Parliamentary Answers – Week Commencing 11th June 2012

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

Paul Flynn (Newport West, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the asset valuation of Atomic Weapons Establishment (a)Aldermaston and (b) Burghfield is.

Answer

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

The total net book value of assets at the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield, as at 31 March 2012, was £2.172 billion. Of this amount, it is assessed that £1.707 billion relates to assets at Aldermaston, and £465 million at Burghfield. This includes an apportionment of assets under construction that are valued at £1 million or below, which have not yet finally been attributed to either site.

 

Question

Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion, Green)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) how much was spent by the Atomic Weapons Establishment on research by UK universities in each of the last three years;

(2) whether research undertaken on behalf of the Atomic Weapons Establishment in UK universities is funded through his Department’s Management and Operation contract.

Answer

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

The majority of the research and development work undertaken on behalf of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at UK universities is funded via the Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s Management and Operations contract with AWE. In addition to this funding there is a short term agreement, jointly funded by the MOD, theHome Office and the Cabinet Office, for enhanced detection and nuclear forensics work of which a proportion of the agreement funds work undertaken in UK universities.

AWE has spent between £8 million and £9 million on payments to UK universities for research and development work undertaken on their behalf in each of the past three financial years. In addition, following an agreement reached earlier this year, approximately £1 million over a four year period will be paid to UK universities for work undertaken in respect of detection and nuclear forensics.

 

 

Question

Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to take a decision on the future procurement of a further tranche of the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle Foxhound.

Answer

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

Future tranches of the Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicle will be subject to confirmation of our wider requirement. An announcement regarding the second tranche of Foxhound will be made shortly.

 

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) whether he proposes that any personnel who have served or are serving in Afghanistan will be made redundant as a result of his planned Army restructuring;

(2) whether he is taking steps to support those who have served or are serving in Afghanistan during his Army restructuring;

(3) if he will make it his policy that personnel who are serving or who have served in Afghanistan will be protected from redundancy resulting from his Army restructuring.

Answer

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

Policy for Army redundancy states that those personnel who are deployed on combat operations that qualify for the operational allowance; are within six months of an operational allowance earning deployment; or are on their post operational leave at the time of notification of selection, may only be made redundant if they apply. We will continue to keep this policy under review with regard to any future redundancies.

All Army personnel will be supported through the Army restructuring process, whether they are serving or have served in Afghanistan or not. An extensive communications plan that will inform personnel of the outcomes of the restructuring process will be implemented at the appropriate time.

 

 

Question

Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the (a) war and (b) disability pension of a soldier is stopped if that soldier is sentenced to imprisonment following conviction of a criminal offence.

Answer

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

War disablement pensions paid under the War Pensions Scheme are normally withheld if an individual’s term of imprisonment is more than 12 months. However, they are restored upon release and 12 months of basic pension arrears paid.

If, as a result of the suspension of pension payments, hardship can be proved, up to half of the pension can be paid to dependants.

 

 

Question

Angus Robertson (Moray, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) established strength, (b) current manning and (c) number of personnel from the Commonwealth is in the (i) Royal Armoured Corps, (ii) Infantry, (iii) Army Air Corps, (iv)Royal Artillery, (v) Royal Engineers, (vi) Royal Signals, (vii) Royal Logistic Corps, (viii) Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, (ix) Royal Army Medical Corps, (x) Adjutant General Corps, (xi) Intelligence Corps and (xi)Brigade of Gurkhas.

Answer

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

The establishment and strength information for the relevant Corps, as at 1 April 2012, is provided in the following table:

	Establishment	Strength	Strength of Commonwealth and other non-UK personnel
Royal Armoured Corps/Household Cavalry	5,424	5,520	290
Infantry	25,009	24,080	2,240
Army Air Corps	2,032	2,015	85
Royal Artillery	7,219	7,355	720

Royal Engineers	9,104	9,450	500
Royal Signals	7,619	7,545	165
Royal Logistic Corps	13,737	14,080	1,840
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers	8,981	9,700	420
Royal Army Medical Corps	3,541	2,990	195
Adjutant General Corps	6,106	6,025	460
Intelligence Corps	1,920	1,650	10
Brigade of Gurkhas	2,848	3,650	3,650

The term “Commonwealth and other non-UK strength” comprises individuals from Commonwealth countries, the Republic of Ireland and Nepal.

