UK Operations Against ISIL

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

On 26 September 2014, the House voted in favour of military operations in support of the Government of Iraq’s fight against ISIL, including the use of air strikes. Military action is part of the Government’s comprehensive strategy, working in consultation with our allies in the wider coalition, to tackle ISIL.

As set out in statements on 2 September, Official Report, column 15WS, and 9 September, Official Report, column 33WS, our Armed Forces had already been involved in Iraq supporting humanitarian efforts, delivering equipment, weapons and ammunition to the Kurdistan Regional Government and contributing to coalition surveillance of ISIL. We are now undertaking military action in support of the coalition campaign.

The RAF began flying Tornado GR4 strike missions on 27 September. As of 10 October they have conducted 20 missions over Iraq. The Tornado provides strike capability with its highly accurate Brimstone missiles and Paveway guided bombs, allowing strikes against ISIL while minimising the risk of civilian casualties, and supports the coalition’s need for greater intelligence and surveillance with its reconnaissance pods. The first UK strike took place on 30 September, and six Tornado missions have resulted in weapons being released, hitting eight separate targets. The presence of armed jets in the skies has also curtailed ISIL’s ability to move freely and given Kurdish and Iraqi defenders time to organise and space to attack. ISIL fighters have been observed changing their tactics and trying to draw the coalition into inflicting civilian casualties as they take shelter amongst the civilian population.

We announced the short term deployment of two additional Tornado GR4s to RAF Akrotiri to provide resilience to our operation and allow us to maintain our tempo of missions. The new Voyager air-to-air refuelling capability and the Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft which began operation on 9 August continue to provide vital support to both British and coalition aircraft.

We are continuing to deliver support to the Kurdistan Regional Government forces at the request of the Government of Iraq. C-17 and C-130 aircraft in co-ordination with Canadian and Danish transport planes have so far delivered over 300 tonnes of supplies to Erbil for Kurdish Peshmerga units. This includes over 100 tonnes of UK-gifted weapons and equipment and over 200 tonnes of weapons and ammunition from supportive countries.

A training team has begun instructing Peshmerga soldiers on the operation of 40 UK-gifted heavy machine guns. Other training teams addressing soldiering skills, medical and counter-explosive device knowledge are planned.

Our network of liaison officers in Iraq and the region has expanded to better understand the situation, work with our partners and help sustain the coalition which critically includes regional partners involved in operations. The Ministry of Defence is working closely with the Foreign Office to ensure our activity is co-ordinated to support the Iraqi authorities in providing a more inclusive government in Sunni areas liberated from ISIL control.

Throughout the campaign C-130 transport aircraft remain ready to deliver more humanitarian aid provided by the Department for International Development (DFID) and pre-positioned in Cyprus.

I will continue to keep the House informed of defence activities.

Maritime Support Delivery Framework Contracts

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

I am notifying the House that the Ministry of Defence has awarded two contracts to support the management of the UK’s naval bases and maintain and repair the Royal Navy’s warships. These contracts, which have a combined value of £3.2 billion, represent a new approach to contracting for support services at the naval bases, known as the maritime support delivery framework (MSDF).

Contracts have been awarded to both our industrial partners at the naval bases. The contract awarded to Babcock, to provide support services at Her Majesty’s naval bases (HMNB) at Devonport and Clyde, is valued at £2.6 billion, while BAE Systems has been awarded a contract worth £600 million to provide support services at HMNB Portsmouth.

The Babcock MSDF contract is for five and a half years, running from 1 October 2014 to 31 March 2020. The BAE Systems MSDF contract is for four and a half years initially, also running from 1 October 2014, with an option to extend it for an additional year. These contracts replace the three warship support modernisation initiative contracts as well as ship services contracts with BAE Systems and Babcock, plus a number of support-based contracts with Babcock for engineering services.

The MSDF contracts will sustain around 7,500 jobs across the three naval bases, with 1,500 of these jobs at HMNB Clyde, up to 4,000 at Devonport and more than 2,000 at HMNB Portsmouth.

MSDF is a modern commercial and financial strategy replacing existing contracts with one wider contracting framework to incentivise industry to transform and rationalise to meet the needs of the Royal Navy.

