Parliamentary Questions and Answers – up to 15 Feb 2011

This is a regular round up of Parliamentary questions and answers from ministers relevant to defence issues

In addition to oral questions, MPs and Peers can ask government ministers questions for written answer. These are often used to obtain detailed information about policies and statistics on the activities of government departments.

In the House of Commons ‘ordinary’ questions do not have to be answered on a specific date. An MP will date a written question for two days after they have tabled it (ie, submitted it for answer via the Table Office).

The convention is that the MP can expect it to be answered within seven days of the question being tabled.

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many improvised explosive device attacks there were on UK forces in Afghanistan in each month between June 2006 and December 2007.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

Records of incidents for the whole of Afghanistan are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Data is more readily available for attacks within the Task Force Helmand area of operations in Helmand province, which includes the majority of UK forces deployed to Afghanistan. The figures refer to an explosion that has subsequently been reported by units operating within the taskforce Helmand area of responsibility. This includes both ‘laid’ improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and suicide (both vehicle and person-borne) devices. These figures do not include IED finds with no detonation or IED false alarms.

Month	IED attacks
June 2006	4
July 2006	5
August 2006	7
September 2006	9
October 2006	6
November 2006	0
December 2006	3
January 2007	2
February 2007	8
March 2007	8
April 2007	13
May 2007	23
June 2007	23
July 2007	32
August 2007	18
September 2007	32
October 2007	24
November 2007	15
December 2007	21

This data is based on information derived from a number of sources and can only be an estimate, not least because of the difficulties in ensuring a consistent interpretation of the basis for collating statistics in a complex fast-moving multinational operational environment. It is modified over time as more information becomes available.

 

 

Question

Julian Lewis (New Forest East, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the capital costs are of (a) constructing and (b) extending the runway at Kandahar Airfield for military purposes; what proportion of these costs will be recoverable to the UK on departure; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

The reconstruction at Kandahar airfield is being undertaken by NATO and is US-led.

 

Question

Julian Lewis (New Forest East, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what programmes have been (a) planned and (b) initiated to train fast-jet pilots and supporting carrier personnel to retain the skills necessary to operate the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers; where such personnel will receive their training; under whose command they will be placed; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

Service personnel will be trained in the skills required to operate the Queen Elizabeth class carrier and the Joint Combat Aircraft as the UK Carrier Strike capability is generated. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force fast-jet pilots and supporting personnel will require new skill-sets which will be developed through co-operative programmes with allied nations who operate aircraft carriers. Once the introduction to service dates have been confirmed, further engagement will take place with partner nations to identify training opportunities for both ship-based and flying-related personnel.

 

Question

Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation, with which organisations, he has had on the preparation of the Military Covenant Annual Report; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

We intend to consult key stakeholders, including the members of the External Reference Group (ERG), in the preparation of the Armed Forces Covenant report. The ERG is chaired by the Cabinet Office and attended by Government officials (Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Advocates across Whitehall), the Devolved Administrations, Professor Hew Strachan (Oxford University), Service charities (COBSEO, RBL, SSAFA Forces Help and the War Widows Association of Great Britain) and the three Service Families Federations.

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) C-17s, (b) TriStars and (c) VC10-s are owned and operated by the RAF; how many are serviceable at any one time; and how many have operated in the Afghan theatre in each month since January 2010.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The available information is provided in the following table. In service aircraft includes those undergoing planned depth maintenance but excludes those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal. The forward fleet (FF) comprises aircraft which are serviceable or short-term unserviceable. Fit for purpose (FFP) 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. Figures for FF and FFP are monthly averages for 2010.

	C-17			Tri S tar			VC10
Month	In service fleet	Forward fleet	Fit for purpose	In service fleet	Forward fleet	Fit for purpose	In service fleet	Forward fleet	Fit for purpose
January	6	5.3	3.6	9	4.9	2.9	15	12.5	6.2
February	6	5.3	4.1	9	4.4	3.0	15	12.3	7.3
March	6	5.1	4.4	9	5.3	2.5	15	11.9	6.3
April	6	5.1	4.0	9	6.3	3.1	13	9.6	4.7
May	6	5.5	4.3	9	5.5	2.0	13	10.3	6.1
June	6	5.4	4.9	9	5.7	2.6	13	9.9	6.5
July	6	5.6	5.2	9	5.7	2.4	13	9.7	5.5
August	6	4.2	3.3	9	6	2.9	13	9.6	5.8
September	6	4.4	3.8	9	6	3.6	13	10.6	6.9
October	6	5.0	4.6	9	5	2.9	13	10.6	7.6
November	6	5.2	4.7	9	4.9	2.7	13	10.5	6.4
December	6	5.7	5.3	9	4.9	1.9	13	11.2	6.9

The number of aircraft operated each month in support of Operation Herrick cannot be broken down to individual airframe level. No VC10 has operated on the Airbridge since January 2010.

