Tag: Madeleine Moon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 17679, for what reasons the maintenance costs for FDTC Grantown-on-Spey cannot be broken down; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier

Maintenance costs for Grantown-On-Spey are accounted within the larger RAF Lossiemouth budget and costs could not be broken down and identified.

More generally, I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Mark Lancaster) gave on 7 December 2015 to Question number 18570. Some costs for some previous years may be available and Ministry of Defence officials are reviewing available data from a variety of sources. The Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the air to air refuelling capability is of the P8 MPA with the UK Voyager fleet; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 3 December 2015 to Question 17840.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will request the Senior Information Officer at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanrwst, (c) MOD Fairbourne and (d) MOD Crickhowell to provide a list of what records are held at that location of numbers of attendees on training courses, costs maintenance improvement and development costs, building of storage facilities and travel and accommodation costs for years prior to 2015.

Mark Lancaster

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I have provided previously in relation to the RAF FDAT review. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 November 2015 to Question 17694 regarding the number of attendees on training courses; the answer I gave on 2 December 2015 to Question 17679 regarding the maintenance, improvement and development costs in addition to my letter to you dated 17 December 2015; the answer I gave on 4 December 2015 to Question 17675 regarding the building of storage facilities and the answer I gave on 4 December 2015 to Question 17680 regarding travel and accommodation costs.

In accordance with JSP 441, the Department only retains documents worthy of permanent preservation which are judged to have short or long term corporate value.

As the hon. Member will be aware, we are currently reviewing some of the previous answers previously given to her.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much support work there has been for the order for the Boeing Poseidon P-8A (a) by value and (b) by number of jobs that will be undertaken by employees (i) in the UK, (ii) in the US and (iii) elsewhere; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 35843, whether chapels owned and administered by the Ministry of Defence are part of the pilot project exploring the registration of civil marriages and partnerships, including same-sex unions.

Penny Mordaunt

No chapels owned or administered by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are part of the pilot project exploring the registration of civil marriages and partnerships or same-sex unions.

The MOD supports same-sex marriage and is committed to ensuring that couples are not disadvantaged by their service. We have concluded a study of serving LGBT personnel to obtain their view on this matter.

Should a same-sex military couple wish to have a civil marriage ceremony on the Defence Estate, it is a requirement that the same access must be granted to all members of the public. The project is attempting to indentify suitable sites for this purpose.

Should a same-sex couple from the Armed Forces wish to get married in a military Chapel they must follow the rules surrounding the marriage of same sex couples (Military or Civilian) in Military chapels, which are laid out in ‘The Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Use of Armed Forces’ Chapels) Regulations 2014′. At present none of the Churches that send Chaplains to the Armed Forces have opted into the provision of marriage for same-sex couples. Some may seek to change their policy in the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Wales of the proposal to transfer responsibility for attendance allowance to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Cairns

The Government is committed to working closely with the Welsh Government to ensure the implications of any reforms for devolved administration services or budgets are properly understood.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Prime Minister, (a) whether the RAF Voyager aircraft being refitted for ministerial travel has been leased to the Government, (b) what the capacity of that aircraft was before it was refitted and (c) what the cost of Prime Ministerial air travel has been since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Cameron

Details about the RAF Voyager aircraft being refitted for ministerial travel can be found on page 32, section 4.49, of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, copies of which are available in the Vote Office.

Details about Ministerial overseas travel are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to version 4.3 of JSP 441 Defence Records Management Policy and Procedures, for what period training centres are required to maintain records in relation to (a) trainee attendance and (b) courses held; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) policy for the capture, management and final disposal, including transfer to The National Archives, of the MOD’s records is detailed in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 441-Defence Records Management Policy and Procedures. However it is important to note that not all documents are official records. The MOD only retains documents worthy of permanent preservation which are judged to have short or long term corporate value. For example a Training Centre may not retain attendance lists but the qualification attained would be included in the individual’s service record.

A copy of JSP 441 has been placed in the Library of the House and can also be found on the Gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-441-defence-records-management-policy-and-procedures–2

JSP 441 advises that records relating to the development of the business unit’s personnel or human resources through formally and informally delivered training activities, are to be retained for at least 15 years after which they are to be reviewed for on-going business reasons or potential historical value. These records may include records created by training centres relating to trainee attendance and courses held. If this review deems that these records are no longer required, then they are to be destroyed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) stormshadow and (b) stingray will be utilised on the P8 MPA; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Department intends to bring the P-8A into service without significant modification to ensure the delivery of operational capability as soon as is practicable. There are no current plans to integrate Stormshadow and Stingray onto the aircraft, though it is possible that future capability enhancements once the aircraft is in service with the RAF may include UK weapons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the relative distribution of engineering workload across naval bases; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

As part of the Surface Ship Support Alliance between the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems and Babcock Marine, the relative distribution of engineering workload is subject to regular assessment. This ensures that peaks and troughs of workload are managed to ensure key skills are maintained across the Naval Bases, engineering outputs are delivered in accordance with the needs of the Royal Navy, and the Department obtains best value for money from its industry partners.

The workload allocation for submarines is dictated by a clearly defined programme of work designed to meet the operational requirements of the Fleet. This programme has been constructed noting the capability and capacity of Her Majesty’s Naval Bases at Clyde and Devonport and work is allocated accordingly.