Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 8th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Has the Minister had the opportunity to discuss with the Department for Work and Pensions the symptoms and expectations relating to post-traumatic stress disorder and how it impacts on veterans applying for benefits and occasionally having to visit offices to receive the benefits they deserve?

[Mr Ellwood]

I am grateful for that question. It has been raised many times and it is important to put it in context and in perspective. Not everybody who joins the armed forces will be affected—just two in every 1,000 people —but they need the attention and support that they absolutely deserve. The Secretary of State is meeting the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to discuss that very matter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 20th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ellwood]

It is difficult to put an exact figure on it, but we estimate that the MOD spends around £7 billion on our veterans. It is so important that we provide that support wherever it is needed across the country, whether through pensions, mental health support or simply comradeship, to recognise their service and thank them for it.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Can the Minister give some indication of how he intends to monitor the delivery of the covenant, given the recent report by the charity SSAFA, which said that only 16% of veterans actually believed that it was being delivered effectively?

--- Later in debate ---

[Penny Mordaunt]

These aircraft have an endurance that will enable them to meet the requirement for core UK missions without the need for air-to-air refuelling. For extended endurance missions, they are fitted with boom refuelling receptacles, and our allies can also provide air-to-air refuelling as required.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

T8. It was reported last week that the Government were enthusiastically trying to find an alternative to the Galileo space system. Will the Minister tell us where the £3 billion to £5 billion for that is coming from?

[Stuart Andrew]

As the right hon. Gentleman will know, following the issues involving Galileo the Government announced that £95 million would be spent on exploring exactly what our future options and capabilities might be, and that work is still ongoing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 14th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

It is very much within the agreement. Equally, this is a priority, which is precisely why we are investing £1.9 billion in it over coming years.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita’s Army recruitment contract.

[John Grogan (Keighley) (Lab)]

17. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita’s Army recruitment contract.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

The Army is working closely with Capita, with multiple interventions now in place and delivering improvements. Regular soldier applications are at a five-year high, supported by last year’s award-winning “This is Belonging” marketing campaign. It will take longer to see increases in trained strength due to the length of the recruitment and training pipelines.

[David Hanson]

This contract has underperformed. How much would it cost to cancel it, and why is the Minister not considering that as a key option?

[Mark Lancaster]

There are certainly alternative plans in place should this contract not perform, and the Secretary of State has made it absolutely clear that he has not ruled that out. However, I am pleased that in recent months, after interventions by Capita, we have seen a dramatic improvement in the contract. One of the indications of that is that applications are now at a five-year high.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct in his analysis. We have to make sure that NATO has the ability to respond to the challenges of the future, which is why we are investing more in NATO’s command structure to make sure it can act more speedily against emerging threats.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

What message does the Secretary of State believe President Trump should take from the NATO summit to President Putin the following day?

[Gavin Williamson]

I was hoping President Trump would come to visit Britain before going to visit President Putin, but he should take a message of unity, of European nations and our north Atlantic partners standing shoulder to shoulder to make sure that Europe and the north Atlantic remain safe.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 11th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I would be more than delighted to make sure that my hon. Friend gets that information.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Will the ministerial team recognise the work of service dogs in the Army, Air Force and Navy, and in particular, welcome the establishment next week in this House of a memorial charity to those animals, to be based in Delyn constituency in north Wales?

[Mark Lancaster]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very valuable point. All too often, when we talk about our armed forces, we think purely of humans, but of course, for many centuries, animals have made a fine contribution, too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 23rd April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Colleagues need not worry. Their questions will be reached, but the Chair has to react to the development of events, to which I and some colleagues are privy and others are not. If you are not already confused, you will now be.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

16. What steps he is taking to provide military support to NATO allies in the Baltic states.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

Don’t worry, Mr Speaker; I will endeavour to speak very slowly, for a change, and maybe at length.

We have a strong and enduring defence relationship with our allies in the Baltic states. Since April last year, UK forces have been deployed in Estonia as part of NATO’s enhanced forward presence. The UK acts as the framework station in Estonia, leading a defensive but combat-capable multinational battlegroup to deter aggression. The UK also contributes to the US-led enhanced forward presence battlegroup in Poland.