By bringing the provision of naval base support services and ship services contracts under MSDF, the MOD is able to deliver a saving of some £350 million, drive continuous performance improvement and thereby provide a better deal for defence and the taxpayer.

Defence Nuclear Safety Committee and Nuclear Research Advisory Council (Triennial Reviews)

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

I am today announcing the publication by the Ministry of Defence of the findings of the triennial reviews of the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee (DNSC) and the Nuclear Research Advisory Council (NRAC). Triennial reviews are part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that non departmental public bodies (NDPBs) continue to have regular independent challenge and to improving the accountability and effectiveness of public bodies.

The DNSC’s remit includes all safety aspects relating to the naval nuclear propulsion plant and nuclear weapon systems, including related issues of design, development, manufacture, storage, in-service support, handling, transport, operational training, support facilities and capabilities, and the safety of workers and the public.

The NRAC is responsible for reviewing the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) nuclear warhead research and capability maintenance programme, including the requirement for above-ground experiments and other facilities and techniques necessary to develop and maintain a UK nuclear weapon capability in the absence of underground testing; NRAC also examines AWE’s programme of international collaboration.

The reviews concluded that DNSC and NRAC not only provide a valuable source of independent advice, but that they also undertake a vital challenge function on behalf of the Government, and that both bodies should be retained as advisory NDPBs. The reviews also noted that the terms of reference and governance arrangements for both bodies are entirely appropriate.

The reviews also looked closely at the option of merging the two bodies, but concluded that, although their scope is complementary, they do examine different aspects of the deterrent programme, and that there would be no advantage in merging the two.

The review was carried out with the participation of a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and I am grateful to all those who contributed to these triennial reviews.

The Triennial Review Report: Nuclear Research Advisory Council (NRAC) and Defence Nuclear Safety Committee (DNSC) has been placed in the Library of the House. It is also available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/nuclear-research-advisory-council

and

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-nuclear-safety-committee

Gifting of Equipment

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

I am laying a departmental minute today concerning the gifting of military equipment to the Government of Iraq (GoI), including the Kurdish Regional Government. This is at the request of the GoI.

The UK is committed to assisting the GoI by: alleviating the humanitarian suffering of those Iraqis targeted by ISIL terrorists; promoting an inclusive, sovereign and democratic Iraq that can push back on ISIL advances and restore stability and security across the country; and working with the international community to tackle the broader threat that ISIL poses to the region and other countries around the world, including the UK. The Kurdish forces remain significantly less well equipped than ISIL and we are responding to help them defend themselves, protect citizens and push back ISIL advances.

The initial gifting package is scheduled to arrive in Iraq on Wednesday 10 September and will consist of heavy machine guns and ammunition. The total cost is approximately £1.6 million plus an estimated £475,000 in transport costs.

Defence Procurement

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

I am pleased to announce the successful contract award worth £3.5 billion (Ex VAT) to General Dynamics UK (GDUK) to deliver a minimum fleet of 589 Scout specialist vehicles (Scout SV) to the British Army. This will sustain a minimum of 1,300 jobs across the UK. Deliveries of the Scout SV are planned to commence in 2017. The training establishment and first squadron will be equipped by mid-2019 to allow conversion to begin with a brigade ready to deploy from the end of 2020.

Scout SV will transform the Army’s combat capabilities and will introduce new and very advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities. These vehicles will be the eyes and ears of commanders on the battlefields of the future and will carry a revolutionary and highly effective cannon.

Vehicle development has drawn on the lessons of recent operations. Scout SV will be a modern, tough, well-protected, highly mobile and agile tracked vehicle, able to cope with the most difficult terrain anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day and able to hold its own against the threats we foresee. It will replace the Army’s existing force of combat vehicle reconnaissance (tracked) vehicles which have given exemplary service for the past 40 years all over the world, most recently in Afghanistan.

Scout SV will fulfil nine different roles from six variants: a turreted variant mounting a 40 mm cannon fulfilling the Scout, ground-based surveillance and joint fire control roles, a protected mobility reconnaissance support (PMRS) variant providing an armoured personnel carrier and formation reconnaissance overwatch, command and control, engineer reconnaissance, recovery and repair variants.

Operations in Iraq (Update)

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

I wish to provide an update to the House on military activity in Iraq.