 

 

Question

Jim Cunningham (Coventry South, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department plans to publish the next military covenant report.

Answer

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

An interim report was published in December 2011.

The first statutory report on the armed forces covenant will be published towards the end of 2012.

 

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people worked on the Concept Development Phase looking at the installation of catapult and arrestor gear in (a) the UK and (b) the US.

Answer

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

Within the Ministry of Defence, the conversion of the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class aircraft carriers is not considered to be a stand-alone project, but rather an extension of the core QE build project. The Ship Acquisition team which has responsibility for delivering the QE Class, currently has 64 personnel assigned to the carriers: of these 61 were providing support to both the core build and conversion investigations, the remaining three personnel were supporting the conversion investigations on a full-time basis.

To the end of April 2012, we had committed up to £39 million on conversion appraisal investigations and £1 million on an Air-to-Air Refuelling Study.

 

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations Ministers in his Department have received on the technical difficulties of converting a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier to a CATOBAR configuration; from whom and when.

Answer

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

I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 April 2012, Hansard, columns 1123-24W.

Discussions on converting an aircraft carrier to a CATOBAR configuration were held on an ongoing basis with the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, the US Department of Defense and US industry.

 

 

Question

Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff of his Department were employed on a (a) part-time and (b) full-time basis on work to assess the costs, risks and technical feasibility of fitting cats and traps in the carrier programme; and what estimate he has made of the cost of this work under each category of expenditure.

Answer

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

Within the Ministry of Defence, the conversion of the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class aircraft carriers is not considered to be a stand-alone project, but rather an extension of the core QE build project. The Ship Acquisition team which has responsibility for delivering the QE Class, currently has 64 personnel assigned to the carriers: of these 61 were providing support to both the core build and conversion investigations, the remaining three personnel were supporting the conversion investigations on a full-time basis.

To the end of April 2012, we had committed up to £39 million on conversion appraisal investigations and £1 million on an Air-to-Air Refuelling Study.

 

 

Question

Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what external assistance and technical consultancy his Department commissioned for the work to assess the costs, risks and technical feasibility of fitting cats and traps in the carrier programme; and how much it spent on each piece of work commissioned.

Answer

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

The Ministry of Defence commissioned RAND Europe to provide an independent technical assessment of the in-build and refit conversion strategies that were under development during the Queen Elizabeth Class Conversion Development Phase. The cost of this work was £195,000 and is part of the £39 million committed to the Conversion Development programme that was announced at the time of the oral statement.

 

 

Question

David Ruffley (Bury St Edmunds, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on the cost to the public purse of military operations in Libya.

Answer

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

We currently estimate the net additional cost of Operation ELLAMY at £199 million.

 

 

Question

James Wharton (Stockton South, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to increase the number of cadet forces.

Answer

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

We are very keen to increase the number of cadet forces, and in our Positive for Youth Strategy the Government committed the MOD and Department for Education to look at options to increase the number of cadets in the MOD sponsored cadet forces. As part of this work the Schools Commissioner and I held a scoping event with key stakeholders on25 April 2012 and we continue to develop our options. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the 26,000 adult volunteers on whose dedication and excellent leadership the cadet forces rely.

 

 

Question

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Crossbench)

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by the United States Senate Armed Services Committee on the number of Chinese fake components found in United States military aircraft, whether United Kingdom forces operate any of the affected aircraft; and whether any danger is posed to United Kingdom troops.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by the United States Senate Armed Services Committee on the number of Chinese fake components found in United States military aircraft, whether any similar components are incorporated in aircraft or military equipment manufactured in the United Kingdom.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by the United States Senate Armed Services Committee on the number of Chinese fake components found in United States military aircraft, whether they intend to carry out or initiate any similar inquiry in the United Kingdom.

Answer

Lord Astor of Hever (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Defence; Conservative)

United Kingdom forces operate the Boeing C-17 and Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft, named in the United States Senate Armed Services Committee report on counterfeit electronic parts. The report also refers to the Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter. United Kingdom forces operate a variant of this aircraft, the Augusta Westland AH1. There are significant differences between the electronic systems of this aircraft and those of the US AH-64.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) Quality Assurance Authority has not received any reports of counterfeit electronic parts having been detected in MoD equipment in the past five years.

