Tag: Lord Moonie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evaluation they have carried out of the potential cost savings from centralised procurement of common generic drugs in the light of evidence from other countries using high volume contracts.

Lord Prior of Brampton

On behalf of National Health Service secondary care establishments (hospitals) in England the Department’s Commercial Medicines Unit undertakes a long established centralised tender programme for framework agreements for generic medicines. This is in compliance with European Union procurement regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects on (1) the individual, and (2) the armed forces, of the enlistment of persons under the age of 18.

Earl Howe

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) operates in a competitive employment market and will continue to recruit from the widest available talent pool, including from the age of 16 in order to sustain the required manning levels for the UK Armed Forces. Young people bring fresh ideas, knowledge and talent to the Armed Forces. MOD policy dictates that no one under the age of 18 can join the Armed Forces without specific parental consent, both for the recruiting process to begin and again prior to joining; nor can they be deployed on front line operations.

All recruits aged under 18 benefit from key skills education in literacy and numeracy, should they need it, and all are enrolled onto apprenticeships. The Armed Forces remain the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider, equipping young people with valuable and transferable skills for life. Ofsted regularly inspects our care of newly joined young recruits, and we are very proud of the standards we achieve.

The provision of education and training for 16 year-old school leavers provides a route into the Armed Forces that complies with Government education policy and offers a significant foundation for emotional, physical and educational development throughout an individual’s career.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance air vehicles from the RAF’s inventory have been deployed over Iraq and Syria in the last three months.

Earl Howe

In the last three months the RAF has deployed Sentinel and Airseeker aircraft and the REAPER MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Air System over both Iraq and Syria. In addition, Tornado GR4s have deployed over Iraq and Syria fitted with the Raptor tactical reconnaissance pod.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many male and female enlistments in the armed forces there were in the past year.

Earl Howe

In the 12 months to 30 September 2015, 12,250 males and 1,330 females joined the UK Regular Armed Forces. In the same period, 380 males and 30 females aged under 18 years left the UK Regular Armed Forces.

A full breakdown of these figures can be found in, respectively, tables six and 11 of our Biannual Diversity Statistics publication (the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) at the following address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will release details of each weapons release over Syria so that they can be correlated against any reports of civilian casualties.

Earl Howe

As at 18 December 2015, the UK had released 21 weapons against targets in Syria since the vote on airstrikes. There have been no reports of civilian casualties as a result.

The weapons have all been Paveway IV guided bombs from RAF Tornado GR4 and Typhoon aircraft. The UK released six Paveway IV on 2 December, one on 3 December, eight on 4 December and six on 6 December. These have all been against targets in the Daesh-controlled Omar oilfield in eastern Syria.

We will not release the exact location and timing of each strike as this could compromise our operational capabilities. All UK airstrikes are conducted in accordance with Rules of Engagement and International Humanitarian Law. Targets are selected with the utmost care; the risks of collateral damage or civilian casualties are assessed and mitigated based on intelligence and the use of precision guided weapons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many males and females left the armed forces in the last year before reaching the age of 18.

Earl Howe

In the 12 months to 30 September 2015, 12,250 males and 1,330 females joined the UK Regular Armed Forces. In the same period, 380 males and 30 females aged under 18 years left the UK Regular Armed Forces.

A full breakdown of these figures can be found in, respectively, tables six and 11 of our Biannual Diversity Statistics publication (the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) at the following address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many members of HM Armed Forces are currently serving in Afghanistan; how many are female, and what roles they are fulfilling.

Earl Howe

As of 18 January 2016, there were 458 members of HM Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan under Operation TORAL. Routine movements and minor changes in requirements mean that this number will vary over time. The UK’s commitment to Operation TORAL nevertheless remains in line with the figure of around 450 personnel announced by the Defence Secretary in his statement of 27 October 2015 ( Ref: UK Military Support to Afghanistan:Written statement – HCWS273).

Out of the 458 personnel, 33 are female. There are 10 UK female officers and 23 other ranks. These personnel undertake a wide range of roles including: medical, force protection, mentors, police, logistics, communications, human resources and administration, and engineering and technical support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many members of the armed forces left or were discharged in the last year on mental health grounds.

Earl Howe

In the 12 months to 31 March 2015, 359 UK Regular Armed Forces personnel were medically discharged with a principal cause of Mental and Behavioural Disorders.

Comprehensive statistical information on medical discharges among UK Regular Armed Forces personnel is published on an annual basis. The latest report, covering medical discharges during the five Financial Years 2010-11 to 2014-15 can be found at the following address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/medical-discharges-among-uk-service-personnel-statistics-index

Information covering Financial Year 2015-16 is scheduled for publication on 14 July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Hellfire missiles were fired (1) in training, and (2) on operations, in each year from 2008 to 2015, and what platforms they were mounted on.

Earl Howe

Hellfire missiles are used by RAF Reaper Remotely Piloted Air Systems and Army Air Corps Apache helicopters.

For the Reaper Force, the Air Vehicles have been continuously deployed on Operations over the requested timescale. Consequently, there have been no missile rounds fired in Training from RAF Reaper. The following table details Hellfire missile firings from RAF Reaper on Operations in Afghanistan
(2008-14) Iraq (2014-15) and Syria (2015).

Year (Jan-Dec)	UK Reaper Hellfire rounds fired on Operations
2008	16
2009	32
2010	58
2011	100
2012	104
2013	94
2014	93
2015	258

For the Apache Force the following table details Hellfire missile rounds fired by Financial Year from Apache Helicopters in Training.

Year (Jan-Dec)	UK Apache Hellfire consumption in Training
Apr 07 – Mar 08	14
Apr 08 – Mar 09	18
Apr 09 – Mar 10	32
Apr 10 – Apr 11	48
Apr 11 – Mar 12	26
Apr 12 – Mar 13	37
Apr 13 – Mar 14	16
Apr 14 – Mar 15	29

The Apache Force have fired a total 1578 Hellfire missiles on Operations in Afghanistan (FY 07-08 to 14-15) and Libya (FY11-12). However, the nature of the records held means that this total number cannot be accurately broken down by Financial Year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Watchkeeper Programme to achieve Initial Operating Capability 2, previously expected to be achieved by April, and when they now expect Equipment Support Systems to be released to service.

Earl Howe

It is expected that the Watchkeeper programme will declare Initial Operating Capability 2 standard by July 2016. An initial set of release to service recommendations for the Watchkeeper system at Equipment Standard 2 should be provided by March 2017. This will provide sufficient clearance for the Army to fly the Watchkeeper system in that configuration and support delivery of Full Operating Capability by the target date of April 2017.