Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that stocks of weapons used by the British Army do not deplete as a result of exports of arms to Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence continually manages and reviews its stocks of weapons and munitions. This analysis informs the numbers of munitions granted in kind to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There are regular strategic supplier conversations throughout Defence and the Department is fully engaged with industry, allies and partners to ensure that all equipment and munitions granted in kind are replaced as expeditiously as possible.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what mitigation processes are in place for contractors who are waiting for late payment for work carried out on behalf of his Department.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy is to pay valid and undisputed invoices within 30 calendar days, reflecting the legal obligations in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. In line with the prompt payment code, the MOD is fully committed to paying all suppliers as quickly as possible and since May 2010 our aim has been to pay 80% of invoices within five working days. Our latest statistics show that, for the three quarters of 2021-22, we paid nearly 92% of our invoices within five days and 99% within 30 days.
The Public Contracts Regulations also require that the obligation to pay undisputed invoices within 30 days is flowed down the supply chain and the MOD has a standard contract condition to this effect. Suppliers' adherence to contractual requirements is managed through normal contract management processes. The MOD has also implemented Cabinet Office procurement policy, published in 2018, which requires that we take account of our suppliers' performance in relation to prompt payment in our supplier selection process.
More information about our payment performance is published on gov.uk at the following link:
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Office on a resolution to the matter of the prosecution of army veterans who served in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I discuss these important issues with the Northern Ireland Secretary and other relevant Ministers on a regular basis. As I set out in my written ministerial statement of 21 May 2019 (HCWS1575), our obligations to veterans who have served in Northern Ireland remain the same as to those who served in other theatres, and I have agreed with the Northern Ireland Secretary that my Department will provide formal input to any process taken forward by the Northern Ireland Office resulting from the Stormont House Agreement.