Tag: Lord Moonie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many manned and unmanned sorties have been flown by the RAF this year in support of operations in the Middle East.

Earl Howe

The RAF has flown 1,490 manned and 828 unmanned sorties in support of operations in the Middle East from 1 January 2015 to 30 November 2015. These sorties were carried out by ISR aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, Tornado GR4s and Reaper Remotely Piloted Air Systems.

These numbers do not include the routine air-bridge that operates twice weekly from the UK to the Middle East to support deployment of personnel and equipment.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many allegations of sexual assault and rape were made (1) by, and (2) against, members of the armed forces in the past year.

Earl Howe

All allegations of sexual assault and rape made by or against members of the Armed Forces are taken very seriously by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

This information is not held in the requested format. Only allegations of sexual assault and rape made by a member of the Armed Forces against another member of the Armed Forces (or Person Subject to Service Law) are investigated by the Service Police. Allegations of such offences made by civilians in the UK are usually investigated by the appropriate civilian police force, while allegations made by civilians overseas will be investigated in accordance with the appropriate agreement in place between the UK and that country. The MOD does not hold information on investigations conducted by civilian police forces.

In 2015 the Service Police investigated 20 cases of rape and 49 cases of sexual assault. Of the 20 allegations of rape, 19 cases were against 22 members of the Armed Forces; the status of the suspect in one case is unidentified. Eight of the victims of these alleged offences were members of the Armed Forces.

Of the 49 allegations of sexual assault, 46 cases were against 49 members of the Armed Forces; in one case the suspect was a civilian subject to Service Law and the status of the suspects in two cases is unidentified. 49 of the victims of these alleged offences were members of the Armed Forces.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate to be the flying costs, including maintenance, of the (1) F-35A, and (2) F-35B, aircraft.

Earl Howe

The Ministry of Defence has made an estimate of the flying and maintenance cost of the UK’s F-35B but I am withholding this information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.

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 were convicted by court martial or in civilian courts of sexual assault or rape in the past year.

Earl Howe

In 2015, the Courts Martial convicted 13 Service personnel of sexual assault and two personnel of rape.

The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on convictions which may have been obtained by the civilian courts.

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