The MoD’s framework of contract conditions requires that our contractors supply “fit for purpose” products. Recent changes to the framework have included a strengthening of the requirements for certificates of conformance, whereby suppliers must attest that their product meets MoD requirements.

The MoD is aware that counterfeit products are becoming a serious problem worldwide and is working with industry experts to raise awareness of the risk of counterfeit parts entering the supply chain. A counterfeit awareness working group (CAWG) has been established, to develop guidance on the issue to be used across the MoD and industry. The CAWG arranged an awareness event on counterfeit parts for MoD and industry personnel in July 2011 and is planning another for June 2012.

As no counterfeit electronic parts have been detected in MoD aircraft, there is not considered to be a current threat to UK aircrew and there are no plans to hold an inquiry along the lines of that conducted by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

 

 

 

Statement

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

The Defence Rotary Wing Capability Study was commissioned to ensure that the Department has the right plans in place to meet the demands on helicopter capability in the future. I am pleased to say that the study is now complete and, given the interest taken in the study by Parliament, I wanted to take the opportunity to announce its key findings. As the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend Peter Luff, who has responsibility for defence equipment, support and technology, stated in his response on 30 April 2012, Hansard, column 1142W, I should reiterate that the findings include no major changes to our previously announced plans.

The study reviewed the full rotary wing requirement for the land, sea and air environments. This encompassed all helicopter roles: attack, lift, reconnaissance and search and rescue. The study was broken down into six work strands covering future force structure, training and simulation, support, specialist roles, basing, and search and rescue.

The aim was to look across all areas of the Department to ensure that we are working as efficiently as possible to deliver the plans for rotary wing capability outlined in the strategic defence and security review. The study confirmed the following plans:

to move the MOD’s rotary wing capability to four core fleets, the Chinook, Wildcat, Merlin and Apache helicopters;

to complete the Puma life extension programme, which extends the out of service date for Puma Mk2 to 2025; this offers resilience to the Department’s lift capability as it transitions to the four core fleets; and

to transfer the Merlin Mk 3/3a to the Royal Navy’s commando helicopter force.

As a result of this review, the Department has:

identified opportunities in training and support as the most promising areas to achieve rationalisation and efficiencies. Broadly this includes making better use of simulated training and adopting a simpler approach to procurement and alternative models for support;

considered alternative ways of organising our helicopters and concluded that Joint Helicopter Command should continue to command land-based (battlefield) helicopters and Navy Command should continue to command maritime helicopters;

confirmed the end of MOD provision of Rotary Wing Search and Rescue at the remaining eight military bases upon withdrawal of the Sea King in April 2016. This will then be performed by a contractor through the Department for Transport, as the Secretary of State for Transport announced to Parliament on 28 November 2011, Hansard, columns 52-53WS.

The MOD and other interested parties will now consider the recommendations and these findings will now be taken forward as part of routine departmental business.

 

Question

Paul Flynn (Newport West, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the priority markets will be for the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation in 2012-13.

Answer

Mark Prisk (Minister of State (Business and Enterprise), Business, Innovation and Skills; Hertford and Stortford, Conservative)

The UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation 2012-13 list of priority markets is:

Australia

Brazil

Canada

Europe/NATO/EU (as a collective market)

India

Indonesia

Japan

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Kuwait

Libya

Malaysia

Qatar

Oman

South Korea

Thailand

Turkey

UAE

USA

 

 

 

Question

Mark Lancaster (Milton Keynes North, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the actual manning against establishment figures is for each infantry battalion; and what proportion of soldiers is (a) English, (b) Scottish, (c) Welsh, (d) Northern Irish or (e) of Commonwealth extraction by birth.

Answer

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

The following table provides the establishment and strength information for Service personnel in infantry battalions.