 

 

 

Question

Douglas Carswell (Clacton, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the terms under which the Future Lynx contract was awarded.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

There are currently no plans to review the terms under which the Future Lynx contract was awarded. The strategic defence and security review has confirmed that Lynx Wildcat continues to represent the best solution to deliver the combined requirement of both the Royal Navy and Army. However, as part of the Department’s wider contract re-negotiating strategy all major equipment procurements will be reviewed for possible savings measures.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of training exercises were cancelled in 2010; and what exercises those were.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The following list shows the exercises that had been scheduled and subsequently cancelled in the calendar year 2010:

Exercise

Jordan Express

Malaysian Express

Steppe Eagle

Cossack Steppe

French Connection

Tricolour

Asterix

Winged Star

Glow Worm/Rattlesnake

Gobi Dust

African Thorn

Oman Express

Bald Eagle

Chartered Flight

Citadel

Crown Eagle

Destier/Aurige

Silver Eagle

Steam Drive

Top Kitten

Tunuk Warrior

Wet Gap

Work Sheet

Roman Eagle

Turtle Truss

Lion Sun 1

Lion Sun 2

Crown Pinnacle 10-4

TLP 10-5

Crown Condor

Ark Royal R2

Blue Flag

2 X Calfex

Devils Hat

Devils Horizon

First Eagle

First Rock

Guibert

Horizon

Kleiber

Gaulish

Longboat Warrior

Larksong Foxtrot

Marble Tor

Medoc

Modulex

Pathfinder

Pony Express

Ponte Vecchio/Tower Bridge

Readiness Challenge

Lion Star 1

Lion Star 2

Iron Ram/Ferro Ariete

Bass Rock

Anatolian Eagle 10

Green Flag West 10-9

Torpedo Focus 10-3

Pitch Black

Bold Avenger 10

TLP10-4

Tactical Leadership Training (TLT)

Emerald Move

RM CT2 Coy Trg

Auriga US Enterprise C2X

Rimpac 10

The proportion of cancelled exercises is normally calculated on a financial year basis. In financial year 2009-10, there were 436 scheduled training events of which 59 (13.5%) were cancelled. Figures for financial year 2010-11 will be released as part of the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Question

Charles Walker (Broxbourne, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect withdrawing RAF Nimrods will have on the armed forces’ ability to (a) detect and (b) track foreign military operations; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The armed forces retain a number of assets capable of detecting and tracking foreign military operations. In view of the sensitive and classified nature of some of the military tasks for which the Nimrod MRA4 was theoretically designed, I cannot comment further on these capabilities.

 

Question

Charles Walker (Broxbourne, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he expects the RAF’s Hercules Fleet to retain the requisite systems and equipment for humanitarian search and rescue missions following the Strategic Defence and Security Review; 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 equipment used by the C-130 Hercules aircraft has not changed as a consequence of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. This includes the ability to deploy Air Sea Rescue Apparatus for the Search and Rescue role.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether MQ-9 Reaper pilots are licensed under the Civil Aviation Authority for that aircraft.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

MQ-9 Reaper pilots are not licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority. Military pilots gain military flying qualifications following successful completion of theory, simulator and practical training. Their continuing competency to fly specific aircraft types is then the responsibility of the Military Aviation Authority and the relevant single service.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of flights of (a) military aircraft and (b) aircraft chartered by his Department to and from Afghanistan have been delayed by more than six hours in each month since December 2009.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

Officials are collating the information requested. Once this work is complete I will write to the hon. Member.

Substantive answer from Nick Harvey to Angus Robertson:

I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question of 25 January 2011 (Official Report, column 141W) about the number and proportion of flights to and from Afghanistan which have been delayed by more than six hours in each month since 2009.

The available information for delays to flights to and from Afghanistan is shown in the tables below. The information has been presented to show military and civilian charter flights and passenger or freight payloads and indicates, where appropriate, flights that operate via Middle East hubs. In all cases the data relates to delays to the original departure time. No statistics are recorded for civilian freight charter flights from Afghanistan to the UK. In the months not shown, there were no flights that were delayed more than six hours.

