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.
Contents
Question
Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF reserves at each (a) rank and (b) speciality are deployed on Libyan operations.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
holding answer 10 June 2011
As at 9 June 2011, the following Royal Auxiliary Air Force personnel were deployed outside the UK in support of operation Ellamy:
| Trade/Branch | Rank |
| Movements Operator | 1 x Senior Aircraftman |
| Ops Support (Flight Operations) | 1 x Flying Officer |
| Ops Support (Personnel) | 1 x Acting Flight Lieutenant |
| 1 x Wing Commander | |
| Weapons Systems Operator (Crewman) | 1 x Master Aircrew |
The following sponsored reserves are also deployed on operation Ellamy:
| Trade/Branch | Rank |
| Engineering Technician | 2 x Chief Technician |
| Ops Support (Flight Operations) | 2 x Flying Officer |
| 1 x Flight Lieutenant | |
| Supplier | 2 x Corporal |
Additionally the following Royal Auxiliary Air Force personnel have been called-out to support operation Ellamy within the UK:
| Trade/Branch | Rank |
| Intelligence Analyst | 5 x Senior Aircraftman |
| 1 x Corporal | |
| 1 x Sergeant |
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
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on consultants since 1 November 2010.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
Consultancy (or external assistance) includes a range of activities, such as management consultancy, specialist lawyers, commercial bankers and IT expertise. Consultants help us increase our efficiency and effectiveness, but are employed only where the necessary work cannot be undertaken in house and where value for money can be clearly demonstrated. The total spend on consultants for the period 1 November 2010 to 30 March 2011 for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was £13.085 million. This includes the MOD agencies and trading funds.
All new spend on consultancy must comply with the tighter controls announced last year by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend Mr Osborne.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on advertising since May 2010.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
In June 2010, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury imposed restrictions across Government on marketing and advertising spend.
The following figures have been taken from requests which have been submitted to the Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s Director of Media and Communications and approved under the Cabinet Office marketing and advertising restrictions from June 2010 to June 2011.
| £ million | |
| MOD | 20.0 |
| Trading funds | 1.4 |
| Total | 21.4 |
The MOD expenditure of £20 million includes £18 million for essential recruiting advertising to maintain the operational capability of the armed forces.
Question
Vernon Coaker (Gedling, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of (a) police officers and (b) staff in the Ministry of Defence police in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) 2014.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
The number of Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) officers (strength) were as follows:
1 April 2010: 3,457
1 April 2011: 3,302
The number of non-uniformed civilian staff supporting the wider Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency, were as follows:
1 April 2010: 439
1 April 2011: 409
Consideration is being given to future staff numbers in the context of a wider examination of Defence support costs.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to his Department has been of the establishment and operation of the Defence Reform Unit.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
None of the members of the Defence reform steering group chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Levene, have been paid for this role. The team supporting the review comprises staff reallocated from other duties at no additional cost to the Department beyond some £10,000 incurred on travel and subsistence.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on producing films since December 2010.
Answer
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
Since December 2010 the Ministry of Defence, including its Trading Funds, has spent approximately £440,000 on producing films, primarily to support essential training and as part of recruitment to maintain operational capability to the armed forces.
| £ | |
| Recruitment | 6,673 |
| Training | 361,626 |
| Other | 75,000 |
This covers production of Army Families Deployment Guide.
Question
Madeleine Moon (Bridgend, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average daily cost of (a) using Italian air bases and (b) providing accommodation for UK armed forces in Italy as part of Operation Ellamy has been; and if he will make a statement.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
It is too early to give a robust estimate of the costs of the operations in Libya. However, we expect they should be modest compared with some other operations, such as Afghanistan. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Osborne, has made clear, the additional costs of operations in Libya will be fully met from the reserve.
There are no ongoing additional costs resulting from our use of Italian air bases as this operation is being conducted under NATO and thus members of the alliance incur nil costs for such use.
The approximate average daily cost, assessed up to 1 June 2011, for accommodation of all UK personnel at the main deployed locations in Italy as given in the following table.
| Approximate daily accommodation costs (£) | |
| Gioia dell Colle, Italy | 30,000 |
| Trapani, Italy | 10,000 |
| Poggio Renatico, Italy | 5,000 |
| Naples, Italy | £2,000 |
Question
Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships by type are deployed on current operations or exercises.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
As of 16 June 2011, the ships of each type deployed on operations are as follows.
Middle East deployments
Type 23s
Mine Counter Measures Vessels (MCMV)
HMS Chiddingfold
Royal Fleet Auxiliaries (RFAs)
RFA Lyme Bay—Landing ship dock
RFA Diligence—Forward repair ship
RFA Fort Victoria—Replenishment ship
Survey Vessel
Operation ATALANTA
EU counter-piracy and counter-smuggling operations within the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean.
Type 23
The UK‘s contribution to NATO forces enforcing UN Resolution 1973 to protect civilians in Libya.
