Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who commissioned the production of the report entitled 'Human Augmentation - The dawn of a new paradigm, published in May 2021.
Answered by James Heappey
'Human Augmentation - The Dawn of a New Paradigm' was a bilateral cooperation proposed by MOD's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) with the Bundeswehr Office for Defence Planning in Germany, as part of DCDC's Strategic Analysis Programme, to build on themes identified in 'Global Strategic Trends: The Future Starts Today' [published in 2018].
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the feasibility study of the Centre of Excellence for Human Security.
Answered by James Heappey
I can confirm that the internal feasibility assessment has concluded and the next steps will be published shortly.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his Kuwaiti counterpart on the potential for deploying RAF Reaper drones for operations over the Strait of Hormuz.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are in regular communication with all our regional allies. However, I am withholding information on the location of Reaper aircraft as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the fire tender which is part of Truck Cargo Heavy Duty nuclear weapons convoys has been instructed to accompany the convoy in a stand-off position; and what assessment his Department has made of the ability of that fire tender to reach the convoy promptly through traffic in the event of an emergency.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
It is Ministry of Defence policy that we do not comment on the operational details of convoys transporting Defence Nuclear Material, for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 8 April 2019 Official Report HCWS1498 on changes in the terminology from airstrikes to weapon release events when reporting the UK's contribution to the Counter-Daesh campaign, whether a Reaper launching two or more Hellfire missiles at one target counts as one weapon release event.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Yes. A Weapon Release Event is when one or more weapons of the same type are released from the same aircraft, at the same time, at the same target.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the guidance entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: measures to promote tax compliance, published on 6 February 2014, how many suppliers were allocated contracts by his Department as a result of complying with (a) one and (b) more than one of the mitigating circumstances after not meeting the tax compliance questions.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 26 February 2019, to Question 224371.
Information on whether suppliers were allocated contracts as a result of complying with the mitigating circumstances after not meeting the tax compliance questions is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many suppliers have been excluded from bidding for contracts due to their not meeting the criteria in his Department's Procurement Policy Note 03/14 in each year since 2014.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Cabinet Office's Procurement Policy Note 03/14 requires Central Government to include measures to promote tax compliance in procurement over £5 million. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is compliant with this policy and includes tax compliance conditions in its tenders and contracts.
Information on whether suppliers have been excluded from bidding for contracts is not held centrally and, as the MOD has awarded nearly 4,000 contracts competitively since 2014, this data can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost of repairs to HMS Ambush was as a result of that submarine's collision with a merchant vessel off Gibraltar in July 2016.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The costs of repair to HMS AMBUSH following the collision off Gibraltar in July 2016 can be found in the Ministry of Defence's 2017-18 Annual Report and Accounts available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish his Department's decision on a second refit for HMS Victorious.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is UK policy that we do not comment on matters relating to submarine activity or operations.
I refer the hon. Member to the written statement regarding the decision not to refuel HMS Victorious, made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, on 5 November 2018 (HCWS1065).
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 20228 on AWE, what his most recent estimate is of the (a) anticipated out-turn cost and (b) projected in-service date of each of the new build projects in the Atomic Weapons Establishment Site Development Context Plan.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The tables below show the approved costs and in-service dates of the new build projects listed in the Atomic Weapons Establishment Site Development Context Plan (SDCP).
In-service dates are shown in bandings to avoid prejudice to national security and defence. Costs for planned projects are subject to approval.
Table 1 – Approved new build projects.
Ongoing projects | Function | In-Service Period | Approved cost |
Warhead assembly/disassembly – Mensa | Manufacturing/ production | 2023 | £1.8 billion |
Uranium components – Pegasus | Manufacturing/ production | Requirement under consideration | £634 million |
Table 2 – Planned projects not yet approved.
Ongoing projects | Function | In-Service Period |
Salts Processing - Octans | Testing/research | 2020-25 |
Initiator system manufacture-Taurus | Manufacturing/production | 2025-30 |
Large Scale formulations-Scorpius | Manufacturing/production | 2030-40 |
Depleted Uranium Facility | Manufacturing/production | 2020-25 |
Assembly for Trials-Columba | Testing/research | 2030-35 |
High Explosive Climatic Trials | Testing/research | 2030-35 |
Four of the projects previously listed are no longer included, as it is now planned to use the existing facilities. These are Small Scale Formulations (Cepheus), New Plutonium Facility, Non-Metallics and Materials (Libra) and Chemical Processing (Astra).
Planned new build projects now also include the Hub, a testing/research facility to be brought into service over the period 2020 – 2025.