Flights to Afghanistan
Military passenger flights
2010	Total flights	Delayed more than six hours	Proportion in percentage figures
February	22	1	4.54
March	23	3	13.04
April	21	1	4.76
May	20	1	5
October	24	2	8.33

Civilian charter passenger flights via the Middle East
2010	Total flights	Delayed more than six hours	Proportion in percentage figures
March	12	1	8.33
May	9	1	11.11
December	11	4	36.36

Civilian charter freight flights
2010	Total flights	Delayed more than six hours	Proportion in percentage figures
January	33	2	6.06
February	29	1	3.45
March	39	2	5.13
May	31	3	9.68
June	33	1	3.03
July	27	1	3.70
August	21	1	4.76
October	25	1	4
December	19	2	10.52

Military freight flights
2010	Total flights	Delayed more than six hours	Proportion in percentage figures
January	24	1	4.16
March	26	2	7.69
April	22	5	22.72
May	23	5	21.73
July	27	1	3.70
August	26	6	23.08
October	27	3	11.11
November	26	4	15.38
December	23	1	4.35

Inward flights from Afghanistan to the UK
Military passenger flights
2010	Total flights	Delayed more than six hours	Proportion in percentage figures
January	29	8	27.59
February	24	2	8.33
March	26	7	26.93
April	22	2	9.09
May	23	2	8.69
August	25	5	20
September	26	3	11.54
October	30	8	26.67
November	24	1	4.17
December	24	12	50

Military passenger flights via the Middle East
2010	Total flights	Delayed more than six hours	Proportion in percentage figures
January	8	3	37.5
March	8	1	12.5
April	24	3	12.5
July	15	2	13.33
August	13	1	7.69
September	22	2	9.09
October	22	3	13.63
November	15	3	20
December	14	5	35.71

Military freight flights
2010	Total flights	Delayed more than six hours	Proportion in percentage figures
January	28	14	50
February	28	3	10.71
March	27	10	37.04
April	24	8	33.33
May	22	2	9.09
July	25	2	8
August	24	9	37.5
September	25	2	8
October	26	8	30.79
November	27	8	29.62
December	26	3	30.77

 

Question

Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the remaining (a) establishment and (b) structure of the Fleet Air Arm is in terms of (i) manpower and (ii) aircraft.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

After implementing the decisions taken in the strategic defence and security review, the Fleet Air Arm will operate the following helicopters:

30 anti-submarine Warfare Merlins;

28 Maritime Wildcats;

25 Commando Merlins; and

six Battlefield Wildcats.

In addition, some second line aircraft will be used for training purposes. It will employ 1,179 officers and 3,186 ratings.

The Fleet Air Arm remains the Ministry of Defence’s Maritime Aircraft Operating Authority and is a joint partner in the Joint Combat Aircraft programme.

 

Question

Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to revise the Rotary Wing Strategy in the light of the conclusions of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

Yes. The Rotary Wing Strategy is being revised following the Strategic Defence and Security Review, as part of the Ministry of Defence’s annual planning round.

 

Question

Mary Macleod (Brentford and Isleworth, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials of his Department who are allocated to work in Afghanistan are based in (a) the UK, (b) Kabul and (c) Helmand province.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

Afghanistan is the Ministry of Defence’s main effort and as such civilian posts across the Department and from all functional specialisms contain different proportions of Afghan-related business. The MOD does not compile numbers and to do so would involve disproportionate cost.

However, I can confirm that there are 10 MOD civilians in Kabul and 130 MOD civilians in Helmand Province. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five as numbers go up and down daily as people hand over and travel between locations in and out of theatre for work and leave.

 

Question

Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the funding required to achieve the capabilities set out in Future Force 2020.

Answer

Liam Fox (Secretary of State, Defence; North Somerset, Conservative)

holding answer 7 February 2011

We are continuing to develop and refine our Strategic Defence and Security Review implementation plans. Until this work is complete it is not sensible to speculate about the overall cost of the Defence programme.

However, as the Prime Minister made clear on 19 October 2010, Hansard, columns 797-826, his own strong view is that there is a requirement for year on year real terms growth in the Defence budget from 2015 to ensure that we realise the vision set out in Future Force 2020. We will also continue to meet the NATO target of 2% defence expenditure throughout the comprehensive spending review period.

