstone 2 missile system for Typhoon aircraft to be in service.

Harriett Baldwin

The planned in service date for the integration of the Brimstone 2 missile system on the Typhoon aircraft is December 2018, as previously published in the Major Projects Report 2015.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s target is for reducing the defence estate in each year until 2020.

Mark Lancaster

As set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Ministry of Defence is aiming to reduce the size of its built estate by 30% by 2040 and is committed to release land to accommodate 55,000 houses by 2020 in support of the Government’s public sector land release agenda. This year I have announced the release of 35 sites which will provide land for potentially some 39,000 homes, of which approximately 20,000 are expected in this Parliament. We do not have an annual target for a reduction in the defence estate each year.

I will announce the results of the Department’s Estate Optimisation Strategy later this year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on integrating the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft with (a) Storm Shadow missiles, (b) Meteor missiles, (c) the DASS radar system and (d) other avionics.

Mr Philip Dunne

The UK is committed to a series of phased enhancement programmes for Typhoon to increase its overall capability. Under current plans, the in-service dates on Typhoon will be August 2018, for Storm Shadow, and June 2018 for Meteor. Integration trials on both weapons are continuing. The Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS) is an existing part of the UK Typhoon fleet and is subject to continued review and enhancement. Separate development of an Active Electronic Scanned Array radar for Typhoon also continues.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Navy Reserve in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 , (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.

Penny Mordaunt

The table below details how much each of the three Services spent on television recruitment campaigns for both Regular and Reserve Armed Forces personnel in each of the last five financial years.

Financial Year/Service	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
£ millions
Royal Navy	1.80	1.50	2.80	4.45	7.46
Army	Not held	Not held	2.99*	1.28	1.42**
Royal Air Force	–	3.1	2.25	2.67	3.92

*From 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013

**Figure for Financial Year 2014-15 is less than previously reported. This is because the previous figure included production and other costs.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet on 16 November 2015, what equipment his Department plans to procure under the £2 billion programme of new investment in the special forces.

Mr Philip Dunne

As the Department announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review in November 2015, the additional investment in the UK Special Forces will include the acquisition of advanced communications equipment, information capabilities, specialist weapons and clothing and see upgrades to helicopters and transport aircraft. It is long standing policy not to comment on further detail of Special Forces. This programme of investment will enhance UK Special Forces’ counter-terrorism capabilities and their ability to operate covertly around the world, and allow them to deploy further and faster.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many International Civil Aviation Organisation category (a) A and (b) B Airprox incidents there were in the (i) Scottish Flight Information Region/Upper Information Region and (ii) London Flight Information Region/Upper Information Region involved foreign military aircraft in each year since 2010; and in each of those incidents what the (A) type of foreign military aircraft involved and (B) country of origin was.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There were 2 Category (Cat.) (A) and 1 Cat. (B) Incident(s) in the Scottish Flight Information Region/Upper Information Region (Scottish FIR/UIR) and 1 Cat (A) and 4 Cat. (B) incidents in the London FIR/UIR.

The table below outlines the type of military aircraft involved in each incident in both regions since 2010.

Airprox No	Date	Risk	Location	Aircraft Type	Country of origin
2012060	27/04/2012	A	LONDON FIR	KC135 STRATOTANKER	USA
2015009	04/02/2015	B	LONDON FIR	F15 EAGLE	USA
2013037	16/05/2013	B	LONDON FIR	F15 EAGLE	USA
2015111	14/07/2015	B	LONDON FIR	C5 GALAXY	USA
2015123	30/07/2015	B	LONDON FIR	F15 EAGLE	USA
2012057	24/04/2012	A	SCOTTISH FIR	C130 HERCULES	USA
2010163	13/10/2010	A	SCOTTISH FIR	SAAB JAS39 GRIPEN	Not recorded
2013149	10/10/2013	B	SCOTTISH FIR	MIRAGE 2000	France

The associated Airprox reports can be found on the UK Airprox board website (www.airproxboard.org.uk) under ‘Reports and Analysis’.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by how much he plans that his Department’s contribution to public sector pensions will increase in 2019-20 and future years.

Mark Lancaster

The full valuation of the public service pension schemes will commence in April this year. Following that full valuation process, which will take into account the new discount rate set in the Budget, the new employer contribution rates for the Armed Forces and Civil Service Pension Scheme will be set.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be procured by the UK are capable of being refuelled by the RAF’s Voyager K2/K3 aerial refuelling tanker aircraft.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 December 2016 to Question 17840 to the hon. member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his targets are for reductions in the defence estate in each year to 2020.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to release land to accommodate 55,000 houses by 2020 in support of the Government’s public sector land release agenda. This year I have announced the release of 22 sites which will provide land for some 22,000 homes. By the end of this year I will set out how the MOD will deliver the remainder of its land release commitment.