Division	Unit	Establishment	Manning
Guards	1 Grenadier Guards	536	520
	1 Coldstream Guards	535	462
	1 Scots Guards	603	545
	1 Irish Guards	537	483
	1 Welsh Guards	530	506
Scots	1 SCOTS	535	517
	2 SCOTS	528	448
	3 SCOTS	537	520
	4 SCOTS	608	460
	5 SCOTS	556	465
Queens	1 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment	599	594
	2 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment	535	541
	1 Royal Regiment Fusiliers	599	601
	2 Royal Regiment Fusiliers	532	523
	1 Royal Anglian	571	565
	2 Royal Anglian	538	528
Kings	1 LANCS	571	551
	2 LANCS	523	489
	1 YORKS	533	408
	2 YORKS	532	487
	3 YORKS	599	593
Prince of Wales	1 MERCIAN	533	494
	2 MERCIAN	527	439
	3 MERCIAN	604	507
	1 Royal Welsh	527	501
	2 Royal Welsh	575	529
Rifles	1 RIFLES	532	504
	2 RIFLES	528	506
	3 RIFLES	527	511
	4 RIFLES	571	551
	5 RIFLES	599	575
Royal Irish	1 Royal Irish	554	554
Para	2 PARA	553	463
	3 PARA	548	500

In addition to the battalions shown above, there are three incremental Guards companies whose primary role is Public Duties but which can also be used to augment the other Guards battalions as required. The establishment and strength information for these elements is as follows:

Unit	Establishment	Manning
Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards	100	104
7 Company Coldstream Guards	100	102
F Company Scots Guards	100	100

It is not our policy to release corresponding data for 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment.

Information relating to the birth nationality of personnel is not held in the format requested.

 

 

Question

Mark Lancaster (Milton Keynes North, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether recruits will be allowed to choose the infantry cap badge within the Scottish regiments that they join.

Answer

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

Recruits joining the Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Scottish Division) are allocated to a particular battalion of the regiment during weeks 10 to 12 of initial training at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick. All recruits in the Royal Regiment of Scotland are given the opportunity to prioritise their choice of battalion, with the final allocation based on the operational needs of the battalions, balanced with the wishes of the individual. In addition, recruits cannot be assigned to battalions that may deploy while they remain under 18 years of age.

Recruits wishing to join another infantry regiment also recruiting in Scotland may choose alternatively to join The Scots Guards or The Parachute Regiment.

 

 

Question

Kevan Jones (North Durham, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2012, Official Report, column 721W, on defence: procurement, what discussions his Department had with HM Treasury on the assumed annual 1% annual increase to the equipment and equipment support budget from 2015.

Answer

Kevan Jones (North Durham, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2012, Official Report, column 721W, on defence: procurement, what discussions his Department had with HM Treasury on the assumed annual 1% annual increase to the equipment and equipment support budget from 2015.

 

 

 

Question

Karen Lumley (Redditch, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Bosnia and Herzegovina to fulfil the criteria needed to start the process to enter NATO.

Answer

David Lidington (Minister of State (Europe and NATO), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Aylesbury, Conservative)

The UK fully supports Bosnia and Herzegovina’s NATO membership aspirations. At the Chicago summit on 20-21 May the UK and Allies welcomed the political agreement reached on 9 March 2012 on the registration of immoveable defence property as state property. This agreement is an important step towards fulfilment of the condition set by NATO Foreign Ministers in Tallinn in April 2010 for the full participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Membership Action Plan process. The UK urges Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement the agreement without delay in order to start the first MAP cycle as soon as possible, and looks forward to a review of implementation of the agreement in the autumn.

 

Question

Lord Judd (Labour)

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are being made, in the training of military service personnel, to strengthen the United Kingdom’s effective integration in combined international operations.

Answer

Lord Astor of Hever (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Defence; Conservative)

The single services have primary responsibility for the generation of force elements, trained, equipped and prepared for operational employment, including alongside international partners in combined international operations. Service personnel receive progressive training at the individual, team, unit, formation, component and joint task force level within a joint and combined environment. From 1 April 2012, HQ Joint Forces Command was given the responsibility of co-ordinating joint and combined training events under the mantle of the Defence Exercise Programme; this should reinvigorate and reinforce the imperative for such training as we start to withdraw from Operation Herrick and adopt a more contingent posture. The programme will be strongly influenced by the defence engagement strategy.

Building and maintaining alliances and partnerships was a cross-cutting theme in the strategic defence and security review and training and education activity (including combined exercises, international student exchange and military capacity building) contributes to this theme. Furthermore, the development of analytical and creative thinking skills that complement other professional competences is embedded in progressive military education. This equips our future military and civilian leaders with the skills to decide, communicate, engage and lead effectively in complex joint, multi-national and inter-agency environments.

