Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the level of susceptibility of the Joint Strike Fighter F-35B to catching fire or exploding due to a lighting strike (a) while flying and (b) on the ground.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The F-35 design has yet to complete its lightning strike testing. Due to this incomplete testing, and the fact that design modifications are planned to meet required levels of performance, a flight restriction has been placed on the aircraft which prevents operation within 25 nautical miles of lightning conditions. This restriction is reduced when the aircraft is on the ground to 10 nautical miles and also uses additional protection measures such as shelters. These restrictions will be lifted once modifications have been embodied and testing completed. The modification and testing is due to be completed ahead of UK Introduction to Service in mid 2016.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what aircraft in use by UK armed forces operate a 270-volt electrical system.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Lightning II, Rivet Joint, Sentinel aircraft and Merlin helicopters operate a 270 volt electrical system.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 3 of Annex F of MAA RA 1210, how and when he expects the validity of Tornado GR4 ALARP statement to be decided by the appropriate court.
Answered by Philip Dunne
There are no current or pending court proceedings in which the validity of the Tornado GR4 As Low As Reasonably Practicable statement would be decided.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2015 to Question 226517, if he will place a copy of the review by the Tornado Collision Service Inquiry Panel in the Library.
Answered by Philip Dunne
A copy of the review is attached.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many accidents were reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 at (a) HM Naval Base Clyde and (b) Royal Navy Armaments Depot Coulport in each of the last five years; and what the circumstances of each such accident were.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The information requested covers a number of different Ministry of Defence departments and contractors working at these locations. While each area holds records, these are held in different formats and to different criteria. As such, the information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
I have therefore commissioned officials to compile the best available statistics. I will write to the hon. Member with these before the House rises.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many accidents there have been at HM Naval Base Clyde and Royal Navy Armaments Depot Coulport in each of the last five years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The information requested covers a number of different Ministry of Defence departments and contractors working at these locations. While each area holds records, these are held in different formats and to different criteria. As such, the information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
I have therefore commissioned officials to compile the best available statistics. I will write to the hon. Member with these before the House rises.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many suitably qualified and experienced personnel positions are (a) required and (b) vacant in (i) Type 23 and (ii) Type 45 ship crews.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The information requested, as at 12 March 2015, is shown in the following table:
Required Positions | Vacant Positions | |
Type 23 | 1,990 | 180 |
Type 45 | 1,150 | 75 |
Note: All figures are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy. All numbers over 100 are rounded to the nearest 10 with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid bias. Numbers under 100 are rounded to the nearest 5. | ||
None of the existing vacancies is in a post categorised as safety critical and no ship would go to sea without the minimum required complement of suitably qualified and experienced personnel.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate (a) how much will be spent on the next generation estate contract for regional prime Scotland and Northern Ireland in each of the next four years and (b) how much of that amount will be spent with sub-contractors based in Scotland in each of those years; and what steps he has taken to ensure that local businesses benefit from those contracts.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The amount that will be spent on the next generation estate contracts in Scotland and Northern Ireland in each of the next four financial years (FY) is shown below:
| FY 2014-15 | £19.6 million |
| FY 2015-16 | £17 million |
| FY 2016-17 | £17.3 million |
| FY 2017-18 | £17.7 million |
| FY 2018-19 | £18.1 million |
The information in relation to the amount spent on subcontractors in Scotland, the steps to ensure local businesses benefit from the contracts or the number of construction companies based in Scotland to have been awarded work is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many construction companies based in Scotland have been awarded work under the next generation estate contract for regional prime Scotland and Northern Ireland; and what estimate he has made of the value of that work.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The amount that will be spent on the next generation estate contracts in Scotland and Northern Ireland in each of the next four financial years (FY) is shown below:
| FY 2014-15 | £19.6 million |
| FY 2015-16 | £17 million |
| FY 2016-17 | £17.3 million |
| FY 2017-18 | £17.7 million |
| FY 2018-19 | £18.1 million |
The information in relation to the amount spent on subcontractors in Scotland, the steps to ensure local businesses benefit from the contracts or the number of construction companies based in Scotland to have been awarded work is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much British Aerospace was paid for work on the Nimrod MRA4 project in the financial year 2011-12; and what the total programme cost was in that year.
Answered by Julian Brazier
British Aerospace received no payments for work on the Nimrod MRA4 project in the financial year 2011-12. Programme costs in the financial year 2011-12 totalled some £0.6 million.