Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to acknowledge and commemorate the contribution of British service personnel during the Korean War.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
On 27 July 2023 the Ministry of Defence supported the Royal British Legion to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. An event was held on Horse Guards Parade with invited veterans and families as well as ticketed guests, with tri-service involvement and representation throughout the Service. The service acknowledged the contribution of the 6,000 Service personnel from across Britain and the Commonwealth during the Korean War, including the 1,100 who lost their lives.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of plans to base nuclear warheads in Belarus.
Answered by James Heappey
The announcement by President Putin on his intent to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is the latest in a long pattern of irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. It is designed to distract and deter us from supporting Ukraine. It will not. We, with our NATO Allies, continue to closely monitor the situation and call on Russia to de-escalate, starting by ceasing its illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the efficiency of Ukraine's air defences; and whether his Department plans to offer air defence support to Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
The robust capabilities of Ukraine's air defence systems continue to deter Russian aircraft from venturing beyond the forward line of their own troops. Regular open-source reporting suggests that Ukraine's air defence is achieving a high success rate against both cruise missiles and one way attack drones.
To date, we have provided Ukraine with thousands of short and long-range air defence systems and missiles. This includes Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles and six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak missile launchers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, In December past, what discussions he has had with veterans' charities on providing more support to those organisations for supporting veterans in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State for Defence regularly meets with representatives of Service charities on a range of matters. Responsibility for coordination with Service charities to support their work with veterans is a matter for the Office of Veterans’ Affairs in the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department provides to NATO members with borders with Russia.
Answered by James Heappey
As NATO's leading European Ally, the UK provides substantial support to NATO Allies bordering Russia. We have strengthened our enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia by enhancing capabilities of the permanent Battlegroup for the long-term. We deployed an Aviation Task Force to Lithuania and we contribute to NATO enhanced Air Policing. We supported Finland during its accession process into NATO and we will continue to support its integration. We also share capabilities such as F-35s with Norway. Lastly, we continue to train and operate alongside all Allies in bilateral and multilateral fora.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help veterans with the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) paid the £150 Disability Cost of Living payment to eligible Veterans whose only government-paid income is from a War Disablement Pension.
Through its Veterans Welfare Service, the MOD provides bespoke advice and assistance to Veterans and their families through a holistic assessment of need tailored to an individual's specific circumstances.
Where financial assistance is required by Veterans the Veterans Welfare Service can assist with benefits checks, completion of application forms and signposting to entitlements and support available from the wider public and voluntary sectors.
Veterans can call the Veterans Helpline free of charge on 0808 1914218 and ask for a call back from the welfare service.
The Government are committed to supporting all households, including veterans, with the cost of living through initiatives such as the energy price guarantee and cost of living payments.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to maintain boilers in housing provided by his Department.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The new Future Defence Infrastructure Services accommodation contracts came into service on 1 April 2022. Within these contracts, there is a requirement for an annual boiler service in all Service Family Accommodation (SFA).
In Financial Year 2022-23, Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) invested £73 million of the £176 million SFA improvement budget, which includes providing 600 properties with new boilers.
There are 47,396 boilers in SFA, as of December 2022, 76% (35,855) are less than 10 years old and 24% (11,541) are over 10 years old.
DIO operates a three strike boiler programme. If a boiler is over 10 years old and fails three times in 12 months, it is replaced on the third fail. Approximately 2,500 boilers are replaced annually within SFA either through the three strike programme or project upgrades.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to provide air defences to Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK is supporting Ukraine's air defence capabilities, as announced by the Prime Minister in Kyiv in November 2022.
We have provided thousands of air defence missiles, six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak missile launchers, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) for use with the US National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAM), electronic warfare equipment and dozens of anti-aircraft guns.
In addition, the UK has bolstered Ukraine's ability to provide early warning of Russian attacks from the air by gifting dozens of air defence radars.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to increase the production of arms in the UK to help provide greater support to Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
UK equipment has played a vital role in the defence of Ukraine and we are working intensively with UK manufacturers to ensure they factor Ukraine's future requirements into their planning.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Ukrainian counterpart on the use of long range missiles in Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
The Secretary of State for Defence regularly holds discussions with Defence Minister Reznikov on a range of issues, most recently at the Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base on 20 January 2023.