Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many NATO-led (a) exercises and (b) operational deployments the armed forces participated in in each year since 2015.
Answered by James Heappey
Additional time is required to access this information from the Ministry of Defence archives. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 10764, how many times British armed forces personnel have taken part in (a) bilateral and (b) multinational training exercises with (i) Germany, (ii) France, (iii) Italy, (iv) Poland, (v) the Netherlands, (vi) USA and (vii) Spain.
Answered by James Heappey
The information requested is not held centrally. The following has been compiled from sources across the single-Services. It is a ‘best estimate’ based on the available information.
Year | Bilateral | RN | Army | RAF | Multinational | RN | Army* | RAF |
2016 | Germany | 6 | 0 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 4 | 4 | 0 | France | 6 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 2 |
| 0 | |
USA | 7 | 15 | 0 | USA | 7 |
| 3 | |
Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 2 |
| 0 | |
2017 | Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 1 | 4 | 0 | France | 9 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 1 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 0 | |
USA | 3 | 15 | 0 | USA | 12 |
| 3 | |
Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 0 |
| 0 | |
2018 | Germany | 1 | 2 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 4 | 7 | 0 | France | 6 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 4 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 2 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 0 | The Netherlands | 1 |
| 0 | |
USA | 5 | 19 | 0 | USA | 9 |
| 3 | |
Spain | 1 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 4 |
| 0 | |
2019 | Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 0 |
France | 5 | 9 | 0 | France | 6 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 2 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | The Netherlands | 5 |
| 0 | |
USA | 10 | 20 | 0 | USA | 9 |
| 4 | |
Spain | 1 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 3 |
| 0 | |
2020 | Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | Germany | 0 |
| 0 |
France | 2 | 0 | 0 | France | 3 |
| 0 | |
Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | Italy | 0 |
| 0 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 0 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 0 | |
USA | 6 | 0 | 0 | USA | 7 |
| 6 | |
Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 | Spain | 0 |
| 0 | |
2021 | Germany | 0 | 2 | 0 | Germany | 3 |
| 3 |
France | 5 | 6 | 0 | France | 7 |
| 3 | |
Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 4 | |
Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | Poland | 2 |
| 0 | |
The Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | The Netherlands | 6 |
| 1 | |
USA | 11 | 21 | 0 | USA | 17 |
| 8 | |
Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | Spain | 3 |
| 1 | |
2022 | Germany | 0 | 2 | 0 | Germany | 1 |
| 4 |
France | 1 | 7 | 0 | France | 4 |
| 3 | |
Italy | 3 | 0 | 0 | Italy | 1 |
| 3 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 1 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 2 | |
USA | 3 | 22 | 0 | USA | 13 |
| 12 | |
Spain | 0 | 3 | 0 | Spain | 3 |
| 2 | |
2023 | Germany | 0 | 4 | 0 | Germany | 2 |
| 2 |
France | 1 | 7 | 0 | France | 9 |
| 3 | |
Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | Italy | 1 |
| 1 | |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | Poland | 1 |
| 1 | |
The Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | The Netherlands | 3 |
| 1 | |
USA | 5 | 22 | 0 | USA | 15 |
| 10 | |
Spain | 0 | 3 | 0 | Spain | 2 |
| 2 |
* Due to the way in which Army data is held, multinational involvement cannot be readily separated from bilateral. Many of the bilateral exercises listed will be multinational, but the data capture only shows the primary sponsor of the exercise and not the additional participants. Army data from 2020 has been discounted due to uncertainty as to which exercises did or did not take place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy, (c) RAF and (d) Royal Marines were referred to Prevent in each year since 2015.
Answered by James Heappey
Information held by the Ministry of Defence is set out below, detailing the number of referrals to Prevent from a military referrer by calendar year, noting that figures prior to 2018 are not held. A breakdown of the information by Service is not currently available. These figures exclude members of the military who are referred to Prevent by an organisation other than the military, for example the Home Office Police or NHS.
2018 – 5
2019 – 12
2020 – 8
2021 – 13
2022 – 13
2023 – 22
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times he has visited NATO bases abroad in each year since 2015.
