Tag: Steven Paterson

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of how long it will take to integrate the Common Combat System onto Astute and Vanguard-class submarines.

Mr Philip Dunne

I am withholding information on plans for fitting the Common Combat System (CCS) to Vanguard and Astute Class submarines for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

I am also witholding cost estimates for integrating the CCS onto the Astute and Vanguard-class submarines as to do so would prejudice commercial interests.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget is of the Mk4A upgrade programme.

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 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected cost of HMS Artful was when it was commissioned.

Mr Philip Dunne

The first three Astute class submarines were ordered as a single batch. Separate construction costs for Artful are, therefore, not held by the department. As such, it is not possible to determine how much the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has spent on HMS Artful individually; nor what the MOD expected the specific cost of HMS Artful to be, when commissioned.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have taken part in the Cyber Security Challenge Competition in each year since its inception.

Matthew Hancock

Cyber security skills and talent are vital to protecting the UK. The Cyber Security Challenge UK competition aims to bring more talented people into the cyber security profession and address a critical skills shortage that affects government bodies, businesses and citizens alike. The number of people who have taken part in the Cyber Security Challenge Competition each year since its inception is as follows:

• 2011 – 4,000;

• 2012 – 2,785;

• 2013 – 2,910;

• 2014 – 2,104;

• 2015 – 7,018

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what projects are being undertaken by the cyber transformation team in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force.

Penny Mordaunt

Each Service is seeking to address their own unique cyber defence challenges. Activities include: introducing cyber into training; strengthening cyber education for the whole organisation; integrating cyber into the strategic planning processes; improving career management for cyber specialists; and developing a better understanding of Defence’s cyber vulnerabilities. All activities are brought together through the Defence Cyber Programme to ensure a holistic and coherent approach across the Ministry of Defence.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the goal is of the Mk4A upgrade programme.

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, with reference to paragraph 4.62 in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, published on 23 November 2015, what areas his Department plans to sell to reduce the size of the built estate by 30 per cent; and by what process those areas were chosen.

Mark Lancaster

The Defence Footprint Strategy examines the Defence Estate across the UK, with the aim of providing a smaller more sustainable estate in support of military capabilities. Work to identify the sites which may be released to enable the reduction of the estate through the Footprint Strategy will conclude in 2016, contributing to the Government’s commitment to release public sector land for house building during this Parliament.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many organisations have been assisted in recovery from cyber-attack by the Cyber Incident Response Team in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) Northern Ireland.

Matthew Hancock

CERT-UK is the UK National Computer Emergency Response Team. CERT-UK advises organisations on what actions to take in the event of a cyber incident and offers advice and guidance on how to mitigate threats pre and post incident through one to one meetings and through its online sharing platform, the Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP). CERT-UK has dealt with 1170 incidents since its launch in March 2014.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with social media firms on countering radicalisation.

Mr John Hayes

Extremist and terrorist organisations, notably social media sites, are exploiting the internet to disseminate propaganda and recruit individuals to their groups or to support their aims. Some vulnerable individuals, including young people are being misled by this damaging propaganda.

We are working closely with responsible internet and social media companies to take robust action against terrorist and extremist material and safeguard users. Since 2010 over 140,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed by industry from various online platforms at the request of the dedicated police Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Approximately 58,000 removals were made in 2015 alone.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Mk4A upgrade is expected to increase the yield of the 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.