The ambition to create an extremist caliphate in the heart of Iraq and Syria is a direct threat to our own security in the UK. The Government are committed to using their aid, diplomatic, political and military expertise to focus on three objectives: alleviating the humanitarian suffering; to promoting an inclusive, sovereign and democratic Iraq; and working with the international community to tackle the broader threat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) poses to the region and countries around the world, including the UK.

As the House will be aware, following the advances of ISIL and the threat it posed to the civilian population, we received requests for assistance from the Iraqi Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Working with international partners and other Departments in Government, the Ministry of Defence has assisted in alleviating the immediate humanitarian situation, and in providing help so the Iraqi authorities can contain and push back ISIL and protect the civilian population.

Between 9 and 14 August, the UK delivered a total of 75 tonnes of humanitarian aid, provided by the Department for International Development (DFID) over Mount Sinjar through seven successful C-130 aircraft sorties. This aid was delivered to help thousands of Iraqis who had been displaced by ISIL. These flights were fully integrated with the US and included participation from the Royal Australian Air Force. UK operations ceased when the operation was concluded by US Central Command. RAF Akrotiri hosted the air transport used to drop humanitarian aid, as well as four CH-47 Chinook helicopters which prepared for a potential evacuation of displaced people from the mountain.

Overnight on 30 and 31 August, two UK C-130s dropped 13.8 tonnes of DFID aid to the town of Amerli, near Kirkuk, which had been under siege from ISIL for several weeks. This was part of a coalition effort of US, French and Australian aircraft which provided enough water for Amerli for two days and enough food for four days.

The RAF have also carried out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions to better understand the situation on the ground. Between 13 and 16 August, 10 surveillance sorties were undertaken by UK Tornado GR4 aircraft. On 30 and 31 August, a further Tornado sortie flew a surveillance mission in support of the aid drops to Amerli. A UK Rivet Joint aircraft has also been deployed to improve our understanding. A Voyager aircraft has provided support to these operations through air-to-air refuelling.

In response to requests from the Iraqi Government and the KRG we have also taken part in international efforts to help the Iraqi authorities contain and push back ISIL. UK C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft have delivered to the KRG ammunition and equipment from other nations, including small arms and rocket-propelled grenades with which the Kurdish security forces are already familiar. We are also gifting UK non-lethal equipment, including helmets and body armour, to the KRG. These flights transited through Baghdad for inspection and approval by the Iraqi Government and the deliveries have been supported by a small operational liaison and reconnaissance team deployed to Erbil to support the move and transfer of the equipment. We have been joined in these supply flights by other countries, including the Canadians. The US is co-ordinating delivery of these supplies through military and State Department personnel in Iraq, and we will continue to liaise with them and the KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga through our own military and Foreign and Commonwealth Office representatives in Erbil. Our support has not involved troops in a combat role on the ground.

Lt General Sir Simon Mayall, currently the defence senior adviser for the middle east, has also been appointed as the Government’s security envoy to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. His role will be to assess what other needs the Kurds have and where the UK can assist. He has spent the last week in Iraq, and has been co-ordinating closely with Iraqi authorities, holding meetings in Baghdad as well as Erbil.

As the situation develops I will continue to keep the House informed of defence activities.

Armed Forces Pay Review Body (Appointments)

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon)]

I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Professor Kenneth Mayhew and Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Jonathan Westbrook as members of the armed forces pay review body. The appointments will last until 28 February 2018 and the process has been conducted in accordance with the guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Constructionline

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

I can announce to the House our plans for the divestment of public sector ownership of the Constructionline scheme by a competitive sale process. Details of the sale procedure will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in due course.

Since 1998, the Constructionline scheme has operated within public sector ownership and reduced the administrative burden from business, in particular SMEs, in their pre-qualification for tenders. The Constructionline scheme has also provided the client base with verified data about suppliers which has brought greater certainty to the procurement process.

Constructionline is, however, now no longer the sole supplier of pre-qualification assistance and there is a developing commercial market place for such services. A number of potential opportunities which would allow the scheme to grow and to offer additional services for the benefit of businesses have been identified. The exploitation of these new opportunities is best served by a new owner within the competitive tension imposed by the market.