Tag: Steven Paterson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.62 in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, published on 23 November 2015, what estimate he has made of the revenue that will be received from the sale of 30 per cent of the built estate.

Mark Lancaster

As stated in the Spending Review 2015 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) expects to generate £1 billion through the disposal of sites in the financial years 2016-17 to 2020-21.

The MOD does not disclose annual breakdowns due to the potential for prejudice to its commercial interests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of his Department’s staff have worked for the Centre for Cyber Assessment in each year since its inception.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence has contributed members of staff to the Centre for Cyber Assessment since it was established in 2013 but does not disclose the details of these arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department has not provided substantive answers to written parliamentary questions by stating that disclosure of the information would likely prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies in this parliamentary session.

Penny Mordaunt

Since the start of the 2015-16 session of Parliament to 17 March 2016, 47 written parliamentary questions (PQs) tabled to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were not answered because disclosure would have been likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies. This figure represents 2% of the total number of 2,318 PQs answered by the MOD during that period.

In 19 further PQs, only part of the answer was withheld so as to protect the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Mk4A upgrade is planned to come into service.

Mr Philip Dunne

The UK currently fields the Trident Mk4 warhead as part of the Trident Strategic Weapons System. In order to ensure continuity of the Mk4-based capability, the Mk4A Arming, Fuzing and Firing system is a non-nuclear component being introduced into the UK Trident warhead to replace a similar component. The Mk4A programme will not increase the destructive power of the warhead.

Approval to procure the new Arming, Firing and Fuzing mechanisms, to manage obsolescence in Mk4 and to adopt a Mk4A component was given in January 2006. I am withholding further details of the date of the Mk4A component’s entry into service, the cost of the Mk4A programme and the extension in operational life expected for the purposes of safeguarding national security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports have been made on the assessed material state of HMS (a) Astute, (b) Ambush and (c) Artful.

Mr Philip Dunne

A range of reports are generated on the material state of all Royal Navy submarines. Given the broad range of reporting that is undertaken and the large range of highly complex engineering systems reported on, this information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what Government departments and agencies are represented on the board of directors of the Centre for Cyber Assessment.

Matthew Hancock

The CCA was avowed in June 2015. We do not comment on security matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department will not give a substantive answer to Parliamentary questions.

Mark Lancaster

Ministers answer Parliamentary Questions in accordance with the Ministerial Code which states that:

"Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest, which should be decided in accordance with the relevant statutes and the Freedom of Information Act 2000".

In addition, Parliamentary Questions may not receive a substantive answer if the information requested is not held, if providing the answer to a written question would incur disproportionate cost, if the answer contains personal or confidential information which is not appropriate for publication or if it is not possible to respond in the time available before prorogation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what forecast he has made of by how long the Mk4A upgrade programme will extend the operational life of the current warhead.

Mr Philip Dunne

The UK currently fields the Trident Mk4 warhead as part of the Trident Strategic Weapons System. In order to ensure continuity of the Mk4-based capability, the Mk4A Arming, Fuzing and Firing system is a non-nuclear component being introduced into the UK Trident warhead to replace a similar component. The Mk4A programme will not increase the destructive power of the warhead.

Approval to procure the new Arming, Firing and Fuzing mechanisms, to manage obsolescence in Mk4 and to adopt a Mk4A component was given in January 2006. I am withholding further details of the date of the Mk4A component’s entry into service, the cost of the Mk4A programme and the extension in operational life expected for the purposes of safeguarding national security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements are in place to monitor Babcock’s performance and safety record.

Mr Philip Dunne

Babcock is a key supplier to the Ministry of Defenceand the company’s relationship with the Department is managed at a strategic level through a key supplier representative. This role is currently undertaken by the Chief of Materiel (Fleet) within Defence Equipment and Support, who engages with Babcock on a regular basis. Project and safety performance reviews form a significant element of these discussions.

With regards to safety, appropriate measures are in place to reduce risk and these are rigorously monitored to ensure that any emerging issues are identified and addressed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.98 in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, published on 23 November 2015; how many of the 10,000 military personnel available to assist civil authorities are (a) based in Scotland and (b) available to be used to assist civil authorities in Scotland.

Penny Mordaunt

Under the deployment plan the Ministry of Defence and police have identified a range of security tasks that the military will undertake in order to release police firearms officers to respond to a major counter-terrorism (CT) incident. A proportion of these are in Scotland although we do not reveal the specific numbers of personnel involved for reasons of operational security.

The plan also allows us to generate a far more significant surge of military personnel to deploy in response to a major CT incident. These personnel deploy across the UK, including in Scotland. Military units have a responsibility for this task on a rolling basis, including the 9,810 personnel based in Scotland.