A regular round up of defence related Parliamentary questions and answers
Contents
Question
Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) average, (b) highest and (c) lowest annual pension payment to service personnel who served in World War Two was in 2009-10.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
holding answer 17 January 2011
The average, highest and lowest annual pension payments under the Armed Forces Pension scheme (AFPS) to service personnel known to have served during World War Two are not held in the format requested.
Personnel who have an injury or illness caused by, or aggravated by their service can also qualify for a war disablement pension (WDP) under the War Pension scheme (WPS). The average, highest and lowest annual pension payments under the WPS awarded specifically to World War Two veterans are not held in the format requested. Weekly amounts in payment as at 30 September 2010 are, however, available for all personnel in receipt of a WDP, irrespective of when they served, and these are set out in the following table:
| Weekly WPS pension (£) | |
| Average | 76.42 |
| Highest | 326.48 |
| Lowest | 32.21 |
| Note:Amounts quoted include any associated WPS allowances received. | |
Question
Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces (a) are being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and (b) have been treated in each of the last five years.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
The following table details the number of patients attending a Ministry of Defence Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) initially assessed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the period 1 January 2007 to 30 September 2010.
| PTSD cases | |
| 2007 | 180 |
| 2008 | 156 |
| 2009 | 172 |
| 1 January to 30 September 2010 | 191 |
These figures report only new attendances and since July 2009 new episodes of care, but not all those who were receiving treatment. Equivalent verified data prior to 2007 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
This answer incorporates data from the Annual UK Armed Forces Mental Health Report which includes statistics on PTSD.
Question
Andrew Rosindell (Romford, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department’s contractual obligations are in respect of the refit of HMS Ocean; and if he will make a statement.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
The Prime Minister confirmed on 19 October 2010, Hansard, columns 810-11, that the refit for HMS Ocean will go ahead. In preparation for this work, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has placed contracts for some small preliminary studies to be conducted.
As part of the upkeep programme for all complex Royal Navy vessels, HMS Ocean’s refit is subject to ongoing discussions involving members of the Surface Ship Support Alliance (the Ministry of Defence, Babcock Marine and BAE Systems Surface Ships). As no final decisions have yet been taken within the alliance, the MOD has not made any other contractual obligations for HMS Ocean’s upkeep period, though we are committed to working closely with our industry partners to distribute upkeep work on a ‘best for enterprise basis’.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence
(1) how many Royal Navy officers holding the rank of (a) Commodore, (b) Rear Admiral, (c) Vice Admiral and (d) Admiral are serving in the armed forces;
(2) how many (a) Brigadiers, (b) Major Generals, (c) Lieutenant Generals and (d) Generals serve in the armed forces;
(3) how many (a) Air Commodores, (b) Air Vice Marshals, (c) Air Marshals and (d) Air Chief Marshals serve in the armed forces.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
The information requested is provided in the following table:
| UK regular forces strength by NATO rank at 1 October 2010 | ||||||
| Rank | Total | Royal Navy | Royal Marines | Army | RAF | |
| Total | (1)480 | (1)110 | 18 | (1)230 | (1)130 | |
| OF-9 | Admiral; General; Air Chief Marshal | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| OF-8 | Vice Admiral; Lieutenant General; Air Marshal | 29 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 9 |
| OF-7 | Rear Admiral; Major General; Air Vice-Marshal | 95 | 25 | 7 | 39 | 24 |
| OF-6 | Commodore; Brigadier; Air Commodore | (1)350 | 74 | 11 | (1)170 | 91 |
| (1) These figures have been rounded. Note s :1. Due to rounding methods used, figures may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.2. Figures less than 100 have been left unrounded so as not to obscure the data. | ||||||
Question
Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the government of (a) China and (b)Russia on cyberattacks.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
holding answer 8 December 2010
The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend Dr Fox, has not discussed cyber attacks with the Governments of China or Russia.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his German counterpart on the redeployment of personnel from Germany.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend Dr Fox, wrote to the German Defence Minister on 20 October 2010, informing him of our aim to return half our personnel from Germany by 2015 and the remainder by 2020. In addition, my ministerial colleagues and officials maintain regular dialogue with their counterparts in support of our close security and defence partnership. I will be visiting Germany shortly and will discuss the issue with political and civil representatives.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence
(1) how many transport aircraft are being leased by his Department;
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of leasing transport aircraft of each type (a) in total and (b)per flight hour in each of the last six years.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Substantive answer from Peter Luff to Angus Robertson:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Questions on 21 December 2010, (Official Report, column 1203), about transport aircraft being leased by the MOD.
