Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any training provided in the United Kingdom or by UK personnel to members of the Israel Defence Forces includes content aligned with the principles of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; and what steps they have taken to ensure such training supports the prevention of gender-based violence.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. UK training courses promote British values, including respect for and adherence to human rights.
Fewer than ten Israel Defence Forces (IDF) personnel have been trained on non-combat military academic courses in the UK each year since 2020. The exact number of IDF personnel and which courses they are on is being withheld in order to protect personal information.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a mandatory Collective and Individual Training Objective in Command and Staff training for UK Defence, this includes training courses delivered to international defence students. The UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include both the theory and the practical application of IHL.
Likewise, the UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include Protection of Civilians (POC), both at the tactical and operational level. At the tactical level, UK Defence courses include mandatory judgmental training to ensure that a distinction is made between combatants and civilians. At the operational level, POC is integrated into both theoretical and scenario-based training. This is to ensure both UK and Overseas trainees know their responsibility for the application of the Law of Armed Conflict in subsequent operational deployments.
The Ministry of Defence aims to incorporate content aligned with the principles of the Women, Peace and Security agenda into all its training, including UK training courses offered to international students.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any training provided by the United Kingdom to members of the Israel Defence Forces includes instructions in international humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflict; and what steps they have taken to ensure that that content is delivered and upheld.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. UK training courses promote British values, including respect for and adherence to human rights.
Fewer than ten Israel Defence Forces (IDF) personnel have been trained on non-combat military academic courses in the UK each year since 2020. The exact number of IDF personnel and which courses they are on is being withheld in order to protect personal information.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a mandatory Collective and Individual Training Objective in Command and Staff training for UK Defence, this includes training courses delivered to international defence students. The UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include both the theory and the practical application of IHL.
Likewise, the UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include Protection of Civilians (POC), both at the tactical and operational level. At the tactical level, UK Defence courses include mandatory judgmental training to ensure that a distinction is made between combatants and civilians. At the operational level, POC is integrated into both theoretical and scenario-based training. This is to ensure both UK and Overseas trainees know their responsibility for the application of the Law of Armed Conflict in subsequent operational deployments.
The Ministry of Defence aims to incorporate content aligned with the principles of the Women, Peace and Security agenda into all its training, including UK training courses offered to international students.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether training provided by the UK to the Israel Defence Forces includes instruction on the protection of civilians in armed conflict; and what assessment they have made of how that training aligns with the commitments by the UK under international humanitarian law.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. UK training courses promote British values, including respect for and adherence to human rights.
Fewer than ten Israel Defence Forces (IDF) personnel have been trained on non-combat military academic courses in the UK each year since 2020. The exact number of IDF personnel and which courses they are on is being withheld in order to protect personal information.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a mandatory Collective and Individual Training Objective in Command and Staff training for UK Defence, this includes training courses delivered to international defence students. The UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include both the theory and the practical application of IHL.
Likewise, the UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include Protection of Civilians (POC), both at the tactical and operational level. At the tactical level, UK Defence courses include mandatory judgmental training to ensure that a distinction is made between combatants and civilians. At the operational level, POC is integrated into both theoretical and scenario-based training. This is to ensure both UK and Overseas trainees know their responsibility for the application of the Law of Armed Conflict in subsequent operational deployments.
The Ministry of Defence aims to incorporate content aligned with the principles of the Women, Peace and Security agenda into all its training, including UK training courses offered to international students.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what training they have provided to members of the Israel Defence Forces in the United Kingdom since 2020; how many personnel received that training in each year; and what were the stated objectives of the training.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. UK training courses promote British values, including respect for and adherence to human rights.
Fewer than ten Israel Defence Forces (IDF) personnel have been trained on non-combat military academic courses in the UK each year since 2020. The exact number of IDF personnel and which courses they are on is being withheld in order to protect personal information.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a mandatory Collective and Individual Training Objective in Command and Staff training for UK Defence, this includes training courses delivered to international defence students. The UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include both the theory and the practical application of IHL.
Likewise, the UK training courses being provided to Israel Defence Forces personnel include Protection of Civilians (POC), both at the tactical and operational level. At the tactical level, UK Defence courses include mandatory judgmental training to ensure that a distinction is made between combatants and civilians. At the operational level, POC is integrated into both theoretical and scenario-based training. This is to ensure both UK and Overseas trainees know their responsibility for the application of the Law of Armed Conflict in subsequent operational deployments.