 

Question

Philip Davies (Shipley, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) what assessment he has made of the financial effects on armed forces personnel of the recent changes to their allowances;

(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effects on morale and retention of armed forces personnel of recent changes to allowances and pay;

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) set out a requirement to reduce expenditure on Service and civil service allowances amounting to some £300 million per year.

These changes are a necessary part of the Ministry of Defence’s contribution to the overall Government’s programme to reduce the UK deficit inherited from the previous Government.

The purpose of allowances is to reimburse service personnel for justifiable expenditure incurred either when on duty or as a result of the unique nature of service life. The current financial position has placed pressure on the level of allowances that are affordable. Whilst there will be some reductions and changes, appropriate allowances will continue in the future.

We have concentrated on ensuring, where possible, that no group is disproportionately affected, and have sought to mitigate effects by phasing in some changes by up to two years. The service chiefs of staff and their principal personnel officers have been fully engaged in this process.

Individuals who believe they will be placed in financial difficulty by the changes have been directed to inform their chain of command.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the future strategic tanker aircraft will be deployed in high threat environments; what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of equipping the aircraft with platform protection measures; and what estimate he has made of the time required to modify the aircraft to include platform protection measures.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

The future strategic tanker aircraft may be required to fly into operational theatres when, based on military judgment, the threat levels have been sufficiently mitigated. All aircraft entering operational theatres will be fitted with the necessary defensive aid measures required to meet the threat level at the time. As options for additional platform protection measures are being considered as part of the current planning round it would be inappropriate to comment on cost or timescale at this stage.

 

Question

Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times search and rescue helicopters based at RAF Lossiemouth have been involved in operations related to North Sea offshore oil and gas installations and support aircraft and vessels in each of the last five years.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

Information is not held in the format requested, however, I am able to provide the following:

	Rigs	Support vessels	Support aircraft
2006	16	7	0
2007	11	8	1
2008	15	5	1
2009	9	4	2
2010	7	1	0

The data contained in the table have been drawn from the search and rescue database maintained by Defence Analytical and Statistical Advice.

The figures given for rigs are the call-outs that are categorised on the database as “Rig”. The figures given for “Rigs” are the call-outs that are categorised on the database as being to oils or gas rigs; however we do not hold data specific to vessels and aircraft in support of oil and gas installations. We have drawn together figures for “Support vessels” and “Support aircraft” by analysing the narratives of call-outs and recording where the aircraft or vessel assisted is known to be in support of an oil and gas installation. Because these figures are based on extrapolating information from narratives rather than specific fields in our database, we cannot be as sure of their accuracy as we could if the data had a specific recording field.

 

Question

Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of RAF Middle Wallop as a training facility for Army helicopter pilots.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

Training for Army helicopter and fixed wing pilots, alongside Army aircrew ground support training, will continue at Middle Wallop for the foreseeable future.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) aircraft and (b) naval vessels will be retired as a result of decisions taken in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

As a result of decisions announced when the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) was published and since, the following aircraft and naval vessels will be withdrawn from service:

Asset	Anticipated date of withdrawal	Number being withdrawn
Harrier	Withdrawn December 2010	62
Tornado GR4	By 2021	137
TriStar	By 2013	9
VC-10	By 2013	13
C-130J Hercules	By 2022	24
Sentinel R1	To be confirmed	5
HMS Ark Royal	Withdrawn December 2010	1
HMS Illustrious	2014	1
Type 22 Frigates	2011	4
RFA Largs Bay	2011	1
RFA Bayleaf	2011	1
RFA Fort George	2011	1

The SDSR also announced that we would not be bringing nine Nimrod MRA4s into service.

The final number of military assets affected by the SDSR remains subject to the completion of more detailed work during the Ministry of Defence’s annual planning round. This will include, for example, the number of helicopters, training aircraft, and minor and auxiliary vessels required to support the new force structure.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) weapons and (b) rounds of ammunition for which (i) his Department has and (ii) the armed forces have responsibility have gone missing since June 2009.

Answer

Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

The following table provides details of the number of Ministry of Defence owned weapons reported as lost/stolen from June 2009 to date, showing, as appropriate, where recovery has been effected. These figures include reported losses in-theatre.

No comprehensive figures are available in respect of ammunition losses.