The UK also participates in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military exercises. The overall aim of these exercises is to improve the capability and interoperability of both NATO’s and national force’s headquarters and agencies, for the full spectrum of potential military tasks. The UK takes a co-ordinated and pro-active approach to ensure that, as far as possible, NATO and UK exercise policies are aligned and that scarce national assets and exercise programming conflicts are avoided. The UK also participates in a number of other programmes with NATO and non-NATO countries, including inter alia American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Armies’ Programme (ABCA), UK/US Engagement Plan and bilaterals with other nations. Activities vary in scale from corps level command post exercises to individual exchanges and focus on interoperability training.

A series of exercises is being planned in preparation for the UK/France Combined Joint Expeditionary Force. A research project (Support to Anglo/French Interoperability and Readiness) carried out over the period October 2010 to December 2011 demonstrated how sustainable simulation technologies can support joint mission preparation, distributed training and experimentation alongside our partners.

 

Question

Stephen McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many improvised explosive devices (a) were defused and (b) exploded in Afghanistan in each month since August 2011.

Answer

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

The information requested is not held centrally for the whole of Afghanistan. Data are more readily available for the Task Force Helmand area of operations in Helmand province, which includes the majority of UK forces deployed to Afghanistan.

The figures for improvised explosive device (IED) ‘finds’ in the following table refers to devices which have been found by, or reported to, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) units in the Task Force Helmand area of operations. Similarly, the figures for ‘explosions’ refer to explosions that have subsequently been reported by ISAF units operating within the Task Force Helmand area of operations. These includes both ‘laid’ IEDs and suicide (both vehicle and person-borne) devices.

Month	IED finds	IED explosions
2011
August	88	77
September	138	38
October	102	47
November	144	41
December	127	61
2012
January	123	57
February	125	40
March	126	44
April	138	39

For IED finds, information is not held on what action was subsequently taken, although the possible courses of action include controlled detonation of the IED.

These data are based on information derived from a number of sources and can only be an estimate. Not least this is because of the difficulties in ensuring a consistent interpretation of the basis for collating statistics in what is a complex, fast-moving, multinational operational environment.

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) what contracts his Department has agreed relating exclusively to the conversion of the aircraft carrier to a Catapult Assisted Take Off Barrier Arrested Recovery configuration since May 2010; and what the value was of each contract;

(2) how much his Department has spent on feasibility studies on conversion of the aircraft carrier to a Catapult Assisted Take Off Barrier Arrested Recovery configuration since May 2010;

(3) how much was spent on the concept development phase looking at the installation of catapult and arrestor gear;

(4) what the total cost to his Department was of preparatory work on installing catapult and arrestor gear on a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier;

(5) what the cost was of renegotiating contracts associated with the installation of catapult and arrestor gear on one Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier.

Answer

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

holding answers 22 and 24 May 2012 (4) and (5)

As part of our conversion investigations we had entered into a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement with the US for the supply of technical information, design and engineering data for Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment. We had also tasked the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA), under the auspices of the existing carrier build contract, to develop a revised ship design, updated build strategy and consider options for conversion.

Against this work, we have committed up to £39 million to the end of April 2012 with both the US Department of Defense (DoD) and UK Aircraft Carrier Alliance, and £1 million on an air-to-air refuelling study. There will be some additional costs as we close down this activity but I cannot release our estimate of these costs now as this would prejudice our negotiations.

We did not order any equipment as part of these investigations into the conversion of the operational aircraft carrier. The decision to revert to purchase of the STOVL F-35B variant of Joint Strike Fighter was made before it was necessary to commit to long lead items for the catapults and arrestor gear.

 

 

Question

Stephen McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents of the loss of confidential data held by his Department have been reported in each of the last (a) two years and (b) 12 months.

Answer

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

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes any attacks on, or misuse of, its information, networks and associated media storage devices very seriously and has robust procedures in place to mitigate against and investigate such occurrences. Furthermore, new processes, instructions and technological aids are continually being implemented to mitigate human errors and raise the awareness of every individual in the MOD with regards to cyber security. The following tables list, by year, the number of reported losses of confidential and personal data centrally reported within the MOD from 1 January 2010 to 29 May 2012. Figures will continue to be adjusted to incorporate subsequent recoveries of items, the reporting of additional losses and subsequent clarification of historic incidents. The following figures reflect the latest data held by the Joint Security Co-ordination Centre (JSyCC) as of29 May 2012.