Answered by James Heappey
Every time the Secretary of State landed on an airbase of a NATO ally or attended a meeting in a NATO HQ would need to be counted, and this data is simply not held. Whilst the information could only be gathered at disproportionate cost, the Honourable Gentleman should be reassured that the answer would likely be very regularly indeed.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will publish the new National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on Wednesday 8 September to Question 43387 to the Hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr John Healey).
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will investigate the reason for the five month delay in awarding the Elizabeth Cross to Eric Denson.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Government continues to recognise and be grateful to all Service personnel who participated in the British nuclear testing programme, including Mr Eric Denson. They contributed to keeping our nation secure during the Cold War and since, ensuring that the United Kingdom was equipped with an appropriate nuclear capability.
On 16 March 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) advised Mr Denson’s widow of the outcome of her application for the Elizabeth Cross in respect of her late husband.
The delay in providing this response was due to the impact of COVID-19 on the working arrangements of Departmental officials, and, in particular, the ability to access Mr Denson’s Service records from almost fifty years ago, which exist in hard copy only. Mr Denson’s widow was advised that there would be a delay in considering her application.
There is no correlation between being awarded a pension under the War Pension Scheme and the criteria for the Elizabeth Cross. The Elizabeth Cross is granted to the next of kin of Service personnel who have died since 1 January 1948 on medal earning operations, as a result of an act of terrorism or on a non-medal earning operational task where death has been caused by the inherent high risk of the task. A claim considered before 6 April 2005 under the War Pensions Scheme required the award of a pension to be made unless it could be shown beyond reasonable doubt that Service had played no part in an illness or death.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress the Government has made on implementing Phase 2 of the roll-out of veterans ID cards.
Answered by James Heappey
The Veterans’ ID card provides both a memento of service and allows statutory and charity service providers to more easily identify an individual as someone who has served. Phase one of the Veterans’ ID card is complete, with Service leavers now receiving a card as part of the discharge process. Phase two will enable existing veterans to more quickly, easily, and securely prove they served in the UK Armed Forces so they can access the services they need, through digital means. Future-proofing and safeguarding against fraudulent use means the process for phase two rollout will take longer than anticipated. This Government is committed to making the UK the best place to be a veteran in the world, and we need to ensure that this is not abused.
The Ministry of Defence, including Veterans UK, is working with the Office for Veterans’ Affairs within the Cabinet Office to develop ideas on how to build an online digital verification tool so that people can prove they served; this is a commitment in the Strategy for Our Veterans. We are beginning to move this work forward but are unable to announce a delivery date at this point.
Information on phase two of the Veterans’ ID card will be released closer to the launch date at the following website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-veterans-id-cards-rolled-out-to-service-leavers
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Manchester Evening News article, Greater Manchester is still owed £1 million by the government for battling last summer's moorland blazes, published on 6 February 2018, whether his Department has repaid any of the £70,000 given to it by the Greater Manchester combined authority.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Any expenditure incurred by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority may be reimbursed subject to a successful claim through the Bellwin scheme, which is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2018 to Question 136906, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that the spouse of a Minister who has financial interests divests themselves of those interests upon the Minister taking office in his Department.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
In accordance with the Ministerial Code, on appointment to each new office, Ministers must provide their Departmental Permanent Secretary with a full list in writing of all interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. This list also includes interests of the Minister's spouse or partner and close family which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. All Ministerial interest returns are reviewed by the Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests. Where appropriate the Minister will meet the Permanent Secretary and the Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests to agree action on the handling of interests.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the (a) employment and (b) involvement in any Ministry of Defence contracts of (i) spouses of Members of Parliament, (b) spouses of Ministers and (c) the spouse of the Prime Minister.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) requires all Crown servants to make their line manager or Commanding Officer aware of any potential conflict of interest that arises during their service. The MOD requires the line manager or Commanding Officer to work with the Crown servant to take appropriate action to ensure that an actual conflict of interest does not take place.
In accordance with the Ministerial Code, on appointment to each new office, Ministers must provide their Permanent Secretary with a full list in writing of all interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. The list should also cover interests of the Minister's spouse or partner and close family which might be thought to give rise to a conflict.