Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to remarks made by Baroness Goldie on 23 November (HL Deb, col 798), how many complaints of (1) bullying, (2) sexism, (3) sexual assault, (4) physical abuse, and (5) emotional abuse, have been made to the Diversity and Inclusion Directorate since it was formed in April; and how many of these complaints have resulted in (a) an inquiry being launched, and (b) a conviction.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Complaints of this nature are not dealt with by the Diversity and Inclusion Directorate. For members of the Armed Forces, complaints of this nature can be raised and investigated in the form of a Service Complaint. Criminal allegations are referred to the Service Police for investigation. For Defence civilian staff, complaints of this nature can be raised and investigated by Defence Business Services' Civilian Human Resources. Where a complaint relates to an incident which may constitute a criminal offence, the matter is referred to the police.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to remarks made by Baroness Goldie on 23 November (HL Deb, col 798), how many calls have been made to the Diversity and Inclusion Directorate's bullying, harassment and discrimination helpline since its establishment in April.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The wholeforce bullying, harassment and discrimination helpline was established in September 2020. Since opening, it has received 489 calls. 202 calls were made in the period April-October 2021.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Defence has paid in mental health compensation to (1) armed forces personnel, and (2) veterans, in each year from 2015 to 2021.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what development issues have been found during the testing of Boxer armoured personnel carriers.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Since the placement of contract for the Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle in late 2019 the project has been in a period of design finalisation which is nearing conclusion. No development issues have been identified to date, including during verification and validation trials.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what development issues have been found during the testing of Challenger 3.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Challenger 3 programme is in the early stages of system design and development. No development issues have been identified to date.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many armed forces personnel have received a (1) forced, and (2) voluntary, redundancy package in each year from 2016 to 2021.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
There has not been a programme of ‘forced’ or compulsory redundancy since the UK Armed Forces redundancy programme of 2011-15. The redundancies in all four tranches of that programme were compulsory and the vast majority of Service personnel who were made redundant through it had left Service by March 2016. Another eight personnel left their Service on redundancy terms between April 2016 and December 2017.
A small number, under ten, have been made redundant since December 2017. These were in respect of personnel whose posts or organisations had been restructured and meant as a result of their terms and conditions of service, and after exhausting all other options, that compensatory redundancy was the only alternative.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 10 December, 808 military personnel were deployed to assist the NHS in England, Wales, and Scotland.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in (1) the food industry, (2) the energy sector, and (3) as HGV drivers.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of the 10 December, 137 personnel were deployed to drive HGVs in support to the energy sector for the distribution of fuel. There were no personnel deployed to the food industry, nor elsewhere in support as HGV drivers.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in the UK; and of these, what sectors they are deployed in.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 10 December, 1,022 military personnel were deployed in the UK. They were deployed across the following sectors: Health, Energy, Security, Transport, and local community support.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the wreckage of the F35 jet that crashed in the Mediterranean sea has been found.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
An operation is ongoing to recover the F-35B. Due to reasons of operational security, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.