The Ministry of Defence does not currently lease transport aircraft. We did lease four C-17 aircraft from Boeing between 2001 to 2008 at a fixed price. Costs of operating those aircraft during the period of the lease broken down by flying hour could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. The four leased C-17 aircraft were bought-out on cessation of the seven year lease period in autumn 2008 and are now owned by the Government. We have subsequently purchased three further C-17 aircraft from Boeing.
As I explained in the answer I gave on 12 January 2011 (Official Report, column 235W), we do, however, currently charter aircraft (i.e. contract through an airline broker with private companies to fly Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel and equipment). Such charters are largely to transport personnel and equipment in direct or indirect support to operations.
The number of aircraft chartered by MOD will vary significantly at any point in time. For example the deployment of new equipments or for unit change-overs may necessitate the charter of additional aircraft. Information is held covering the period from November 2007 until the end of February 2011 (including pre-allotted tasks). The information is held for one-way tasks (or journeys). The number of individual ‘aircraft chartered’, would be lower owing to the significant number of round-trips undertaken. The tasks have been undertaken by a variety of aircraft types depending on both the load size and whether passengers or freight was transported.
From November 2007 to end February 2011, the Department has chartered approximately 8250 journeys. For the month of January 2011, the Department has chartered 132 aircraft to support 206 tasks (or journeys).
Details of the cost of chartering aircraft broken down by aircraft type and by flying hour over a six year period could only be provided at disproportionate cost, but I am able to advise that total cost of chartering transport aircraft by financial year (excluding military aviation fuel, but including civilian aviation fuel costs) is as follows:
| Financial year | £ million |
| 2006-07 | 70 |
| 2007-08 | 108 |
| 2008-09 | 145 |
| 2009-10 | 155 |
| 2010-11 (forecast) | 215 |
The steady increase in spend reflects the increasing size of the deployed force in Afghanistan and the increasing tempo of operations. This was partly offset in 2008-09 to 2009-10 by the withdrawal from Iraq but each tonne of cargo flown to Afghanistan travels considerably more distance than a tonne flown to Iraq, particularly given the requirement for flight routes to avoid Iran. It must also be borne in mind that the landlocked nature of Afghanistan coupled with security constraints demand that we fly much more cargo as a proportion of the total than we did into Iraq.
We would not expect the Op HERRICK charter costs to rise in Financial Year 2011-12 as on current assumptions we do not see our force structure or the sustainment requirement increasing. Costs may however rise as a result of fuel price increases.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence
(1) on how many occasions an E-3D Sentry has been involved in a search and rescue mission in each of the last 12 months;
(2) what search and rescue training is taking place for E-3D Sentry crews; and in which locations that training is taking place;
(3) what capabilities the E-3D Sentry has to detect, identify and track vessels under 300 gross tonnes.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
In the last 12 months, no RAF E-3D Sentry has been involved in search and rescue missions. E-3D Sentry is optimised for the air-to-air role and its radar has a limited maritime search mode. I am withholding details on the capability of the E-3D radar to detect, identify and track vessels under 300 gross tonnes as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
There is no formal training requirement for E-3D Sentry crews on specific long range search and rescue techniques. However, an E-3D Sentry participated in a NATO-led SAR training exercise in May 2010. In addition, during normal routine training sorties in UK airspace, crews are trained on an opportunity basis in the operation of the radar’s maritime search mode.
