Parliamentary Answers – to 24th May 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

Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion, Green)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2011, Official Report, column 418W, on Libya: armed conflict, whether officials of his Department have had discussions with their counterparts in (a) the US Administration and (b) governments of other countries that are part of the coalition for military action in Libya on policy on the use of depleted uranium weapons; whether his Department has received any reports on the use of depleted uranium weapons by coalition partners; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

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

Defence officials routinely undertake policy discussions with their counterparts in foreign governments across a full range of issues, including matters relating to Libya. It would not be appropriate to disclose details of these discussions or any official reporting received from governments in the coalition for military action in Libya.

As I have stated previously, it is a matter for other nations to decide for themselves what weapons they deploy. The UK is not itself using depleted uranium weapons in Libya.

 

 

Question

Jim Cunningham (Coventry South, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made towards achieving the non-frontline savings identified in the Strategic Defence and Security Review; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

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

holding answer 4 April 2011

The outcomes of the Strategic Defence and Security Review including the actions required to achieve savings of £4.3 billion in the non-frontline formed the basis of the Department’s annual Planning Round (PR) 11 and PR 12, which is under way. As part of this process we keep a range of options under consideration regarding future spending.

 

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many missions the (a) Nimrod R1, (b) Sentinel R1, (c) VC-10 and (d) C-130 have flown in Operation Ellamy.

Answer

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

Up to 8 May 2011 the UK has flown the following sorties in support of Operation Ellamy:

Aircraft type	Number of sorties (1)
VC10	110
C130	15
Nimrod	20
Sentinel	50
(1) Numbers are rounded to the nearest five.

Question

Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the relative merits of (a) hard and (b) soft power.

Answer

Gerald Howarth (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (International Security Strategy), Defence; Aldershot, Conservative)

The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review took decisions on defence, security, intelligence, resilience, development and foreign affairs capabilities in the round. Since this Government took office the Ministry of Defence has reinvigorated its focus on the role which Defence diplomacy can play in promoting the United Kingdom’s interests.

 

 

Question

Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South, Liberal Democrat)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sorties have been flown over Libya by UK armed forces; and in how many such sorties weapons have been deployed.

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) how many sorties the (a) GR4 Tornado and (b) Typhoon has flown in Operation Ellamy; what type of mission was flown in each case; and how many weapons of each type were released;

(2) how many dual mode Brimstone missiles have been used by UK forces in Operation Ellamy to date.

Answer

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

Up to 8 May 2011 the UK has flown about 300 GR4 Tornado and 140 Typhoon sorties as part of Operation Ellamy. Both aircraft types have conducted missions to protect civilians in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, and the Typhoons have also conducted missions in support of no-fly zone enforcement.

In all, approximately 240 weapons have been fired by these aircraft during these missions. These were a combination of Dual Mode Seeker Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles, Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV Precision Guided Munitions. I am unable to provide a breakdown of these figures for reasons of operational security.

Question

Priti Patel (Witham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the EU Military Committee meeting with Chiefs of Defence from EU member states on 3 May 2011; what framework is in place for the pooling and sharing of military resources across the EU; what access to UK military resources he has given to other EU countries; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

Gerald Howarth (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (International Security Strategy), Defence; Aldershot, Conservative)

The EU Military Committee meeting with Chiefs of Defence on 3 May 2011 covered two main topics: capabilities and operations. The session on capabilities focussed wholly on pooling and sharing of military capabilities, where member states showed broad support for the initiative. Chiefs of Defence also discussed current operations.

Although work is under way in the EU and NATO to improve the transparency of current pooling and sharing activities among member states and to generate opportunities for the pooling and sharing of military capabilities in the future, there is no specific framework in place in Europe for the pooling and sharing of military resources. Decisions concerning military capabilities to be pooled and shared are subject to, and potentially constrained by, matters of national sovereignty. Although the work is being co-ordinated by these institutions, we are clear that the initiative must be member state driven, and conducted voluntarily.

As at 12 May 2011, the UK contributes to the following military Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions: Operation ALTHEA (peacekeeping in Bosnia), Operation ATALANTA (counter-piracy off Somalia) and EUTM Somalia (training Somali security forces in Uganda).

Question

Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat)

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount of United Kingdom official development assistance allocated to fragile and conflict-affected states met the Department for International Development‘s core objective of development and poverty eradication as opposed to security, justice and defence in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, and (c) 2010.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount of United Kingdom official development assistance allocated to fragile and conflict-affected states will meet the Department for International Development’s core objective of development and poverty eradication as opposed to security, justice and defence in (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, and (f) 2015.

Answer

Baroness Verma (Whip, House of Lords; Conservative)

All UK official development assistance (ODA) to fragile and conflict-affected states contributes to development and poverty eradication. In line with the international standard definition agreed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for aid to be classified as ODA it must be delivered with the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its primary objective. The Government have committed to spend 30 per cent of ODA on supporting fragile and conflict affected states by 2014-15. Details of UK aid expenditure are published in Statistics on International Development which is available in the Library of the House.

Question

Douglas Carswell (Clacton, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) what consideration he has given to the introduction of new safety measures for helicopters operating in Afghanistan;

(2) what recent reviews his Department has undertaken of the adequacy of safety measures for helicopters operating in Afghanistan.

