Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the funding to Ukraine announced by the Prime Minister on 23 April 2024, what proportion of that funding will be spent on equipment to be donated to the Ukrainian Government and forces.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The £500 million additional funding for Ukraine, announced on 23 April 2024 will be used to rapidly deliver urgently-needed ammunition, air defence, drones and engineering support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The drones will be procured in the UK and the funds will support a scale-up in domestic defence supply chains.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former members of the regular Army have regular reserve recall liability in the event of a national emergency as of 1 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
As at 1 January 2024 there were 22,676 Army Regular Reservists with recall liability under Section 22 of the Reserve Forces Act (RFA) 96.
In addition, there are approximately 55,000 ex-Regular personnel as of March 2024 subject to recall under Section 68 of the RFA 96.
Notes/caveats:
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former members of the regular Army have regular reserve call out liability as of 1 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
As at 1 January 2024 there were 22,676 Army Regular Reservists with recall liability under Section 22 of the Reserve Forces Act (RFA) 96.
In addition, there are approximately 55,000 ex-Regular personnel as of March 2024 subject to recall under Section 68 of the RFA 96.
Notes/caveats:
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world, published 18 July 2023, what his Department's expected timeline is for publishing its Head Office reform plans.
Answered by James Heappey
The key aspects of the reforms to Head Office were included in the Defence Command Paper Refresh, paragraphs 25 to 31 in Chapter 4, published 18 July 2023. Plans for the reform of Head Office will be taken forward as part of Defence Design, a departmental-wide programme to optimise the Defence operating model.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the assessed spiral development costs and upgrades for the CH47(ER) are.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Department acknowledge and are working to resolve H47(ER) cost growth. The updated programme costs and schedule, including Spiral Development, will be considered by the Ministry of Defence Investment Approvals Committee upon conclusion of this work and, until this has taken place, it would not be appropriate to disclose the figures.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost growth is of the CH47(ER) since approval by his Department's Investment Approvals Committee.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Department acknowledge and are working to resolve H47(ER) cost growth. The updated programme costs and schedule, including Spiral Development, will be considered by the Ministry of Defence Investment Approvals Committee upon conclusion of this work and, until this has taken place, it would not be appropriate to disclose the figures.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the delivery of the National Cyber Force at Samlesbury; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Heappey
The National Cyber Force (NCF) headquarters in Samlesbury is currently undergoing construction work. It will open in 2025, and the NCF is planning for several hundred staff to be based there within the first 12 months. By the 2030s this will have increased to up to two thousand people, including those from other partners, working there. We continue to prioritise the NCF workforce growth.