Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the armed forces are supported by world-class technological capabilities.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for North Devon (Selaine Saxby), to Question 900383, and Newcastle Under-Lyme (Aaron Bell), to Question 900390, during Defence Oral Questions on 24 May 2021.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2021 to Question 156447 on International Criminal Court, what assessment he has made of the implications for UK military personnel of the International Criminal Court's decision of 5 February 2021; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK respects the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and we expect it to exercise due prosecutorial and judicial discipline. We continue to closely follow the ICC's work and are looking at the implications of this decision.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the implications for British military personnel of the International Criminal Court’s ruling that it has jurisdiction to open a probe into allegations of war crimes initiated by non-state actors.
Answered by James Heappey
We closely follow the work of the International Criminal Court and are looking at the implications of this decision.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his International counterparts on the implications for military personnel of the ruling that non-state actors can initiate proceedings at the International Criminal Court (ICC), with reference to the February 2021 decision that the ICC has jurisdiction over the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Answered by James Heappey
We closely follow the work of the International Criminal Court and are looking at the implications of this decision.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage innovation by defence suppliers.
Answered by Philip Dunne
This Government announced a step change in our approach to innovation in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. We are developing plans to work with existing defence and non-traditional defence contractors, as well as international partners, to develop new technologies and innovations to stay ahead of our adversaries as technological advance becomes more widely accessible.
We have also refreshed our policy to help small and medium enterprises as vital defence innovators, and we invest 1.2% of a growing defence budget in scienece and technology.