The Ministry of Defence aims to incorporate content aligned with the principles of the Women, Peace and Security agenda into all its training, including UK training courses offered to international students.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total expenditure of the contribution of the United Kingdom to the Joint Expeditionary Force in each year since 2021.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The expenditure of the United Kingdom's Standing Joint Forces Headquarters (SJFHQ), acting as the operational headquarters of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), inclusive of their contribution to JEF operations and exercises since 2021 is:
Financial Year 2021-22 Not Known
Financial Year 2022-23 Not Known
Financial Year 2023-24 £521,000
Financial Year 2024-25 £500,00
Financial Year 2025-26 £172,700
The listed expenditure comprises the operational and exercise expenditure of SJFHQ, which leads on the planning and execution of JEF activity. It does not include the operational costs borne by single services in support of JEF activity, the figures for which are not held centrally. Total expenditure is not inclusive of the costs of staff employment, which cannot be accurately quantified within an HQ that is tasked by multiple services.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Ministry of Defence Form 680 applications for the release of information or equipment to Serbian entities have been (1) made, (2) granted, and (3) refused, in the last three years for which records are available.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Ministry of Defence F680s are a security clearance process, the approval of which does not constitute an export licence approval. Exporters are required to separately, but in addition, apply for export licences to supply information or material to a foreign entity.
Within the last three years, 21 F680 applications were made by exporters to Serbian entities, of which ten were granted and eight were refused. Three applications were withdrawn.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) personnel, and (2) financial, contribution they made to NATO HQ in Bosnia and Herzegovina in (a) 2020/21, (b) 2021/22, and (c) the current financial year.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK’s direct personnel and financial contribution to NATO HQ in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2020-21; 2021-22 and the current financial year (FY) is shown in the table below:
FY | Personnel in theatre | Financial Contribution |
2020-21 | 2 | No finance data available* |
2021-22 | 2 | £37,013.44 |
2022-23 | 3 | £25,000.00 ** |
* Costs for the UK’s contribution to NATO HQ Sarajevo Staff Officer postings are unavailable due to these financial contributions being reported as one sum for Op ELGIN (KFOR, Op REHEARSAL, NATO HQ Sa). In FY2020-21 these costs totalled £2,733,351.11 and were not disaggregated by Operation.
** Forecast at AP12 FY2022/23
NATO HQ Sarajevo is funded through NATO’s Military Budget, to which the UK contributes a national cost share (currently 11.3%). Per calendar year, this share amounts to €415,000 in 2020, €493,000 in 2021, €533,000 in 2022 and €572,000 for 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) personnel, and (2) financial, contribution they made to NATO’s (Kosovo Force) KFOR in (a) 2020/21, (b) 2021/22, and (c) the current financial year.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK directly contributes both persistently deployed troops and the UK based Over the Horizon Strategic Reserve Force to the NATO mission in Kosovo KFOR
The UK’s direct personnel and financial contribution to KFOR in 2020-21; 2021-22 and the current financial year (FY) is shown in the table below:
FY | Personnel in theatre | Financial Contribution |
2020-21 | 37 | Disaggregated figure unavailable |
2021-22 | 41 | £1,359,456.89 |
2022-23 | 41 | £1,441,218.47* |
*Forecast
In addition, NATO HQ Kosovo is funded through NATO’s Military Budget, to which the UK contributes a national cost share (currently 11.3%). Per calendar year, this share amounts to €1.9 million in 2020, €2.2 million in 2021, €2.4 million in 2022, and €2.5 million in 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Ukrainian soldiers have been trained by His Majesty's Armed Forces (1) since 2014, and (2) since 24 February 2022; and how many of these soldiers have received human security training, in particular on (a) Women, Peace and Security, and (b) conflict related sexual violence.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Over 22,000 members of the Armed Forced of Ukraine (AFU) were trained under Operation ORBITAL between 2015 and its suspension in February 2022. More than 9,500 Ukrainian personnel have been trained under Operation INTERFLEX since June 2022, with an ambition for up to 19,000 in 2023.
With reference to Operation INTERFLEX, over 9,300 Ukrainian personnel have received human security training. The UK provides trainees from the AFU with reading material to help them understand issues relating to human security, including aspects of WPS and CRSV and how to respond.
The UK's wider training package focusses on the Law of Armed Conflict, including legal obligations for protection of civilians.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the annual cost of the UK's participation in the EU-led military mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina; and how that participation was funded.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK's participation in the EU-led military mission, Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended on 31 December 2020. The UK's participation in that mission had been funded by the Cross-government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).
In financial year 2019-20 the cost of UK participation in Operation Althea was £1,439,092.98.