	2009( 1)		2010		2011( 2)
	Lost/Stolen	Recovered	Lost/Stolen	Recovered	Lost/Stolen	Recovered
Pistol	14	12	9	.0	0	0
Rifle	3	2	4	0	0	0
Machine Gun	0	0	(3)61	5	0	0
Shotgun	0	0	1	0	0	0
(1) June to December.(2)To date.(3) This figure includes 59 Minimi machine guns, the loss of which is the subject of a Royal Military Police investigation.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) required, (b) actual and (c) fit-for-task strength is of each corps of the Army.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

In the table “required strength” and “actual strength” figures are shown as “funded liability” and “trained strength” respectively.

“Fit for Task” has been interpreted as fit to deploy for any form of duty on deployment, including personnel listed as having limited deployability.

“Funded Liability” means the number of personnel required in each corps. “Trained Strength” is the number of personnel in that corps who have completed initial training-which for the Army is Phase 1 and Phase 2 training-as at 1 November 2010. The trained strength will fluctuate according to the number of recruits successfully completing initial training and personnel leaving the Corps. The difference between “Trained Strength” and “Number Fit for Task” accounts for trained personnel who are classed as “non-deployable due to illness or injury.”

Figures for the Regular Army( 1)
Organisation	Funded liability	Trained strength	Number fit for task
Staff	716	820	790
Royal Armoured Corps	5,778	6,000	5,680
Royal Artillery	7,632	7,710	7,220
Royal Engineers	9,528	9,660	9,210
Royal Signals	8,222	7,600	7,180
Infantry	24,631	24,750	22,930
Army Air Corps	2,016	2,140	2,050
Royal Army Chaplains Department	150	130	120
Royal Logistics Corps	15,487	15,420	14,230
Royal Army Medical Corps	3,489	3,010	2,750
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers	9,741	10,010	9,430
Adjutant General’s Corps
Provost	1,792	1,700	1,580
Staff and Personnel Support	3,858	3,750	3,350
Military Provost Service	139	110	110
Educational and Training Services	317	340	310
Army Legal Services	105	120	110
Unspecified	-	10	-
Royal Army Veterinary Corps	220	350	320
Small Arms School Corps	153	160	150
Royal Army Dentistry Corps	411	370	330
Intelligence Corps	1,688	1,530	1,450
Army Physical Training Corps	462	480	450
Queen Alexandra’s Royal Auxiliary Nursing Corps	1,318	900	790
Corps of Army Music	907	790	750
Long Service List	570	340	310
(1) Trained strength and fit for task figures are rounded. These figures are provisional, and subject to review.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each other non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Answer

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

holding answer 9 February 2011

Communication of defence is important to support the reputation of the armed forces, understanding of military operations and other activities and to support recruitment. These figures include both military and civilian posts throughout Defence, including armed forces’ commands and operational theatres. Savings have been made across the communications area during the course of the current financial year and further substantial reductions are planned. The latest figures for the numbers involved in specialist communications roles are for financial year 2009-10 and were produced in support of a Cabinet Office led exercise to capture such information across Government. They are as follows:

	MOD/armed forces	Trading funds	Non-departmental public bodies
Press officers	112	8	1
Internal communications officers	52	8	0
External communications officers	365	26	0
Communications strategy officers	67	2.5	0
Other	101	7	3

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to improve the quality of body armour procured by his Department.

Answer

Peter Luff (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Equipment, Support and Technology), Defence; Mid Worcestershire, Conservative)

The Ministry of Defence buys body armour on a continual basis as the operational need arises. Osprey body armour was introduced in 2006 and has undergone a number of refinements and improvements since, culminating in the current Mk 4 Osprey. Osprey Mk 4 provides a high level of protection against small arms and fragmentation threats and is ergonomically designed and lighter than previous versions of Osprey.

The next planned update to body armour will be through the VIRTUS programme which is currently in its assessment phase. Meanwhile Osprey will continue to develop in light of operational feedback and outputs from ongoing research.

 

Question

Tessa Munt (Wells, Liberal Democrat)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2011, Official Report, column 581, on Trident replacement submarines, what proportion of the costs of the (a) first, (b) second and (c) third new submarine will have been (i) spent and (ii) committed by 7 May 2015.

Answer

Liam Fox (Secretary of State, Defence; North Somerset, Conservative)

The initial gate business case for the assessment phase of the programme to replace the Trident submarines is currently being reviewed. During this assessment phase we would expect to order certain parts for up to three boats to ensure they are ready for use once the main construction phase begins after main gate in 2016. However, until the assessment phase programme has been approved it is not possible to confirm the value of these parts.