Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on proposals for the reinstatement of war widows pensions for those who remarried; and when those proposals will be published.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Government continues to examine alternative methods to see whether we can mitigate the impact to those survivors who had remarried or cohabited before the introduction of the 'Pensions for Life' changes in 2015. Much progress has been made and the issue remains a priority for the Ministry of Defence, though it remains very complex.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's staff were based in Scotland in each year from 2016 to 2020.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes annual location statistics for UK Regular Service and MOD Civilian staff. Table 2.1a of the 2020 publication includes the number of MOD personnel based in Scotland as at April each year since April 2012 and can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/location-of-all-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-annual-statistics-index
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what alternative methods his Department is examining to mitigate the effect of the loss of the war widows' pension for people who remarried between 1973 and 2015.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Government recognises the unique commitment that Service families make to our country and remains sympathetic to the circumstances of those widows who remarried and cohabited before 1 April 2015. However, the Government currently has no plans to reinstate War Widows’ Pensions for war widows who remarried or cohabited before the 2015 changes took effect.
As the Secretary of State for Defence said to the House on 3 February 2020, we are examining alternative methods to see whether we can mitigate the impact. However, this is a complex policy area and it is taking time to carefully consider the potential options within both financial and legal constraints. This work is ongoing, and any recommendations will have to first be agreed with other Government Departments.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of aircraft in the RAF fleet.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Assessments of trends in the number of aircraft in the RAF fleet is undertaken in the annual National Statistics publication: UK Armed Forces Equipment and Formations.
The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 invested in the Royal Air Force to deliver Joint Force 2025. The RAF will grow in size and capability with a larger and more capable frontline, delivering the technology required for the Next Generation Air Force.
F-35 Lightning is now operational, and the Typhoon force has already grown by one squadron, with a further to stand up this year. A broad range of new training aircraft, more aligned to the operational fleet, have also been delivered for the Military Flying Training System. The first P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol aircraft will shortly undertake its first flight. We have also committed to purchase Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and Protector Remotely Piloted Air Systems. The addition of A400M Atlas, concurrent to the drawdown of the C130J Hercules, has also provided increasing lift capacity, working alongside our C17 strategic transport fleet.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to her Department.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK has committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence. We are the largest defence spender in Europe and the second largest in NATO.
The Ministry of Defence has a £39 billion core defence budget which will rise by at least 0.5% above inflation in every year of this Parliament. Any future funding decisions will be taken at the upcoming spending review.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of the UK’s ability to defend itself against cyber-attacks.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Cyber is a tier 1 threat and remains a national priority. The National Cyber Security Strategy, published on 1 November 2016, sets out ambitious policies to protect the UK in cyber space, supported by a £1.9 billion transformational investment. Our vision for 2021 is that the UK is secure and resilient to cyber threats, prosperous and confident in the digital world.
To operate and defend our networks and provide worldwide assured communications for defence, our Global Operations and Security Control Centre at Ministry of Defence (MOD) Corsham is operational 24/7, equipped with sophisticated cyber defence capabilities. We take the cyber threat very seriously. We are enhancing our cyber defence capabilities with recently announced plans to invest over £40 million in developing a new Cyber Security Operations Capability (CSOC). The CSOC will enhance our ability to secure Defence networks and systems against cyber threats and bring together our defensive cyber activity, enabling us to continue to operate safely and securely.
We are also investing £265 million in a pioneering approach to root out cyber vulnerabilities within our military platforms and wider cyber dependent systems. The new Cyber Vulnerability Investigations programme enables the MOD to better understand cyber risks, and thereby ensure its ability to defend itself against cyber attacks.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of the future of the UK-Saudi defence relationship.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Saudi Arabia is a key ally in a strategically important region. It is an important partner in trade and investment, education, counter terrorism, defence, and energy security. We are committed to maintaining and developing the relationship.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of the security situation in Iran.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
We are extremely concerned by Iran's breach of the nuclear deal and we are working intensively to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in place.
We remain clear that the nuclear deal is still the best option in the interests of global security. It is critical that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons and this deal makes the world a safer place by taking the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran off the table.
Iranian attacks on tankers in the Gulf and a US drone violate international norms and increase the risk of escalation by miscalculation. We are continuing to use all diplomatic channels to work with the international community to restore maritime security in the Gulf and de-escalate regional tensions.