In a number of these cases, the documents were historical and therefore the original protective marking would have been eligible to be considered for downgrading. This may reduce any risk of such compromises. A number of these incidents came to light as a consequence of thorough mustering of protectively marked information and revised MOD data management practices.

It is likely that a significant number of instances relate to records of the destruction of documents not being accurately maintained, rather than documents actually having gone missing.

Table 1 details reported incidents of the loss of confidential data in each of the last two years (2010 and 2011). Also included are incident numbers from1 January 2012to29 May 2012:

Table 1: Loss of confidential data by year
	Total
2010	35
2011	25
2012	21

Table 2 details reported incidents of the loss of confidential data in each of the last 12 months:

Table 2: Loss of confidential data by month
Month	Total
June 2011	2
July 2011	0
August 2011	5
September 2011	2
October 2011	2
November 2011	3
December 2011	0
January 2012	13
February 2012	3
March 2012	0
April 2012	3
May 2012	2
Notes: 1. These are only the incidents that were reported and may not represent the true number of losses during this time. 2. Of the 81 incidents listed in Table 1, 25 remain under investigation. These totals may also include some losses relating to accounting anomalies during force rotation and/or disposal activities.

 

Question

Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) how many service personnel from the Army Reserve are undergoing training;

(2) how many service personnel from the Army Reserve are available for immediate deployment.

Answer

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

The Army Reserve comprises members of the Territorial Army and the Regular Reserve.

Members of the Territorial Army undergo training throughout their career depending on the Army’s operational commitments. Once a member of the Territorial Army is mobilised for deployment they will receive the appropriate additional training for their deployed role.

The Regular Reserve (personnel who have recently left the Army and held on the reserve list) receive training for specific roles as and when they are called upon.

There are 85 members of the Territorial Army held at immediate readiness (defined as between 12 and 24 hours notice) for UK operations.

 

Question

Gareth Thomas (Harrow West, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

(1) if he will list the empty or largely empty buildings owned by his Department; and if he will make a statement;

(2) how many buildings owned by his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible have been empty for more than two years; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

Bob Neill (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Bromley and Chislehurst, Conservative)

The Department for Communities and Local Government owns one vacant freehold property—Hangar 97, Little Rissington Airfield, Gloucestershire. The property comprises 4,300 square metres and is located on a Ministry of Defence airfield. The Department is currently considering options for future use or disposal action.

The Department has worked hard to reduce surplus property liabilities, using a range of approaches including surrender, open market disposals and transfers to other Government Departments. As set out in Appendix A of “The State of the Estate 2011”, the Department’s administrative estate was reduced from 248,618 square metres to 160,627 square metres during the calendar year 2011, a reduction of 87,991 square metres or 35%. The Report can be found at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/HMG_StateOfEstate_acc2.pdf

 

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress was made on building a stable Afghanistan at the recent NATO Summit in Chicago.

Answer

 

Philip Hammond (Secretary of State, Transport; Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)

At the NATO Summit in Chicago, the international community reaffirmed its enduring support to Afghanistan beyond the end of security transition in 2014. NATO’s military commanders set out the progress in the campaign—attacks by insurgents are down and transition to Afghan control is on track. NATO’s Strategic Plan for Afghanistan was agreed and plans were discussed for the future funding of the Afghan national security forces. The UK is pledging £70 million a year and total commitments to date are close to $l billion. Our aim is a stable Afghanistan that is able to manage its own security and that can prevent international terrorists, such as al-Qaeda, returning and posing a threat to our security. The NATO summit sends a clear message to the Afghan people that we will not abandon them, and to the insurgents that they cannot wait us out.

 

Question

Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was of testing the US Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System.

Answer

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

holding answer24 May 2012

The final cost of the UK contribution to the U.S-led EMALS test programme is still to be finalised.

 

Question

Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) what work has been done to identify the extent of domestic abuse in military quarters;

(2) what research his Department has commissioned on the role that alcohol plays in domestic abuse in military quarters.

Answer

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

The focus of our work, to date, on domestic abuse in the armed forces and service community has been on raising awareness about domestic abuse and advice on what to do if it is occurring.

The chain of command has an overarching responsibility to ensure that appropriately trained support staff are available. A domestic abuse protocol is in place between the Service Police and the Hampshire Constabulary that sets out arrangements for handling domestic abuse incidents, with reported cases recorded on the civil police record management system. Consideration is currently being given to rolling out similar protocols for all garrison areas.