The UK will continue to provide search and rescue services using a range of assets depending on the response required.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of the use of chartered aircraft to transport service personnel from Afghanistan to the UKin each of the last two months.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) charters aircraft to move personnel to and from the middle east. Personnel are then transported to Afghanistan on military transport, usually C17 or occasionally CI30 aircraft. Chartered aircraft do not fly to Afghanistan for force protection reasons.
The estimated cost of chartering aircraft to transport service personnel to and from the middle east for onward transmission by RAF flights to and from Afghanistan was around £3.4 million for November 2010, and around £1.9 million for December 2010. As we charter the aircraft on a return flight basis, it is not possible to cost just the return half.
The figures are inclusive of aviation fuel, duties and taxes and represent our best estimates of costs, as the vast majority of final invoices have yet to be presented.
Costs for flights for operations are borne by the contingency fund and not the MOD budget.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans his Department has put in place to maintain airbridges in the case of the A330 Future Strategic Tanker Aircraftnot being delivered on time.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) Programme is on schedule with the first two A330 aircraft converted to the tanking role. These aircraft have begun flight trials and their certification and qualification flight programme. The new facilities being provided by AirTanker are ahead of schedule in readiness for the delivery of the first aircraft in late 2011.
In the unlikely event of a delay to FSTA delivery, we would plan to extend the use of existing assets or else make greater use of civil charter.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the availability rate was of each TriStaraircraft in each of the last 12 months.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
The available information is shown in the following table. The figures represent the average number of airframes from each TriStar variant available in the forward fleet during each month of 2010. The forward fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable.
| Tri S tar forward fleet | |||
| C2 | KC1 | K1 | |
| January | 2 | 2.9 | 0 |
| February | 1.9 | 2.5 | 0 |
| March | 1.9 | 2.9 | 0.5 |
| April | 2 | 3.3 | 1 |
| May | 1 | 3.8 | 0.7 |
| June | 1 | 3.8 | 0.9 |
| July | 0.8 | 3.9 | 1 |
| August | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| September | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| October | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| November | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.7 |
| December | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1 |
Question
Andrew Rosindell (Romford, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of Statefor Defence who purchased the five BAe 125 aircraft sold by his Department in 2007; how that sale was organised; and if he will make a statement.
Answer
Gerald Howarth (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (International Security Strategy), Defence; Aldershot, Conservative)
The five BAe 125 aircraft were sold to a private company, Everett Engineers. This followed a competition run on the Ministry of Defence‘s (MOD) behalf by Witham (Specialist Vehicles) Limited, one of the contractors used to dispose of surplus defence equipment through specialist marketing agreements which have been competed in accordance with European Union procurement regulations. The agreements cover the collection, storage, marketing and sale of the equipment, and any receipts due are returned to the MOD. The five aircraft had been in service since 1965.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what obligations he is under regarding the refurbishment of military bases in Germany to be vacated by UKforces.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
The Germany estate is managed as set out within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and its supplementary agreement.
There are no obligations on the Secretary of State to refurbish military bases in Germany upon vacation.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what obligations he is under regarding the environmental restoration of military bases in Germany to be vacated by UKforces.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
The Germany estate is managed as set out within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and its supplementary agreement. These agreements do not oblige the Secretary of State to undertake environmental restoration of military bases in Germany.
However, environmental damage caused by UK forces wilfully or by gross negligence can give rise to claims as set out within the agreements. Ministry of Defence policy is to undertake a land quality assessment for sites prior to closure.
Assets disposed of in Germany over the past 15 years has resulted in no claims being raised regarding environmental issues.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF aircraft of each type were (a) in service, (b) in the forward fleet and (c)fit for purpose on the latest date for which figures are available.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
The information requested is shown in the following table. The figures shown are the average for December 2010 and so have been rounded to the nearest aircraft.