Answer

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

The safety of our helicopters is continuously reviewed. Threats to safety are identified through regular safety inspections, a joint air safety assurance audit was carried out on the task force joint aviation group in February, and discussions between the front-line helicopter users, the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff for Capability’s Staff, and Defence Equipment and Support. These threats are assessed and where possible mitigation is then put in place through new equipment, training, tactics or procedures to ensure that the risk to life cannot practically be reduced further. The Department’s aviation safety management systems are subject to formal audit by the Military Aviation Authority.

As a result of this process, our helicopter fleets have been significantly enhanced to meet the demands of operations in Afghanistan. Investment continues to improve our helicopters’ protection against attack, to make landings in Afghanistan’s dusty conditions safer, to improve the safety of helicopter fuel systems and to provide better situational awareness for aircrew.

 

 

Question

Douglas Alexander (Paisley and Renfrewshire South, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel served at least one tour in Afghanistan between 2001 and the most recent date for which figures are available.

Answer

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

As at 31 March 2011, 103,260 past and present members of the UK armed forces have been identified as having deployed to Afghanistan since 2001. This figure does not include personnel who deployed to Afghanistan between the periods 1 January 2003 and 14 October 2005 for which data is not available.

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the number of jobs the joint combat aircraft programme will provide over its lifetime in (a) the UK and (b) each partner nation.

Answer

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

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of jobs that the joint strike fighter (JSF) programme will provide throughout its life. We do not have any information as to the number of jobs which may be created in other participant nations. However, in the production phase, British companies secured some 15% of the JSF industrial programme estimated at around £35 billion.

 

 

Question

Graham Jones (Hyndburn, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the inclusion of (a) steam catapults and arrestor hooks and (b) electro-magnetic propulsion units in the design specification of a new aircraft carrier.

Answer

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

As announced in the strategic defence and security review on 19 October 2010, we will fit one of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers with catapults and arrestor gear to operate the more capable carrier variant joint strike fighter.

Investigations into the aircraft launch and recovery systems—and a wide range of other factors—are under way. At this stage, the US Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) catapult and the US Advanced Arrestor Gear (AAG) recovery system appears to be the most promising solution, though we have not ruled out steam catapults or MK7 arrestor gear.

We currently expect to take firm decisions on the overall conversion strategy in late 2012.

 

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many quick reaction alert activations have taken place in the Falkland Islands in the last 12 months; and how many aircraft (a) took part and (b) were airborne within the alert time in each such case.

Answer

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

In the last 12 months there have been six quick reaction alert activations in the Falkland Islands. These have involved between one and two aircraft and on each occasion the aircraft were airborne within the prescribed alert time.

 

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) how much has been spent in the (a) system design and development phase and (b) production, sustainment and follow-on development phase of the Joint Strike Fighter programme in each year to date;

(2) what the budget allocation is for the system design and development phase of the Joint Strike Fighter programme;

(3) whether any financial liabilities remain for the system design and development phase of the Joint Strike Fighter programme;

(4) how much funding his Department expects to allocate to the production, sustainment and follow-on development phase of the Joint Strike Fighter programme in each of the next four years.

Answer

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

To meet the Joint Combat Aircraft requirement we are collaboratively developing a Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) air system with the US and other international partners through the JSF Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase.

The total UK expenditure to date on the SDD phase of JSF is £1,555 million with a final forecasted outturn of the SSD phase of £1,827 million, which is within our formal approval of £2,034 million. Similarly, the total UK spend to date on the Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development (PSFD) phase is £270 million.

The total cost of the production, sustainment and follow-on development will be determined when the main investment decision point is made. The Ministry of Defence does not publish estimates of the costs of programmes before this point as to do so would undermine our commercial position.

 

 

Question

Madeleine Moon (Bridgend, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what specialist training UK armed forces receive on the UK’s commitment to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security prior to deployment to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

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

Though UK armed forces personnel do not receive specific training on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1325 prior to the deployment in Afghanistan, all personnel deployed to any operational theatre will undertake, as part of their pre-deployment preparation, law of armed conflict training. This covers issues relevant to UNSCR 1325, such as the status of protected persons including women and children, and the humane treatment of captured persons. Pre-deployment training will also highlight the cultural sensitivities for that country.

In November 2010, the UK published a revised action plan on UNSCR 1325 following a review by the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development. The plan includes a commitment to the development and delivery of pre-deployment training on cultural (including gender) awareness for the UK armed forces. The Ministry of Defence is currently developing such training.

 

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where joint combat aircraft (a) training, (b) maintenance, (c) overhauls and (d) logistic systems are being developed; and at what cost to the public purse in each such case.

Answer

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

To meet the joint combat aircraft requirement, we are collaboratively developing a joint strike fighter air system with the US and other international partners, having contributed £1.555 billion to the systems development and demonstration (SDD) phase of the programme, so far. SDD not only develops the aircraft, but also the training system, maintenance and overhaul requirements and associated logistic and information systems.

 

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft for which his Department is responsible are permanently based in the Falkland Islands.

Answer

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

The following table sets out the aircraft which British Forces South Atlantic Islands has in its permanent establishment:

Aircraft type	Number
Hercules C-130J	1
Typhoon FGR4	4
VC-10K	1
Sea King HAR3	2
Sikorsky S61N	2

The Sikorsky aircraft are operated by Brintel. In addition, British forces in the South Atlantic have command of the helicopter operating from the frigate or destroyer assigned to the Atlantic Patrol Task (South).