Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 11 October (HL Deb, col 249) indicating that references to "part-time" were included within a previous Armed Forces Act, to which Act he intended to refer.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
During the Report Stage for the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill, I referred to Section 2(1A) and (1B) of the Armed Forces Act 1966. This reference was inaccurately transcribed in the official record of the debate but it has now been corrected in Hansard.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the consultation on <i>Transforming our Justice System: panel composition in tribunals, </i>whether they intend to preserve the use of tripartite panels, including Service members, in War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Appeals.
Answered by Lord Henley
The government is consulting on proposals to amend existing legislation to provide the Senior President of Tribunals with greater flexibility in his determination of panel composition in the unified tribunals, including the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal.
We believe our proposals will lead to a more proportionate, targeted approach to panel composition, with non-legal members being used in cases where their knowledge or expertise is really needed.
Decisions on the composition of tribunal panels are, and will continue to be, made by the Senior President of Tribunals independently of my department.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Army Air Corps personnel have been asked in the past 12 months to repay retention or other alleged overpayments; and in each case, who was responsible for the error.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 23 March 2016 (Official Report, column 2379) to the noble Lord, the Lord Trefgarne.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 1 July (HL754), what marginal cost amounts will be credited to the defence budget for providing such humanitarian assistance in Sierra Leone, Nepal and the Mediterranean; and, in each case, what percentage of the total cost of this assistance to the defence budget those marginal costs represent.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence has received £28.8 million for the marginal costs associated with providing humanitarian assistance in Sierra Leone. While costs are still being refined, the Ministry of Defence expects to receive up to £5 million for marginal costs incurred in support to the Nepal earthquake relief, and up to £11 million for costs associated with the deployment of HMS Bulwark and Merlin helicopters to the Mediterranean for search and rescue activities.
As there is a standing arrangement for the Ministry of Defence to recover the marginal costs associated with support to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the total costs are not available.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the cost of the armed forces' contributions to providing humanitarian assistance in (1) Sierra Leone for the Ebola crisis, (2) Nepal for earthquake relief, and (3) the Mediterranean for the rescue of illegal immigrants, will be met from the defence budget.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The marginal costs of providing humanitarian assistance in Sierra Leone and earthquake relief in Nepal will be met by DfID. The marginal costs of supporting search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean will be met by the UK aid budget.