Landing platform helicopter
RFA
RFA Fort Rosalie—Replenishment ship
Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR
NATO forces enforcing UN Resolution 1973 to protect civilians in Libya.
Type 42
MCMV
Responsive Force Task Group
Capacity building and support to operations East of Suez.
Landing platform dock and Fleet flagship
Type 23
RFAs
RFA Cardigan Bay—Landing ship dock
RFA Wave Knight—Fleet tanker
Gibraltar Patrol
The security of Gibraltar territorial seas.
Patrol b oats
Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North)
The UK’s maritime contribution to the Caribbean and North Atlantic area. Protection of UK interests, humanitarian role in response to the natural disasters, especially hurricanes, which are prevalent in this region.
RFA
RFA Wave Ruler—Fleet tanker
Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South
The standing naval commitment to the South Atlantic and West African regions. Provide a maritime presence to protect the British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, including South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and UK’s interests in the region.
Type 42
RFA
RFA Black Rover—Small fleet tanker
Falkland Island Patrol Ship
Permanently stationed in the region, responsible for maintaining British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, including South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Offshore patrol vessel (helicopter)
Fishery Protection
Patrolling UK’s extended Fisheries Zone.
River Class offshore patrol vessel
Survey operations
Survey operations throughout the world using the latest techniques to provide information for Admiralty charts and nautical publications and in particular updating the charts covering the waters around the United Kingdom.
Her Majesty’s Survey Motor Launch
UK Contingency operations
Royal Navy maritime security units at readiness to react to any possible threat to the integrity of UK territorial seas and security of the UK.
Type 23s
Type 45
MCMV
RFA
RFA Orangeleaf—Support tanker.
In addition Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dauntless is exercising with French, US and Russian naval units as part of an annual exercise.
Question
Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in how many quick reaction alert activations which have taken place on the Falkland Islands since May 2010 (a) only one aircraft and (b) no aircraft became airborne.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
holding answer 21 June 2011
A single Typhoon has been launched in every quick reaction alert activation over the last 12 months.
Question
Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what helicopter support is available to support British military training in Belize.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
holding answer 22 June 2011
25 Flight Army Air Corps (25 Flight AAC) currently operates three Bell 212 helicopters in support of the British Army Training Support Unit, Belize (BATSUB). This is however, due to cease this summer. The helicopters are operated by the Army Air Corps under a ‘military registered contractor owned’ basis, and are painted in the Army Air Corps military markings.
In 2010 the UK Ministry of Defence looked at its use of all military bases overseas and, after consultation with the Government of Belize, concluded that BATSUB would remain open but that we will, from 2011, temporarily suspend our routine training activities in Belize. As a consequence, there is currently no requirement for helicopter support and UK aviation support will, therefore, cease after the last Infantry exercise scheduled for mid-July. 25 Flight AAC will transfer to the UK, to provide helicopter support to other military collective training activities.
Question
Madeleine Moon (Bridgend, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of repairs to HMS Endurance in each of the last five years; 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 amounts spent by the Ministry of Defence in maintaining or repairing HMS Endurance during the last five years are shown in the following table:
| Financial year | Amount (£ million) |
| 2006-07(1) | 3.2 |
| 2007-08(1) | 2.3 |
| 2008-09(2) | 2.1 |
| 2009-10(3) | 0.5 |
| 2010-11 | 0 |
| (1) Cost of routine maintenance which includes refits and repairing worn or damaged equipment. (2) Cost of routine maintenance plus repair costs following the accident. (3) Cost of removing equipment, cleaning and conducting a survey. | |
Question
Madeleine Moon (Bridgend, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence
(1) what the average cost per individual is to his Department of providing French language lessons for (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army pilots; and if he will make a statement;
(2) how many (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army pilots are receiving French language lessons; and if he will make a statement.
Answer
Nick Harvey (Minister of State (Armed Forces), Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
Currently four pilots are receiving French language lessons within the Defence intelligence and security centre. The breakdown by service is as follows:
RAF: One
Royal Navy: Three
Army: Nil.
The cost per individual to the Ministry of Defence for the provision of French language lessons for the RAF, Royal Navy and Army pilots is £7,761 per student.
Interesting to see that out of 19 frigates and destroyers available, 6 are deployed on overseas commitments and 4 operating in home waters. If you factor in those vessels preparing for or recovering from a deployment or in refit, you can see just how little flex there is. Even though we (in our debates on this blog and elsewhere) find it difficult to articulate and agree why, the tasks demanded of the RN have never reduced. Do you think they ever will?
‘The cost per individual to the Ministry of Defence for the provision of French language lessons for the RAF, Royal Navy and Army pilots is £7,761 per student.’
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that a bit too much for simple French Lessons
The courses would cover a lot more than ‘simple French Lessons’ a lot of technical information will need to be spoken and learnt in a short space of time.