The Kings Centre for Military Health Research has conducted some research looking at the levels of domestic violence in military populations following homecoming from a deployment, as well as the role of alcohol misuse. Their findings will be published in due course.

 

Question

Jim Cunningham (Coventry South, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes have been implemented as a result of the recommendations of Dr Andrew Murrison’s independent study into the provision of mental health support and services to the armed forces and ex-service personnel.

Answer

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

The Ministry of Defence takes the issue of mental health very seriously and, together with colleagues from the Department of Health, have implemented the following recommendations from Dr Murrison’s ‘Fighting Fit’ report.

The main data collection phase of the three-year study, conducted with King’s College London, into the possible use of a screening tool for mental health issues, is under way.

Enhanced Mental Health Assessments, which are to be included as part of routine service medical examinations and discharge medicals, are being rolled out on a regional basis.

Policy has been changed to allow service personnel who have mental health issues while serving (or identified at the release medical) to continue to access the military Departments of Community Mental Health for up to six months after discharge.

A 12 month evaluation of the ‘Big White Wall‘, an online early intervention portal for service personnel, their families and veterans, is ongoing and is due to report in autumn 2012 for service personnel. A decision on whether to continue with the service element will be taken by the end of this year. For veterans and families, the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend Mr Burns, announced in May 2012 that the Big White Wall service would be extended to run until 2015. The veterans and families package will be wholly funded by the Department of Health.

A 24-hour helpline for veterans and their families, run by Rethink in partnership with Combat Stress, has been up and running since March 2011. In March 2012 the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend Mr Burns, announced the continuation of the helpline for the financial year 2012-13. This will be wholly funded by the Department of Health.

A Veterans Information Service that will contact ex-service personnel 12 months after they leave the armed forces to offer support and give information is due to be launched in summer 2012.

There has been an uplift in the number of mental health professionals conducting veterans outreach work, from 15 to 30. In addition, the number of professionals working for Combat Stress in partnership with the NHS takes this total to nearer 50. Plans are in place to establish a national veterans’ mental health clinical network.

It has been agreed that the Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) at and the Reserves Mental Health Programme (RMHP) will continue in their assessment role accepting referrals and self-referrals. The MAP will move to the Reinforcements Training and Mobilisation Centre (RMTC) at Chilwell, Nottinghamshire in October 2012.

The e-learning veterans’ health package designed for GPs went live in late summer 2011.

 

 

Question

Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of post traumatic stress disorder amongst serving and former soldiers.

Answer

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

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes the issue of mental health very seriously, and we recognise that operational deployments will inevitably expose personnel to stressful experiences. The psychological welfare of troops (which covers general wellbeing as well as mental health) is a fundamental chain of command responsibility, and personnel benefit greatly, in terms of mental health, by being within well-led units with good support from their colleagues.

Measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels and to mitigate the development of operational stresses. Primary preventative measures include selection for fitness at recruitment, provision of good leadership, and robust training for all personnel. Secondary preventative measures include psycho-education, use of trauma risk management (TRiM), and post-operational stress management, all of which aim at early detection of problems. Unit-based non-healthcare professionals such as chaplains, TRiM practitioners and welfare staff also have a vital role in supporting the chain of command in maintaining a good state of mental health amongst unit personnel and in signposting those in need of treatment to the Defence Medical Services. The families of returning personnel are also offered advice on the possible after-effects of an operational deployment.

Another key aim is to reduce the stigma that is sometimes attached to mental illness, which is an issue in the civilian world as well as the armed forces. This is being actively addressed through such programmes as the Army’s “’Don’t Bottle It Up” campaign, and in the deployment briefings provided to personnel and their families. By encouraging people to come forward as soon as they begin to feel ill, we can provide treatment at an early stage and hopefully prevent the illness developing further or recurring at a later date, including after they have left the armed forces.

Personnel leaving the armed forces are given advice on seeking help at an early stage if they have concerns about their mental health. The MOD and the Department of Health are working together to improve the mental health care provided to ex-service personnel. Among key preventative measures are the launch in March 2011 of a professional 24-hour helpline for current and ex-service personnel and their families, and the current trial of use by the service community of the Big White Wall, an online early intervention service for people in psychological distress.