In service aircraft include all bar those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal. The forward fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable or short-term unserviceable. Fit for purpose aircraft include only serviceable aircraft available to the front-line commands for operational and training purposes. The number of aircraft available in each category varies according to normal fleet management activities including requirements for mandated maintenance and upgrade programmes.
| Aircraft type | In service fleet | Forward fleet | Fit for purpose |
| BAe 146 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| BAe 125 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| C-17 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Dominie | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| Harrier(1) | 74 | 41 | 41 |
| Hawk T1 | 129 | 87 | 57 |
| Hawk T2 | 17 | 8 | 5 |
| Hercules C130K | 11 | 7 | 5 |
| Hercules CI30J | 24 | 19 | 13 |
| King Air | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Nimrod R1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Sentinel | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Sentry | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Tornado F3 | 15 | 12 | 12 |
| Tornado GR4 | 137 | 100 | 97 |
| TriStar | 9 | 5 | 2 |
| Tucano | 93 | 52 | 33 |
| Typhoon | 70 | 44 | 44 |
| VC10 | 13 | 11 | 7 |
| Vigilant | 65 | 65 | 59 |
| Viking | 82 | 81 | 76 |
| (1 )Harrier was withdrawn from service on 15 December 2010. | |||
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department made of the suitability of the Nimrod MR4A for conversion to the role planned for the RC-135W.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
Two Nimrod MRA4-based proposals were considered as part of the Airseeker investment appraisal. The RC-135W Rivet Joint option was chosen because it demonstrated best value for money.
Question
Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flight hours there are on each of the three KC-135 airframes due to be converted to the RC-135W.
Answer
Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)
As at 14 September 2010, the latest date for which figures are available, aircraft one had accumulated 23,200 flying hours, aircraft two 22,200 hours and aircraft three 23,200 flying hours. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100 hours.
Interesting question for the E3, shame we’ve cut numbers of those too… since they do have a certain sea search capability…or could be upgraded to do so, which would cover the gap in a way.
The Dominie is no longer in service, a unexpected casualty of the sdsr.
ooooooo angus is an angry elf, he must be from the south pole!!!!
slight point to note on one of the questions, seems one of the A330 tankers had a boom blowout whilst trialling with a F16. Oops, slight setback there then
Hi all.
With regard to RAF fleet numbers can anyone clarify the three terms used?
1, In service
2, Forward fleet
3, Fit for purpose
I’m confused as the figures for a lot of types appear to show that half the respective fleet is unfit for purpose!
Also love the Rivet joint airframe hours although I understand they are to be zero lifed before delivery.
So there are 170 Brigadiers for the equivalent of about 14 brigades counting the logistics, artillery, engineer. The 39 Major Generals for at most two divisions are not going to be overworked either.
Paul,
Our ankers dont have the boom so I see little impact to us unless its a deeper software issue… though its not good news for their USAF proposeal… its the best choice but no doubt the boeing pundits will use the epsiode as more ammo.
The level of “rank bloat” is absolutely beyond belief. Has any commitment actually been made to reduce this? 7 RM Major Generals? Where are the 7 Royal Marine Divisions? 91 Air Commodores? Where are the 91 groups? Never mind that Group Captains would probably be the rank most Air Forces would use for commanding groups.
The Armed forces could easily stand to lose ~350 of those officers and it wouldn’t dent front line capability at all. It might even improve it; reducing cap-badge wars and tiers of red tape and bullshit. There’s tens if not hundreds of millions in savings.
In fact, if anyone much wiser than me could (Think Defence perhaps?) work out what money could be saved by a) culling 1* and above, and b) sorting out the parlous affair of Wing Commanders in charge of squadrons and Majors commanding Companies/Squadrons? Post-WW2 the size of Brigade HQs doubling? There has to be huge amounts of fat that can be trimmed.
God, the SDSR was nothing more than back of the fag packet treasury cuts. No reform in structures, no coherent strategy, and baffling procurement and equipment decisions. Lets hope there isn’t any war for the next 15 years, because UK plc will be in no shape to deal with it.