[David Hanson]

This might be an opportunity to give a lecture on Estonian, Lithuanian and Polish relations with the UK—while keeping you happy in your Chair, Mr Speaker. In the meantime, I very much welcome what the Secretary of State has said about the increased support to the Baltic states. Will the Minister also look at the possibility of giving training and support to members of the Baltic states’ armed forces in the UK? He will be aware that a recent parliamentary question revealed the fact that no one from Lithuania, Latvia or Poland had attended the MOD’s highest profile UK-based courses. Is that not something that we should try to rectify?

[Mark Lancaster]

I would be delighted to look at that. Indeed, I am sure that the House will be delighted to know that the one request I received from just about every nation when I was travelling in east Africa last week was for further places on UK training courses—our Royal College of Defence Studies, our advanced command and staff course, our higher command and staff course, or even at Sandhurst. Places on such courses are incredibly valued by overseas nations. Unfortunately, demand exceeds supply, but I will look carefully at what more we can do to support our Baltic colleagues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I thought my hon. Friend was incredibly eloquent.

Let us be clear that there is one reason why we have had peace right across the continent of Europe since the second world war: NATO, and the fact that it has acted as a deterrent to those who wish to prosecute aggressive campaigns against the west. I am very proud of the work that has been done, and will be done in the future, with our allies.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State tell me what the pound-dollar rate was at the time of the commissioning of the F-35 programme, what it is now and how much extra taxpayers’ money is being paid as a result?

[Gavin Williamson]

I am afraid I not have details of the exchange rates with me, but I will write to the right hon. Gentleman with them. I can tell him that exchange rate changes over the past few years have cost us about a quarter of a billion pounds extra for the defence budget, as a result of the movement of the pound.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 12th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

My hon. Friend is right to focus on quality, and I am delighted to say that following the last Ofsted inspections both the Army and the naval service were graded as “good”, with some individual programmes being graded as “outstanding”, while the RAF’s programme was graded as “outstanding”.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

The Minister mentioned the Department for Education, and the Government website refers to England, so will he assure me that apprenticeships are available throughout the UK for people in the devolved regions where apprenticeships are a devolved matter to the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly or the Welsh Assembly?

[Mark Lancaster]

Of course, we are always happy to work with devolved Assemblies, and I can absolutely reassure the right hon. Gentleman that apprenticeships are available to all our armed forces personnel.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 12th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

The Légion D’Honneur is established by law in France, with set requirements for scrutiny and approval. Within those limits, the French authorities have done their utmost to expedite the issue of the awards. As in the UK, such honours and awards are generally not made posthumously. I can confirm that the cases of Mr Barbour and Mr Nankivell have been submitted to the French authorities. Unfortunately, there is no record of an application for Mr Carncross, but if one is submitted, I will ensure that it is expedited.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

I do appreciate the efforts of the Minister and the Department to ensure that individuals get their Légion d’Honneur medals, but like the hon. Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster), I still know of a large number of people who are qualified for the medal and have applied for it but have not received it. Is it possible for the Minister to carry out an audit of how many applications are outstanding in the United Kingdom, so that he can chase them up?

[Mark Lancaster]

The French have awarded approximately 3,500 medals, and we have sent the French about 4,300 applications. At the moment, the process is taking between six and eight weeks. I appreciate that that is still a significant period given the age of the cohort in question, but I can assure the right hon. Gentleman, who has pursued the issue persistently over the past year, that we have done everything we can to make the process as quick as possible given the circumstances and the age of the veterans involved.

Defence

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2016 Ministerial Corrections

The following is an extract from Topical Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence on 27 June 2016.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

T2. Will the Minister undertake an urgent review of the awards of the Légion d’Honneur? I have many constituents who were awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French authorities and who notified the Ministry of Defence more than a year ago, but have still not received their medals. Will the Minister look at that urgently?

[Mark Lancaster]

I am more than happy to do so. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that there was a review. It is fair to say that the French authorities have simply been overwhelmed by the number of applications, but we have a system in place now whereby 200 are sent each week to the French. Of the original applications that were made, I understand that all have now been awarded.

[Official Report, 27 June 2016, Vol. 612, c. 17.]

Letter of correction from Mark Lancaster:

An error has been identified in the response I gave to the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson) during Topical Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence.

The correct response should have been: